Kushina had been mothering Kakashi when she sensed a group of familiar chakra signals and went to open the door for them. She was greeted with an unreadable Miyu, impassive Kurama, melancholic Minato and a surprisingly solemn Jiraiya. With a sigh she waved them in, seating the group with Kakashi, and rolling up her sleeves.

There was quite a lot of work to be done before she would be able to pull them all out of their depressing states. In the aftermath of war, Kakashi had taken to visiting the memorial stone for twice as long, his reasoning being that he now had twice as many people to visit.

Strangely enough, or maybe not so much, Miyu came with him, and they both just spent the time quietly staring at the many names. Kakashi usually alternated between looking at the stone, his right hand and then the girl. She hadn't once asked how Rin had died and he was in no hurry to tell her.

Eventually her fox would pop out of some bushes, at exactly the same time each day, and she would leave for some youthful training. The Hatake would follow along and watch their ridiculous routine before then walking her back to the compound and then heading to Minato's apartment for breakfast. It was an odd fact that he now spent more time in his sensei's home than his own due to constantly being pulled in for meals, not that he was complaining...anymore that is.

And slowly their relationship changed from niece and student of Namikaze Minato to what could be considered friends.

"Kakashi, what will you be doing today?" Miyu asked the silver haired cyclops.

"Hm, training most likely." He answered as they walked to the Uchiha compound, "I won't be taking any missions for a while."

"Why?" The blonde asked, skipping ahead and then stopping to wait for him. Kurama was obviously displeased by her jerky gait, jumping off his partner and walking on his own.

"I might try to get into Anbu." There wasn't much else he could do unless he was content with his current position, "Minato-sensei is one of the Hokage candidates and he's likely to be picked. I think it would still be nice to work directly under him." He explained. The whole village hadn't been surprised when they had heard of Sarutobi's oncoming retirement. Now it was just a choice between the two candidates but for her there was really only one option.

"I don't like Orochimaru," It was considerably difficult for her not to spit out the name, and acting civil when she had first saw him with Jiraiya had been a challenge. Honestly she was confused on how he had turned out so twisted in the end.

"He does seem a bit off at times." More often than not the snake Sannin smelled like death to him, and not the type that came with their line of work. "Ah, we're here." It seemed the short walk was over to his disappointment. He liked talking to her, she was refreshing and understanding. At times it was nice to just talk, something he hadn't appreciated much before.

"Miyu-oneesan." Itachi came out to greet the duo, instantly grabbing the hem of his sister's clothes.

"Oh, Itachi, morning!" Miyu ruffled his hair, beaming at the cute pout. She couldn't exactly remember when he had become so close but thought it was about the same time Kakashi had begun walking her back.

"Good morning." Kakashi greeted with an almost unnoticeable frown.

"Good morning." Itachi replied slightly tense. With Miyu's attention focused on her younger sibling she missed the glare shared between both males, though the fox was pleasantly amused.

3 Months later - July 23rd... Konoha Hospital

"Please come back Miyu-san!" A frantic doctor shouted as he watched his patient dash down the hallway.

"Don't worry so much Takahashi-san." Miyu called back with a smile, "I'm fine." The fact her clothes were battle torn and covered in blood did not support her statement.

Takahashi Michio relented with a sigh, he supposed if she was able to run that fast, then she wouldn't be dying anytime soon.

"Which way was it?" Miyu hit an intersection and choose right, smiling when she did indeed reach the correct room number. "Mikoto!" She entered the room loudly, surprising its occupants.

"Miyu," Fugaku gave her a disapproving look, "You shouldn't run or shout in the hospital. Nor should you cause Takahashi-san so much trouble." He added as an afterthought.

"Hai," Miyu said as his brief lecture went in one ear and out the other. She spotted her target on the bed and skipped over. "How are you doing, Mikoto?"

"Wonderfully." The woman was a bit paler than usual, with weariness easily visible on her face, though she did manage a weak smile, "If you want to meet him, he's with Itachi."

She turned her attention to the boy seated beside his mother. A peaceful smile stretched across his usually stoic face. In his arms, sleeping peacefully despite all the commotion, was a beautiful and healthy baby boy.

"His name is Sasuke." Fugaku told her with his own rare smile.

"Sasuke." Miyu repeated, her eyes softening, "It's a good name."

"So, how are you?" Fugaku asked, jolting her out of her reverie. He checked her form, paying particular attention to any place near blood.

"I'm fine." Miyu replied, rubbing the blood on her arm off and showing him the unmarred skin, "Healing abilities remember."

"Hn." Fugaku nodded his approval and she smiled. He truly wasn't as bad as she had once imagined. A little callous and strict, sure, but he cared in his own way.

"Would you like to hold him?" Itachi asked, offering his younger brother to his sister, albeit reluctantly.

"Of course." Miyu eagerly accepted Sasuke, her arms moving into place automatically. She had gotten a lot of practice with babies these past few months. The blonde went out of her way, meeting and getting to know the people of Konoha, relishing in the new bonds she formed. She had fed younger Neji, held Tenten, chanced upon Lee, cooed over Shino, cuddled Choji, met Sakura and played with Kiba. Yet, there were still a handful of her friends yet to be born and even more she could not meet yet. She couldn't call herself fully content until she knew they were all safe and protected. Feeling a movement in her arms Miyu looked down and watched as Sasuke blearily open his eyes.

"Ohayo." She greeted with a foxy grin.

Dream

"Temari! You look fantastic!" Sakura complimented, giving the Suna Kunoichi a hug. Instead of her usually flat stomach there was a small bulge on the blonde which added an appeal of its own.

"You aren't looking half bad either." Temari joked, smiling over at woman and her jumpsuit-wearing partner, "You two should get a move on too. I don't want to be the only fat one here." She earned herself a pretty blush from the pink haired woman and couple of laughs. Their Nara tactician fondly wrapped an arm around her waist before adding his own opinions into the mix.

"Maybe we should take this slowly," He suggested, "One pregnant woman is troublesome enough." All he got in return was a punch from his ever-loving wife. The mood was great and soon enough the friendly chatter grew to a full blown shouting match.

"I'm going to be an uncle." Naru turned her attention back to her close friend who seemed to be worrying more than anyone else, though it hardly showed on his impassive face.

"So you are." She agreed, listening as Lee's voice rose up above the rest, "And you will be a great one at that."

"But-" The redhead didn't have much confidence and his experience with his own uncle hadn't helped any.

"Gaara," The sunny blonde turned to his with a wide grin, "You'll be fine, you'd be surprised how many kids we have over here that admire you." She caught the small look of surprise on his face and continued, "You're not a monster Gaara, no matter what happened in the past. Instead you're the Kazekage and most likely the youngest ever Kage. It's their honour to be your niece even if things may be a bit awkward in the beginning." Gaara was definitely relieved by her words. If Naru said it was okay then he would believe in her. After all she had his absolute trust.

"Thank you." He said sincerely, appreciating the small boost of confidence. Though, at the same time something else caught his attention, "So, you said niece..."

"Ah!" Naru jumped up and exaggeratedly slapped her hands over his mouth, "Shhh! You didn't hear that! At least not from me!" His brow quirked in amusement, prompting her to explain. "It seems Kurama it good at sensing chakra, or life for this matter and since she's already a couple of months along he was able to determine the gender. But make sure to keep it quiet you hear!"

"Keep what quiet?" The heir of both Namikaze and Uzumaki jumped as she was startled by another's silent approach.

"Kashi!" She beamed and received a warm hug from the silver haired male, "We weren't expecting you for at least another hour!"

"Maa, maa, I'm not that bad." The Cyclops waved off the incredulous looks at his last statement.

"I recall not even an important meeting with myself and the other Kages could get you to arrive on time, Hatake." Gaara added in a bland tone.

"Ah, really?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, apparently having no recollections of such an event. "So what did I miss?"

"Nothing much." Sakura answered, walking up to greet her sensei, "Everyone was just getting settled in." She was rather relaxed despite her fiancé's boisterous shouting and attempts to exercise.

"I see." His visible eye curved upwards watching the younger generations antics and catching a few of the older ninja spread throughout the room.

"KAKASHI!" Why he ever thought he'd have a moment of peace was beyond him. The copy ninja sighed and resigned himself to his fate as his eternal rival bounded up to him.

"I think I'll leave you two be..." Naru said, sliding out from under his arm as Konoha's Green Beast eagerly skipped towards them.

"How cruel you are, to abandon me in my time of need," He cried dramatically, though she laughed it off, and grabbed her left hand. "How I ever fell in love with you is beyond me." He brought the smaller hand up and pressed a mask-covered kiss to the silver band that wrapped around her fourth finger.

"Isn't it obvious?" Naru asked as he released her, "It's clearly because of my beauty, charm, fun personality, skills as a kunoichi and..." She trailed off with a playful smile though something a bit more sensual lay in her eyes.

"And?" Kakashi prompted, right as Gai reached him.

"Well, I'll have to show you later on tonight now won't I?" Naru left him speechless, a feat she had mastered over the years, and quickly pulled Gaara away with her to dance. Her husband couldn't feel jealous at all, not after what he had just been promised.

Reality

3 Months later - Early October...night before the Kyuubi attack

A faded red leaf drifted down from the treetops onto and small palm, belonging to a small girl with her arm outstretched. The small hand closed around the leaf crumpling it before letting it fall to the ground.

''So are you sure of our plan.'' Kurama asked, wondering if their reckless actions could even be considered as such.

"Yes," Miyu replied, "As long as I can convince 'you' to stop it should be fine. But I wonder what will happen if both Kyuubi no Kitsune clash with one another. You told me before that two of the same people cannot exist at the same time."

''I am not sure,'' it was strange to hear the fox sound so worried, ''currently, due to Namikaze's sealing method, I am but the Yang half of my former self. I am incomplete so theoretically there should be no problem but...''

"I see." She was sure it would result in his death, or non-existence to be exact.

''So what happens if this plan of yours fails? What is the back-up?'' He asked.

"If I cannot stop 'you' then I will perform to sealing." She said with resolve, "I will offer my life to the Shinigami and seal this timeline's Kyuubi into the baby that will be born. That child will grow up with a strong mother, a father that will rule righteously and a demon fox to guide him. It is more than I had and hopefully it will be enough. Of course, if I offer my soul you'll have to come with me." She rubbed the back of her head and offered the fox a sheepish grin.

''I had resolved to follow you till the end of your short life. It will be sooner than I expected but I am content.'' Kurama stated softly, ''besides you will probably need company inside his stomach, it must be pretty boring do you not suppose?''

"I wonder if he's nice." She contemplated, "The Shinigami I mean."

''I hope we need not to find out, but I do not think he could be too bad.'' He answered. Miyu sat silently in thought. Tomorrow she would be born and that was the same day many were destined to die, including Minato and Kushina. They had already moved to a secure location with a midwife team and a handful of Anbu. It wouldn't be enough. While she knew the location, Miyu was required to remain within the walls of Konoha, or at least her clone was bound to. Tomorrow was her free day so hopefully Hizashi would not see her and wouldn't become suspicious.

"It's here." Miyu stated, standing atop a tree that overlooked the small houses that held the newlywed couple and their attendants.

''Now, we must wait.'' Kurama sniffed the air, stretching his senses over the wide area. They wouldn't be caught unaware, not after all their preparations.

''There he is.'' Kurama noted. Miyu brought her attention to the hooded, masked ninja sneaking into the house. With a slight sadness she watched him dispose of the Anbu, making no move to help. It would do no good alerting him. At the moment she knew how the story went and how he would act. She wouldn't jeopardize the safety of those more important than her by trying to save everyone and most likely failing. No, instead she would wait. She could guarantee three lives at the sacrifice of four. It would have to do.

''He is moving,'' Kurama alerted, jumping onto her shoulders as she followed from an undetectable distance. In the enemy ninja's arms was worn out Kushina, who was currently using all her energy to restrain the Kyuubi. That in turn meant Minato had taken Naruto to safety. She followed him all the way to a series of rocks which were covered in intricate seals.

"What... do you want?" She heard Kushina grit out as she was placed on a smaller stone, and bound with the seals.

"To take the Kyuubi from you," the masked man responded, "And to destroy Konoha." Miyu ignored his short rant and focused on Kushina as the extraction began. The red haired woman let out a silent scream under the excruciating pain as the fox was forcefully pulled out from her.

"GRAAAWRR!" The beast was out, howling at the sky.

''I look strong.'' The smaller fox noted.

"So you do." Miyu agreed.

"Alright," The man looked straight at the released Bijuu, "Now, head for Konoha."

"Ugh...wait." Kushina called weakly, gaining his attention once more.

"The Uzumaki clan really is amazing," The man remarked, "Still alive after having the Bijuu ripped from you, eh?"

"Grrrrr..." The fox let out an unpleasant growl.

"You were the Kyuubi's host, and now I will use him to kill you." As the words left his mouth a furred hand came down in the exact spot where she laid. The enraged fox's muzzle looked up where his prey had vanished, now in the arms of a fearless blond. "It's too late." The masked man intoned as Konoha's Yellow Flash disappeared, prioritizing his wife's safety. He wasn't far behind, teleporting to Konoha, unknowing of the girl that followed.

Miyu waited. She had waited for the fox to be extracted, she had waited for him to be summoned into the village and she had waited for Minato to be lured away by the masked man. He would be able to defeat him while she currently couldn't, and in turn she would stop the rampaging fox.

"Who?!" Sarutobi stepped back as an unrecognizable ninja appeared in front of him. It was a kunoichi with long blonde hair and a completely blank, white mask on her face, showing only the red of her eyes.

"Get out of here." He heard her order with a guttural voice. Sarutobi managed to catch a glimpse of her gaze, his own eyes widening at the sight of feral slitted pupils.

"This is Konohagakure, and my home." The former Hokage stated, holding his kunai a fraction tighter while sizing her up, "I will stand and fight to protect it." The ninja with him shouted their approval.

"And so you shall, but unless you wish to die, allow me to speak with him." She didn't wait for the answer and walked up to the fox who was still thrashing around, despite no longer being under control.

"RRAAWR!" Within an instant she hand grabbed him and teleported elsewhere.

"Kurama!" The kunoichi called, acquiring the demon fox's attention, "Do you hear me?" The fox halted recognizing his own name. A name he knew he had not given to any humans. "Do you hear us?" the woman repeated. He turned to stare down the mere human that dare call him, growling all the while. "Good." She answered.

When Minato had finally tracked down the Kyuubi he was met with a scene completely unexpected. There was a woman, the one his predecessor the Sandaime had mentioned, sitting beside the snout of the nine-tailed fox deep in conversation with it. Said beast growled in warning as the newcomer approached, but otherwise seemed to be expecting him.

"It's time," He heard the woman say as she stood up and dusted herself off before asking one final question to the fox, "What is your decision?" There was a movement from the beast, a slow but definite nod. Satisfied, she finally turned her attention to the young Hokage.

"Who are you?" He asked the woman. She merely looked at him and Minato had to admit that the blank mask was slightly more unnerving than a patterned one.

"No one important." Miyu answered slowly, "Instead I would like to borrow your child." Minato was instantly on guard. The attack on his family and village had made him wary.

"Why?" He let her identity slide. After all, dangerous or not, she had stopped the fox subsequently saving Konoha.

"The fox and I have come to an agreement." She answered, "He is willing to be resealed under my terms. Your wife is too weak to accept him again and it would most likely kill her, and anyone that is not an infant, will die due to his chakra affecting the already developed chakra systems."

"If that is the case I'll be the one to do the sealing." Minato stated. He struggled slightly, with the decision of his child's fate, though he couldn't say the stranger's suggestion was new to his thoughts.

"That's fine." Miyu allowed, much to his surprise, "But you will use this seal" She rolled out a scroll laying the pattern down for him to inspect. It was ingenious and very familiar. "Go explain to your wife, and bring whatever you need." She watched him nod and disappear.

"And you promise I will get my revenge? That this will be my last host?" A deep voice questioned behind her. Miyu turned to the Kyuubi who chose to speak only in her presence.

"I promise, and foxes keep their words." He accepted her vow and quietened once again as Minato reappeared, this time followed by the Sandaime and Konoha's last Sannin. It was only to be expected.

"I never thought I would see the Kyuubi not wreaking havoc." Jiraiya said, observing the unknown kunoichi.

"Please don't antagonize him." Miyu requested with a sigh. She saw Minato holding a bundle of cloth with a smiling baby and merely stared at the strangeness of it all. Here she existed in two places at once. Maybe Kurama had been mistaken?

"Alright then." Minato carried his child over, flanked by his two trusted companions. The fox barely even moved as he felt a hand rest on his fur. "Seal!" As promised the Kyuubi offered no resistance, and was sealed within his spawn. "It's done." He uttered in amazement.

"A perfect sealing." Jiraiya commented, checking over the seal that had manifested on the baby's stomach. The Sandaime turned to offer his gratitude to the stranger only to find nothing but air where the woman had once stood.

"She's gone." Both seal masters focused their attention on their missing helper. Minato caught a glimpse of white and moved his attention down to the ground where the shattered remains of a mask remain. How she had done it all without them noticing was undoubtedly a testament to her skills as a ninja.

''That went well,'' Kurama remarked sleepily, carried in the girl's arms. Going in and out of his jinchuriki's seal took a toll on him, making him feel rather tired.

"Maybe a bit too well." Miyu muttered quietly, though she wouldn't take it for granted. Pushing a small amount of chakra into her legs she jumped, landing on the next rooftop. At the moment the younger shinobi were gathered in a safe area, until they were released she would not be able to switch with her clone.

''Aside from a few dozen injured and a section of the village destroyed, there was no further damage as far as I have observed.'' Kurama noted, sensing a wave of relief through the girl.

"No casualties?" She questioned softly.

''None so far,'' the fox answered, ''but there are a few who have been seriously harmed.'' Miyu could live with that, at least with the medics doing their jobs, there would be no lost lives.

"Good." She sighed and searched for a place to remain for the night, hoping she wouldn't have to resort to the Forest of Death.

''It seems my alternate self was very accepting.'' The fox commented. Then again, one would have to be when confronted with something undeniably true.

"I only hope he and Naruto can come to terms. You actually quite a nice fox, deep down inside." She laughed as her partner shivered in disgust.

''That is almost insulting, he growled back, I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune. A demon fox is anything but nice.''

"Kind then," Miyu teased, "And cute too." She rubbed the back of his ear and he let out an uncontrollable purr.

''You do not play fair...'' He muttered, succumbing to the feeling of her fingers in his fur. ...A little to the left...

"Of course 'O Great One'" She obliged and mover her hand, listening to the rumbling intensify. "By the way, I thought you said that you couldn't exist in the same place at once?"

The questioning had been troubling her more than she thought it would.

''You cannot. I have explained the reasoning behind myself but as for you, you are still yourself. It is this you which has changed.'' Miyu was sure he couldn't have been more confusing if he tried. Just let it be, or as you humans say, go with the flow. ''You will find your answers soon enough...''