The Future Has Passed

Chapter 1: What I've Lost

In the face of a monstrous being, Naruto did not hesitate to crush it. Gritting his teeth through the exhaustion, forcing himself through the pain with the help of the Yondaime-lookalike. The turquoise colored chakra turned his body into a spinning missile that ripped through the hands of the humongous puppet and completely pulverized the spider-like Mukade inside.

Despite all that, Naruto knew that Roran was gone. The city above them was falling apart, the earth shaking through the cavernous underground like the wrath of the earth had been brought forth by the fight.

"Sara!" His shout was nearly muted out when another shake sent stones raining down from above. The young queen was rushing away from the center of the temple that housed the Ryumyaku after sealing away most of it. Rushing towards her, Naruto nearly stumbled as the bridge collapsed. "Grab my hand!"

She was looking forward, hope flashing in her eyes before the ground under her collapsed, sending her down. Sara tipped over, spinning through the air. She reached out, her arm stretching forward, trying to grasp Naruto's hands.

But he was too slow. The corrupted liquid full of chakra beneath would burn Sara.

He couldn't let that happen.

Though his chakra was gone, and exhaustion took over, Naruto jumped after her, his feet skidding down the broken bridge.

It was a split second. His feet held onto the platform as he grabbed her leg. Using the spin of the debris, he threw her towards Minato, who had been rushing after him. The man caught her, jumping back as the rest of the bridge collapsed. The chakra cut off and Naruto fell.

"Naruto!" Sara shouted. He grinned at her, his eyes closed as he raised a fist and followed up with a thumbs up.

He crashed into a plate of wood afterwards, gasping in pain from the fall and the fact that the kunai which Minato gave him stabbed him in the back. Still alive! Naruto's grin widened. "Captain!"

Naruto stood up, grabbing the kunai from his pocket as Yamato raised the platform. Holding his back in pain, the young man tried and failed to stand tall. "Thank you for your help, Captain! I thought I was a goner-"

He was cut off by a punch aimed at his stomach, making him keel over, about to throw up. Before he could complain about it, warm arms wrapped around him. "Are you suicidal?"

The question was much quieter than the anger from the punch would have made him expect. Sara was shaking. Slowly wrapping his own arms around her, he raised his head and looked lost. Both Yamato and Minato didn't look like they'd tell him what to do, so he just kept holding her.

"I'm sorry?" Naruto tried.

She growled. Naruto kept quiet.

"Naruto," Minato said. "Give me the kunai, I'll seal away Ryumyaku for good."

Naruto nodded, handing the kunai over. The blood on it was barely noticeable in the dark red lighting of the ruined structure. So when Minato stepped up to the middle of the temple, nobody could fault him for not catching something considering the stressful situation and exhaustion setting in.

Stabbing the kunai into the platform, Minato began the sealing process. The red lights exploded outwards and vanished into thin strands of energy. Naruto began to glow. When Sara took a step back and looked at the shinobi that saved her life, her hands were clasped together.

"The timeline is being restored," Minato said, coming down the stairs. "Thank you for your help, Captain was it?"

"Ah, it's an honor!" Yamato said, bowing. Minato scratched the back of his head nervously. "I am known as Yamato. Naruto's captain in our team."

"I'm afraid that your time here is coming to an end, Naruto, Yamato," Minato said. Sara's teeth bit down on her lower lip, glancing off, unable to meet Naruto's eyes. She opened her mouth a few times to speak, but Minato continued without missing a beat. "I should seal away the memories of everyone involved so we can avoid messing up the timeline. It would be disastrous-"

"No way," Naruto said quickly. "You said you had something to tell me!"

"One day." Minato smiled. "I'm sure we'll meet again."

Sara shook her head. "I don't want to lose my memories either. You… you really are from the future, aren't you?"

Naruto nodded, his lips drawn in a thin line as Minato prepared a seal. A loud noise interrupted them. The red light appeared again and the Ryumyaku began to leak, creating a pillar of energy that ripped through the ceiling and the sky.

Minato's eyes widened, and he spun around, trying to hold the seal in place. The light around Naruto and Yamato shattered as if it was glass, sending sparks everywhere. When Minato's hands touched the Ryumyaku's chakra, it did not stop.

Instead, the face of a fox appeared from the specks of blood that were on the Hiraishin kunai. Roaring towards the heavens, the fox face led the stream of chakra towards the sky and exploded in a shower of a billion colors.

"The… Ryumyaku is empty?" Minato asked. "That's impossible - and the Kyuubi, here? What happened?"

Yamato stared at Naruto, who was looking around. The young ninja couldn't tell what had happened.

"The Kyuubi," Yamato said. "Something might have happened with the seal - Naruto, lift your shirt."

"What?" Naruto asked, still following the order. "Why?"

Minato frowned when he saw the seal on Naruto's stomach appear. Yamato grimaced, nodding.

"It seems to be intact. Something else must've happened. What should we do, Minato-sama?" Yamato asked, turning to the future Hokage of Konoha. It was a reflex, but nobody but him had the necessary knowledge of seals to help them out anyway.

"I don't know," Minato admitted. Yamato sighed.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. They turned to him when Sara held onto him. "Guys?"

"It seems the timeline tried to fix itself, maybe we were too late with the seal, or maybe your seal messed with mine," Minato said. Naruto blinked, still unable to truly comprehend the situation. "You're fixed here. I don't think I can send you back to the future again."

The fact that the future they were coming from was gone didn't need to besaid.

Naruto tasted bile in his mouth as he fell to his knees. Sara followed, her knees scraping against the ground as she wrapped her arms around Naruto.

The strain finally became too much. Naruto passed out.

When Naruto woke up, the first thing he saw was the angular tip of a tent. His body felt fine, and he his chakra had mostly recovered. Sitting up, he took a look around, finding nothing out of the ordinary. It was a simple dark green tent. One like every other. Small, but comfortable.

Crawling out of the tent, he squinted at the sudden sunlight. The dark colors of the tent had given him no warning about the brightness outside, and he cursed under his breath as he tripped out.

And all he could see were ruins. Towers that used to pierce the sky with their height crumbled to dust and debris, soon to become sand in the desert. The Land of Wind was aptly named, eroding stones over years to create this landscape. While Naruto had never been very attentive in class, the amount of detentions he had forced him to pick something to distract himself with. Geography wasn't a very interesting class until you add in the amount of landmarks created by awesome ninjas fighting.

Now he had become one of those awesome ninjas, standing in the rubble that was his responsibility. Had he stopped the madman before he arrived in the past, all this wouldn't have happened, and Naruto would still be with his friends.

"Naruto," someone called his name. He turned around, just now noticing the hundreds of citizens of Roran behind him, huge tents set up around the crumbled city. Yamato came up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, are you alright?"

Naruto shook his head. "I… I think I messed up, captain."

"What do you mean?" Yamato asked. The older ninja felt… weird. He couldn't exactly say he was feeling sad or angry. Rather, the fact that he could go back home and meet people like the Sandaime again made him… happy. Curious.

"The Kyuubi messed up the seal, right? We can't go home, so Sai and Sakura… they're… gone?"

Naruto wasn't stupid. Incredibly straightforward and emotional, yes. Stupid? No. Stupidity, no matter how much luck one had, would simply lead to death early in their career.

"He wanted to seal our memories," Naruto said. "So nothing changed. But it did change, right?"

"Naruto…" Yamato began, but Naruto cut him off. The blond ninja balled a fist over the necklace that Tsunade gave him.

"So when it changed, that future, it's gone? Right? It's gone?" Naruto asked him in a tone that made his heart break. Yamato knew that Naruto wanted him to lie, to tell him that it's still there, just without them, so that his friends still had at least the memory of him.

"No," Yamato said. He had to be honest, because lies would only give him hope. The only one who could do that was the Yondaime, who had already informed Yamato of the sheer improbability. Naruto felt faint, yet nodded.

"Then… then we can go to this Konoha?" Naruto asked. His tone was hopeful.

"Minato-sama decided to go ahead and discuss taking the refugees of Roran into Sunagakure," Yamato explained. "If the Kazekage refuses, we might take them with us to Konoha until efforts for the rebuilt of Roran can be made. Besides those who were on the mission today and the Hokage, nobody must know of our origins."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It means we'll not arrive as Konoha shinobi, but as refugees," Yamato said. "Only the Sandaime will learn of us-"

"The old man?!" Naruto asked, his eyes lighting up. "He's- he's still alive! Yes! We can go and warn him! Orochimaru will-"

"Won't attack until at least 20 years," Yamato cut in. "We can't risk changing everything to the point where we can't predict certain things. Minato-sama agreed. Our loyalties lie with the Hokage, and he will be the only one I'll brief on the situation."

"That's… that's fair," Naruto said, biting his lower lip. "So, when will we leave?"

"When Minato-sama returns. If Sunagakure refuses, they'll immediately head towards Konoha and he will come back. It might take a while."

"So we play the waiting game until then?"

"We play the waiting game."

Naruto sighed, kicking the sand under his shoes. "I hate the waiting game."

If there's something that can make Naruto forget all worries for at least a few minutes, it would be food. The smell of homemade food danced through the camp, emanating from huge pots in the middle of the camp.

Having spent most of today resting, Naruto hasn't yet talked to any of the citizens. Walking up to them, Naruto was greeted with smiles and cheers. Young children ran up to him, grabbing him by the arms and dragging him towards the campfires.

"Naruto-sama!" one of the kids said. "Come! Come!"

Naruto was left slightly embarrassed at the honorific by the child which looked barely older than six. When they finally dragged him halfway around the pots, he was eventually forced to sit down on a blanket, stumbling backwards onto it. His hand brushed against something soft and he turned to his right, seeing Sara there, sleeping. His hand was on her hair.

"She refused to sleep in a tent," an adult said. An elderly woman holding a wooden spoon. "There simply weren't enough for all of us, and we couldn't convince her that the nights would be too cold, so we prepared the fire here."

"Ah," Naruto said. She looked worn out, bags under her eyes. She could've taken his tent, he didn't need it anyway.

"Could you wake her?" the woman said. "We're nearly done, and she hasn't eaten anything since yesterday."

"Of course," Naruto said, nodding. He put a hand on Sara's shoulder, shaking her slightly. She mumbled something incoherent before turning around, as if trying to ignore Naruto. He instead shook her slightly harder until she finally opened her eyes.

Bleary eyed and still half asleep, Sara grabbed the first thing in her vicinity. Naruto's sleeve stretched slightly as she sat up with its help, almost dragging Naruto towards her. She mumbled something else as she learned against his shoulder, shaking her head until she was finally awake. When she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was his face right in front of hers, she jumped up with a scream.

"Naruto!" she shouted. Surprisingly, she wasn't angry at him like Sakura would have been, and instead rushed towards him checking for wounds. "Are you okay? Shouldn't you be resting? Your captain told me you woke up earlier-"

"Sara, it's alright," Naruto said. "I'm okay. I heal pretty quickly."

Trying to assure her of that, Naruto slapped his hand over his biceps and only winced slightly at the soreness in his muscles. She stopped fussing and instead sighed, looking away. The silence was broken by a rather unsophisticated tone.

Naruto grinned at her when she looked away with a red face, the loud growling of her stomach probably a reaction to the delicious smell in the air. "You're not supposed to hear that."

"I heard nothing," Naruto said. "Food's ready, you should eat."

"I'm not that hungry," Sara said, crossing her arms. "Hmph."

"Maybe not, but I know better than to say no to a free meal. They told me to wake you up for dinner."

"Thank you, Naruto," Sara said.

"You're welcome."

"No," Sara began, shaking her head. She was still not looking him in the eye. "I mean… thank you, for all you've done. And I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Because of me, everything went awry," Sara said. "If I wasn't such a weak queen, this wouldn't have happened and you could still be back home with your friends."

"It's not your fault," Naruto said, his voice taking on an edge of seriousness. "I don't want you blaming yourself. Yamato told me, there's too many things that could've gone wrong, but Mukade wasn't your responsibility."

"I still feel responsible. The city is in ruins because of my mistakes."

A wooden spoon hit Sara over the head before it found Naruto's as well. The elderly lady from before was frowning at them. No respect for the royalty of her country, the lady just told them off. "No blame shifting at the dinner table. Queen Sara, eat."

She shoved a bowl into Sara's hands, the steaming soup inside filled with meat and vegetables. Sara didn't dare to talk back, nor did her stomach, as she began eating. Naruto received his bowl next, noticing his hunger just then. Spoon after spoon full of soup were quickly going down his throat, warming him even more than the campfire. A cold wind blew through the desert night, making Sara shiver.

Taking off his jacket, Naruto put it around her, shivering only slightly at the cold. She turned to him, frowning.

"You're still hurt, I don't need it," she said.

Naruto shook his head. "You do, if you're going to sleep outside. Anyway, you shouldn't sleep outside! It's unhealthy!"

"There's not enough tents until Minato-san brings some with him, it's my responsibility that my subjects are warm and comfortable-"

"I'm not your subject, so just take my tent," Naruto said. "Someone needs to keep watch in the night anyway."

"I'm not going to let the person who saved me sleep outside.".

Naruto, just as stubborn, crossed his arms as he stared at her, the almost empty bowl in his hands staining his shirt slightly as drops of soup spilled down. "Good luck forcing me in, then. I guess it'll stay empty for the night."

"I guess it will!" Sara said. Both of them were pouting at each other.

"Why don't you share it!" the child that brought Naruto to Sara earlier said. Naruto scratched his cheek.

"There isn't enough space in there-"

"That's indecent!" Sara said, red in the face. Naruto blinked before realizing his mistake.

"Ah! Yes!" he said, hitting his palm with a fist. "It was in one of Ero-sennin's books, so it can't mean anything good."

The child looked confused, Sara looked embarrassed. Naruto clueless. All is right in the world.

"Captain Yamato might be able to make a house out of wood, hm," Naruto muttered as he closed his eyes, thinking hard. "But there was something about the desert and dry wood he mentioned, there being a reason for buildings to be made out of stone or not-easily burning cloth.

Captain Yamato spoke with wisdom. Naruto accepted it without a second thought. Sighing, he just let himself fall backwards onto the blanket and stared at the star-filled sky. He wasn't tired at all. The time he hadn't spent resting, he spent thinking.

This was… 20 years ago. He hasn't been born yet. The people who would become his parents, the old man, they were all alive. Everyone was still… okay. Yamato said they mustn't change too much, but there was no way in hell that Naruto would allow anyone to touch them. There was no way in hell he would allow anything to happen to his precious people.

"Naruto," Sara said, lying down next to him, her gaze following his upwards to the sky. He turned his head to her. "If we stay in Sunagakure, will… will you visit us?"

Naruto didn't even think about his answer. "Of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you'd be home," Sara said. "And I know ninja have all kinds of missions to take care of…"

"Ah," Naruto said. "Home."

He frowned. Was it really home? The people he called friends weren't born yet. The teachers of their teams all were children, younger than him, yet war was looming.

"I'm not sure if it's the same home I remember," Naruto said. "But I'll try to make the best of it. If possible, I'll write you, though my handwriting isn't really up to standard."

That was an understatement. Naruto did never put much thought into penmanship.

"Then… why don't you stay with us? I mean, if you want to- we might need the protection, we can pay! I mean…"

He put a hand on her arm, stopping her from babbling. Shivering at how cold she felt, Naruto just shook his head.

"I would never make you pay if you need my help," Naruto said. "If it's my mission, I'd protect you and everyone here for as long as necessary, there's nothing else waiting for me."

The crowd around them went mostly unnoticed. The citizens were eating together, both happy and sad, some listening in on the conversation, some holding their own.

"So?"

"I'm not sure I can make that decision right now. I'll ask Captain Yamato."

Straightforward and impulsive, but never outright disobedient. Rather than do it out of respect for authority, however, Naruto did it out of respect for his friends.

"And if he says yes?" Sara asked. She was biting her lower lip hard. He worried she'd draw blood.

"I'll stay for as long as you need me," Naruto promised.

Sara lifted her arm out from his grasp and put her hand on his, squeezing it. Naruto looked lost at what to do, and instead just let her do what she wanted.

"Thank you, Naruto," she muttered. The rest of the night was spent in silence until she finally fell asleep again. Naruto kept watch.

"The Wind Daimyo declared the citizens of Roran a threat to the country," Minato said, standing in a larger commander's tent at the edge of the camp. Sara gasped. "The Kazekage's hands are tied, he cannot offer them refuge."

Naruto grit his teeth. "That's ridiculous! They're his countrymen! His responsibility-"

"He decided that the presence of the Ryumyaku is too dangerous, despite my assurances that it was empty, the Kazekage backed the Daimyo up." Minato nodded, crossing his arms and looking at the map on the table in the middle. "Unfortunately, had I not been there, I'd think the same. The Ryumyaku can't simply be emptied, but explaining the situation about the appearance of the Kyuubi's chakra would certainly make him more suspicious."

"Ah," Naruto said, lost for words. Sara, who had not stopped wearing his jacket the past few days, stepped forward.

"Will we go to Konoha then?" she asked. Minato nodded quickly, and she sighed in relief. "Then perhaps this is for the best. If… if the Land of Wind refuses to help us rebuild our city, there's no place we can go besides Konoha."

She bowed deeply, her hair swinging forward and hanging down. Minato looked a bit embarrassed.

"Thank you, Minato-san," she said, her words thick with emotion. The feeling of betrayal from her own country - it was clear that the Wind Daimyo had more reasons than just the Ryumyaku. The royal family of Roran and the royal family of the country the city-kingdom resided in were never on good terms. Merely the tax income made the relationship work. "I don't know how to repay you."

"You don't have to, as of today, you're under our protection-"

"Ah, Minato-san," Naruto said. "I've spoken with my captain about it. There's… something I want to discuss with you."

Formality didn't fit Naruto. The fact that he finally got confirmation by Yamato that Minato was indeed the man who would become the Yondaime, and the person who would seal the Kyuubi into him made him nervous.

Minato blinked at the interruption before nodding, moving out of the tent with Naruto as Sara began speaking with Yamato, who was checking over the map.

"Is something on your mind?" Minato asked. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat.

"There's… you know what I am, right?" Naruto asked. Minato nodded. The question could've had two meanings, if Naruto was aware of his family, but considering the seal on his stomach, it was likely the fact that he was the host of a Bijuu. "And you didn't wipe any memories, so you know that you…"

"I'd have prefered to be surprised," Minato said. "But yes, I'll one day be the Yondaime."

"And you'll die," Naruto said. "Sealing the fox."

Minato sucked a sharp breath.

"I asked the captain," Naruto answered the unasked question. "He said that if I was okay with it, I could tell you, because eventually I'd be a ninja under your command but… I don't know if I will be."

"What do you mean?"

"I might never be born," Naruto said. "It might make me vanish, is what Captain Yamato told me. I might… just…"

Minato put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Rather than let him speak assurances, Naruto shook his head.

"I want to meet them," Naruto said, sounding worried. "The people that would become my parents, and the old man Hokage, I want to see Jiraiya. Even if it changes so many things, even if I might vanish, even if that might sound selfish-"

The hand squeezed Naruto's shoulder, and the young man turned his head up from the downcast position. "There's nothing selfish in wanting to meet one's parents. I should be able to assure you, though, the effect of the Ryumyaku's chakra is likely to keep you fixed here. As small as the mercy is, you're not going to vanish."

Naruto sighed in relief. In response, Minato patted his shoulder a few times before stepping back a bit.

"And… I think I might know who your parents are," Minato said. Naruto's eyes lit up. "You probably had your suspicions already."

"Yeah," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "I'm not really the smartest guy, but even I could tell something was up with us."

Minato chuckled. "I-I see, of course. I suppose it might come to a shock…"

"I really want to punch you," Naruto said. "But you're not the guy who died sealing a fox into me."

If anything, the revelation was anticlimactic. Naruto, with the observation powers of a two-hundred year old turtle, felt both anger and relief build up. The man, the legend, the Yondaime. His father. He grew up hearing stories, he grew up hearing about the thousands of heroic deeds this man had done. But standing in front of him was a man like him. A shinobi of Konoha. Someone who looked as lost as he did.

Dense, straight-forward and impulsive. But empathetic nonetheless. Naruto took a step forward, raising his hand. When he opened his mouth to ask a question that didn't want to leave his throat, Minato took the step forward too, and wrapped his arms around his son.

"I'm sorry," Minato said. "That I've left you with such a burden. That I left you without your parents."

Naruto's vision grew blurry with tears as he choked out a sob. The emotions and suspicions he was feeling the past few days bubbled up inside him, leaving him shaking nervously. This wasn't how he imagined meeting his parents. In his mind, Naruto always thought about meeting them after living a full life, telling them all about the adventures he had. Even if he didn't know who his parents were, Naruto felt content with the assurances that they loved him, and that he would meet them one day.

That today would be the day was unexpected, yet welcome. And when Naruto finally calmed down, he wiped his tears with his arm.

"I'll stay with them," Naruto said. "I've promised Sara that I'd protect her if we go to Konoha. The captain agreed with me."

"Well, you're technically not a Konoha citizen or shinobi," Minato said. "So I suppose that's alright. Roran is not going to be rebuilt, so they might stay in Konoha indefinitely."

Naruto didn't know why exactly, but his heart was jumping in joy at that declaration. Right now, besides Yamato, Sara was the only thing that kept him going.

"Ah, Minato-san," Naruto said. Minato shook his head.

"Just Minato is alright, I might not really be the man who became your father, but I think we should be a bit closer than that, eh, Naruto?"

"Yes!" Naruto nodded. "Minato, what's my mother like?"

Minato began coughing as he choked on the air. He had forgotten to mention Naruto when he paid a quick visit to her before briefing the Hokage on the situation. She'd kill him. She'd kill him and bring him back, just to stab his balls. Kushina didn't do well with surprises.

"She's… a fun person," Minato said. "If anything, you're closer to her in personality than me."

"Very loud and aggressive?" Naruto tried.

Minato laughed, nodding at the apt summary. "Also very kind, someone who could become everyone's friend," Minato said.

Naruto smiled. Yes, of course, the great friendly ninja Naruto, that was him. "I shouldn't be this nervous," Naruto said, his shaking hands hiding behind his hands. "But… what if she doesn't like me?"

"I don't think I've ever met a person that could make Kushina dislike them the first time they met," Minato said.

Naruto smiled. Kushina. He had a name for her now.

"Don't worry too much, if anything, she'll probably hate me for not telling her about you sooner."

"Good luck?"

"Thank you," Minato said seriously. "I'll need it."

Naruto was feeling overwhelmed. At first he thought the reason of Sara's constant presence around him was because she wasn't feeling safe, but instead she seemed to treat him like he used to treat Sakura.

When he talked with Yamato about these concerns, the man simply waved him off with a smile and told him to let her be. Naruto didn't mind letting her be, but he was still not feeling entirely comfortable with the attention.

The journey through the desert was hard with the speed of civilians. Rather than rush through, they had to keep walking for days just to reach the sight of Sunagakure, and then walk some more to reach the border of the Land of Wind.

Every night, they made a camp and prepared food. While the city crumbled to dust, people were able to save most of their things, and with the seals supplied by Minato and used by Yamato, they could store a lot of food in them.

Sara decided to spend every meal with Naruto. Minato found it funny for some reason. When she began trying to feed him, Naruto didn't mind, though he still found it weird. This was like one of Jiraiya's novels, only without the dirty stuff.

"Even if it's the past," Sara said. "You know Konoha, right?"

"Yes," Naruto said. "Do you want me to show you around?"

"Please," Sara said, smiling. "I want to see the places you like."

"Maybe not high places, so you don't fall again," Naruto teased. She stuck her tongue. "How do you feel?"

"Hm?"

"About leaving Roran behind, not getting it rebuilt," Naruto said. She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry if I sound insensitive-"

"No, it's alright, I guess we just," Sara began, shaking her head. "We both lost something, didn't we? You lost your home, and I lost mine. But… my home isn't simply my city, it's my people, I still have them here. And you will still have yours, right?"

"Right." Naruto nodded, his eyes itching. "I… I learned about my parents from this time. I finally get to meet them and all the other people that died. So… even though I lost everything, I gained some back."

"Naruto?" Sara saw him wipe at his eyes. Wrapping an arm around him, she put her head on his shoulder. "It's alright."

"Maybe it is," Naruto said, his eyes red. "But I don't want to forget them. The people that taught me, my friends."

"You won't," Sara said. "You'll meet them again one day. I'm sure of it."