Sharing the Sky

Chapter 2. Keep your face to the sunshine

The girl's legs gave out and she plopped on her butt, the adrenaline zapped from her system as the exhaustion re-entered her body.

Safe. She was finally safe.

The tension that had kept Naruto hyper-alert and battle-ready started to seep out. Her body was unwinding now and her thoughts started to slow down.

The emergency had passed. She was safe.

Naruto rubbed her face, vainly trying to scrub the dizziness away and lessen the headache that was building as an uncomfortable pressure behind her eyeballs. After a moment, she decided that it wouldn't go away and wasn't worth using so much energy on it.

Minato was now in a crouched position, his hands hanging awkwardly half-way towards the girl. Wanting to reach, but not taking a chance at spooking her again. Noticing her looking at him, he motioned at her leg and asked, "May I?"

Naruto blinked. For a second, she couldn't quite comprehend the question. May he what? She looked down at her leg.

Oh. So that was where the pain came from. A kunai sticking out of her thigh. Buried so deep in her flesh, it might have grazed an artery or something, because the blood continued to ooze out freely, pooling on the ground below.

Naruto grabbed the handle and was about to simply yank the kunai out—

"No!"

In an instant, her head whipped up to look at her father, eyes wide.

"No, you can't… You can't pull it out like that. Such force might make it worse," the blond said, hands hovering just shy of touching.

Naruto stared. It sounded like a reprimand. As if she had done something stupid.

Ah. Maybe she did. No, not maybe. She did something stupid. Normal people shouldn't be pulling weapons out of their bodies like they were mere splinters stuck in their skin. Not everyone was an Uzumaki powered by the Kyuubi's chakra. This Minato didn't know that wound like this for her was equivalent to a light bruise.

"May I?" the blond asked again.

Naruto withdrew her arm, giving the man access to the injury.

Having her consent, Minato immediately leaned closer to examine the wound. He turned towards the Uchiha when the latter let out a short, sharp whistle, and caught a med-kit thrown to him. "It'll hurt," he warned, as he carefully curled his fingers around the handle of the kunai. "Bear with it, please."

Naruto almost laughed hearing her dad say the same thing here in the past as he did in the future. She didn't, of course, because that would be weird.

Minato pulled the blade with practiced ease and pressed on the wound to staunch the flow of blood.

Warm. His hands were warm.

Edo Tensei reincarnations felt no hunger and no thirst. They couldn't get cold or hot. They required no sleep. And their bodies always were unnaturally icy. Like machines. Or walking corpses.

As the war continued, Naruto came to hate it. Detested it to the point where she began avoiding her own father's touches. And no matter how much guilt coiled inside her chest, no matter how much it pained her to see the hurt mixed with understanding in Minato's eyes, she just… couldn't.

But this Minato was warm and breathing and alive. He smelled like earth, like freshly cut grass, like sunshine. Even if Naruto couldn't imagine how sunshine would smell, her father definitely smelled like one.

Naruto's throat closed around the giant lump of Dad is alive. His tender touch was pushing the line too far, her eyes burned.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Minato?" the Uchiha's skeptical voice broke the silence. "You made her cry."

The blond glanced up, blue eyes widening a little at the sight of the girl's tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you more pain," he apologized, suddenly flustered. Lines in his brow deepened as he concentrated on wrapping the girl's leg with bandages. "Please, bear with me for a bit longer."

Perhaps due to fatigue and chakra exhaustion wearing on her emotions, perhaps due to her close escape from the end of the world, perhaps due to millions of other potential reasons, words meant to be reassuring only constricted Naruto's chest more.

Minato winced at the raw, broken sound that clawed its way through the girl's pressed lips. "I, uh…" he stumbled over words, not knowing if he should drop the bandages and give her some space or continue dressing the wound. His chakra simmered with obvious frustration at his own incompetence.

"Tighten up the bandages," Shikaku advised from the sidelines. He finally stood back on his feet, though he had to grip the Hyuuga's shoulder for balance. "It'll hurt her less."

"Oh, come on! You're just hurting her," the Uchiha grumbled, tucking the scrolls into his clothes. The corpses of Kumo ninjas were gone. "Let me—"

The redhead all but snarled at him the moment he took the first step. A sharp, vicious noise that shocked all four of them. The man stopped, his arms instinctively going up to show that he wasn't a threat.

Naruto felt absolutely livid. The nerve of this accursed Uchiha to assume that her father would hurt her! Her amazing father who could be too genuine, too kind in situations like this. "He's not hurting me!" she growled out, her voice ferocious and glare unsettlingly predatory, carrying more force and power than it had any right to carry. The girl faced visibly surprised Minato and enunciated, "You are not hurting me," deliberately slow, so no one would misinterpret what she had said. Then, she swept over all three Konoha ninjas, gaze lingering on each of them for a few seconds, challenging them to say otherwise.

At the corner of her eye, Naruto noticed Shikaku's lips tipping up on one side into an amused smirk, but she was too busy staring daggers at the Uchiha to ponder on that.

"I got it, I got it," the latter hurried to tell her. He shifted awkwardly when the redhead's intense glower didn't decrease in the slightest.

Minato's chuckle broke Naruto out of her one-sided staredown. "I'm glad," he said, finishing the bandaging of the girl's leg. Bright blue eyes focused on her whiskered face, his expression soft and open. "My name is Minato Namikaze, what's yours?"

"Naruto Uzum—" Naruto's mouth went dry, eyes filled with horror. She wasn't supposed to tell her real name! Right? Naruto was the name her parents chose for their child, she didn't mean to steal it!

"Naruto," Minato echoed, trying the name on his tongue. He gave no outward reaction at the girl's abrupt spike in fear, but his chakra wavered with concern and sadness overlapping with pulses of excitement and sparks of curiosity.

The concern seemed to be constant and she could understand the curiosity, but excitement? Sadness? Feelings so prominent that she could actually pick on them. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of it. Possessing Kurama's ability to sense emotions was too taxing on her psyche thus usually she tried to block most of it out. Strong ones still slipped through however.

"What a beautiful name," the blond uttered with a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Naruto. That's Shikaku Nara," he motioned at the scarred ninja who offered a sluggish wave, "and Hizashi Hyuuga next to him."

Naruto watched the Hyuuga dip his head slightly in a typical stoic greeting. Hizashi? Hizashi… Sounded familiar. Where did she hear that name? An image of Neji popped in her mind and she suppressed a shocked shriek. Neji's dad?!

"And that guy," Minato jabbed his thumb over the shoulder at the Uchiha standing behind him, "who's just begging for a punch, is Kenta Uchiha."

The man was about to give a cool salute on his introductions, yet ended up with an indignant, "Hey!"

A giggle escaped Naruto. That only earned her a pleased grin from Kenta. With Sharingan off, the novelty of meeting such an easy-going Uchiha intrigued her.

While the redhead blatantly sized their fourth member up, Minato, Shikaku, and Hizashi exchanged a whole conversation using only signs and body language. They seemed to reach some sort of agreement before Hizashi pointed at the three-pronged kunai in the little redhead's grasp. Minato shook his head, eliciting a disapproving scowl from the Hyuuga and an exasperated eye-roll from the Nara.

"Naruto," the blond called, keeping his voice low to not scare her again. The girl blinked owlishly at him. "Are you traveling with anyone?"

A piercing cut of grief and remorse struck Naruto and her heart hollowed out at the thought that she would never see them again. Naruto tried to force words out but they caught like hooks. She could taste her own sorrow on her lips when a whispered, "Not anymore," managed to slip through.

"Sensei went first. Stayed behind to keep him busy." The fading smell of blood in her hair was the only thing Naruto had left of Kakashi. "My… best friend bought us time in a losing battle." If she concentrated enough, she could feel the phantom feeling of Sasuke's finger on her forehead. "Dad brought me to safety, but he—he didn't come with me. Couldn't."

Naruto looked at Minato, straight into his eyes, and the blond stiffened. Those haunted pools of blue spoke about pain and loss so profound and so raw that no one would ever be able to articulate it with just words. An entire lifetime lost and far out of reach.

Hesitantly, Minato lowered his hand on the girl's shoulder. When she didn't jerk away from the contact, he squeezed it gently, offering his heartfelt comfort. The redhead seemed to lean into his touch. "You said 'he'," he noted carefully. "'Keep him busy.' Who's he? Who's your enemy, Naruto?"

Who was her enemy? Zetsu? Definitely. Madara? No doubt. Orochimaru? Yes. Kabuto? Perhaps. Obito? If it was before that mission—

Eyes full of cruel, cold rage, chakra dark and twisted, soul burning with passion for destruction, the world bleeding all around him.

—No.

Even if this was before that mission, Naruto couldn't risk it. Obito Uchiha's life had to end as soon as possible. Minato didn't need to know. He would never understand. He might be her father, but she wasn't his daughter.

Nevertheless, her truth was the best lie.

"The man with one red and one purple eye."

She would make sure this lie would never become true. Make sure that the monsters from her past would never come to haunt the future of these people; that her nightmares would stay where they belong – behind her closed eyelids and not walking her new reality.

"And where is that man now?"

"Not here."

If they ever wished to chase after the ghost of the future that would never be allowed to exist, Naruto was fine with that.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Naruto," Minato spoke with solemn sincerity. "We'd like to bring you with us to Konoha. You'll be safe there, I promise."

"Okay."

At her immediate compliance, Minato searched Naruto's face. Not finding anything amiss, he smiled at her again, kind and relieved, before his gaze slid to his teammates. "Are you well enough to travel, Shikaku?"

The Nara massaged the spot behind his ear with a slight grimace. "Seems so," he drawled back.

"I'm sorry."

Shikaku gave the little redhead a lop-sided grin. "It was a good hit," he commented. "And entirely our fault that we scared you into defense."

True, Naruto thought, but the guilt continued to sit in her gut like a chunk of ice. She almost killed Shikamaru's dad because she freaked out. That was not okay. Galaxies away from being even remotely okay.

"Speaking of that," Kenta chimed in. "I'd like to express my gratitude, Naruto."

Everyone looked at him with various degrees of confusion.

"Your attack destroyed the stray explosive tags left in this area," the Uchiha explained. Minato and Shikaku's expressions changed into an alarmed realization. "Just before that, I stepped on one. It could have cost me my life. Or worse – my leg…" He bowed, chakra radiating earnestness. "Thank you."

Naruto couldn't believe what she was seeing. An Uchiha bowing in gratitude? The sight almost tempted her to try a genjutsu release. It felt so surreal that her reply, "It was... an accident?" ended being more like a question.

"Doesn't matter. I'm still in your debt," Kenta declared as he straightened up. "Now," he clapped his hands, "we should hurry back to Konoha. Naruto-chan needs to be checked by a medic."

Naruto grimaced. No way she would allow a medic-nin anywhere near her. Her body housed too many secrets. No matter how funny it would be to see their reactions to a wide-open seal with the Kyuubi inside it or a Hiraishin core array inscribed onto her skin and entwined with her chakra network.

"Before that," Hizashi said. "Where did you get that kunai, Naruto-san?"

Kunai? Naruto just stared blankly. Oh. Right. She glanced down at her hand, fingers wrapped so rigidly around the handle of the kunai that she couldn't even feel them anymore. She made a conscious effort to ease her grip. "I found it in the forest," she answered and then realized that they would want to take it from her. Despite how well they were treating her, she was an unknown. It was logical to not let her keep it.

But it also was the only weapon she had on her.

Naruto hid the kunai behind her back, a clear sign of possessive 'none of you can have it!'

Hizashi clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing, and the girl didn't have to sense his chakra to know that he was not amused. The mannerism reminded so much of Neji in those moments when Naruto had been a special kind of immature, that she almost stuck her tongue at the man.

"It's fine," Minato stated, shooting a stern look at the Hyuuga. "If Naruto wants to keep it, let her keep it." Hard lines of his features relaxed once his gaze returned to the girl. "Come, I'll carry you." And then he processed to turn his back to her.

Naruto's brain short-circulated. "You're an idiot," she blurted out in such a final, deadpan tone as if that fact became an irrefutable law of the universe. "You don't turn your back to someone you don't know and who has a kunai!"

"Well, erm…" The blond rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Are you planning to use it?"

"Of course, not!" Naruto exploded. "That's not the point! What are you, a genin?!"

Shikaku barked out a laugh. Kenta followed with a more subdued chuckle. Even Hizashi's mouth twitched, fighting a smile at the ridiculous scene unfolding in front of them.

One really had to have guts of steel to scold Konoha's famous jounin like that.

"It's not a problem then..?" Minato trailed off, sounding hopeful.

The redhead just threw her arms up. Unbelievable! It was official. Her father was a moron. Yes, he was most likely humoring her at this point, yet it pissed her off nonetheless.

After a brief hesitation, albeit reluctant, she muttered, "You're too trusting for your own good," as she extended the kunai, glaring at her father and daring him not to take it.

In the next moment, her face warmed at how childish she had been acting. Good thing that these guys held no hostility towards her. She should have just given away the weapon sooner, regardless of how vulnerable it made her feel.

Minato accepted the kunai, an easy smile barely touching the corners of his mouth, and tucked it into his weapon pouch. He turned around again. "Now, come. Climb on."

Naruto pushed off the ground, wrapped her arms around her father's neck, and let herself lean on him with a content sigh, eyes closing. His smell of sunshine and fresh grass together with the breeze-like chakra created a feeling of lying in a sunny meadow with the wind rustling through the blooming flowers.

A lazy smile curled on Naruto's lips at the faint whiff of ramen.

She basked in her father's presence for a bit longer, then let her senses spread around again. They were traveling already, trees whizzed past them at a high yet steady speed. Kenta on the left, Shikaku on the right, and Hizashi brought up the rear.

Naruto opened her eyes and just stared at Minato's profile.

It seemed to make the blond uncomfortable. He shot her a glance before focusing on landing as smooth as possible as to not jostle his charge. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mischief touched the blues of her irises. "You're very pretty."

Choking on his own laugh, Kenta almost missed a step as he landed on a branch. He quickly recovered from his bout of unexpected clumsiness.

"P-Pretty?" Minato stammered out.

"Like a sunflower."

"Ah, Konoha's resident pretty boy strikes again!" Kenta lamented dramatically. "And yet another redhead falls victim to his charms!"

Naruto grinned. That sort of cheerful Uchiha kinda started to grow on her.

Minato sighed, full of fond helplessness, and clarified, "It just so happens that my girlfriend has red hair."

Mom.

Naruto's previous sunny grin softened into a wistful curve. "Does she like sunflowers?" She knew Kushina did. The latter told her that when her chakra imprint awoke inside the seal and they shared a moment between them.

Minato, however, frowned in thought. "I'm not sure," he confessed.

"I bet she does," the girl said, full of plain certainty. "She likes you, after all."

Naruto marveled at the sight of pink suddenly dusting her father's cheeks. Oh my. He was a goner, wasn't he? So smitten with his girlfriend that even a thought of her liking him back caused his chakra blossom brightly with affection. Too cute!

A thought struck her, knocking everything else aside. Her mother was alive and still kept a Jinchuuriki status. At least, she should. What about the Kyuubi then? Naruto brought Kurama with her from the future, but he had already existed at this time. Did that mean two of them were running around?

That made no sense.

Her stomach twisted itself into tiny knots. Naruto hoped nothing bad happened to her mom.

Minato noticed the girl's abrupt shift in the mood even before her unintentional tightening of her hold on him. He tried to cheer her up, "I'm sure she'll be delighted to meet you."

Kurama didn't say anything. Her father wouldn't have sent her here without taking all possible consequences into the equation either. Seeing how much Minato loved Kushina, he would have never done something to harm her.

"Kurama?"

Silence. Not even a stir. Or a grumble.

Tentatively, Naruto reached out for her inner partner with her senses. Still there, still sleeping. Deeper than before. The most recent sharing of chakra at his current state definitely cost him.

Naruto retreated, letting her friend slumber in peace, and silently promised to find solutions to her problems without disturbing him. She had to examine the modifications her father had done to her Hiraishin seal too. Later.

The girl buried her face into the crook of her father's neck. Sleep sounded fantastic right about now. Safe to do while they traveled. And if not, she was a light sleeper anyway.

"I'd like to meet her too," Naruto murmured before allowing the exhaustion to pull her under.

Naruto's eyes cracked open a tiny bit. "Two o'clock. Four men. Ninjas," she droned, voice quiet, heavy with sleep and persisting exhaustion, but words clear and coherent. "Approx six minutes till contact."

Minato startled as the girl spoke all of a sudden and craned his head to take a peek at her. His brow furrowed. "Friendlies, Naruto," he stated. His expression grew more somber when the little redhead visibly relaxed after hearing it. "Must be Konoha's patrol to make sure we're not enemies."

Satisfied, Naruto snuggled back, immersing herself into her father's gentle chakra, eyes sliding shut again.

A minute passed.

"Konoha?!" she yelled, shooting up, wide awake.

"You'll be safe, I promise," Minato soothed instantly. "No one's going to hurt you in Konoha."

Naruto blinked. "No, that's not it," she shook her head. "I'm just surprised we're already here."

The blond only smiled at her.

Either they were much closer when Naruto assumed or the team rushed back without rest. Naruto looked at each of the adults. Undeniably fatigued. Judging by their chakra reserve levels, the second option seemed more and more credible.

Maybe Kumo ninjas carried some vital information that they had to deliver to the Hokage as quickly as possible. Or maybe these guys raced back for her sake. She did just basically go out like a light. For quite some time too. They might have suspected something wrong with her, a hidden injury or something.

Naruto's heart swelled with fondness at the thought. An annoyance followed soon after. A foolish thing to do, push themselves like that for a stranger they had just met. Even if they viewed her as a traumatized little girl with no one left in the world—a disguise that Naruto intended to maintain—it still was foolish.

Especially… The redhead eyed Shikaku warily, worry sprouting in her. His chakra fluctuated in obvious signs of mild pain. Aftereffect of her attack, no doubt. Unbidden, all good feelings flitted away and guilt made a comeback with double the force. "You should go for a medical check-up once you return, Shikaku-san," she said, unable to stop the regret from filtering into her tone.

The Nara dropped his hand from where he massaged behind his ear and gave her a reassuring, if a bit tired around the edges, smile. "I will," he replied, lazy and untroubled. "Don't worry about it."

Silence settled upon the group once again. The only sounds were feet thumping against the wood and the chorus of birds drifting from the treetops, each of their songs coming together to create a constant ambiance.

A series of trills, sweetly high, blended perfectly with it.

Minato whistled back in bursts, exact in his pattern, the sound mimicking the bird without flaw.

Naruto sensed the patrolling Anbu team depart, allowing them free passage to the village.

"Not that far now," the blond informed.

It really wasn't far. About fifteen minutes later, the group reached the end of trees and jumped down onto a dusty, well-traveled road, right in front of the main gates of Konoha.

Minato glanced at Kenta and Hizashi and both men nodded. The Hyuuga immediately glided towards the village at full speed.

"See you around, Naruto-chan!" the Uchiha bid his goodbye with a grin before speeding up to catch up with his companion.

Minato and Shikaku simply walked in, stopped briefly to exchange a few words with gate guards, and then took to the roofs to continue at a pretty leisurely pace.

Meanwhile, Naruto drank the sight of her village.

Konoha of old. Unruined by the wrath of the Kyuubi. Untouched by the true horrors of bloodshed. Undamaged by the madness of humanity. A sight to behold.

The redhead took a deep breath and got hold of her feelings that threatened to go haywire. She had to stay focused. Once the slew of emotions simmered down, she scanned the entirety of Konoha and pinged every Hiraishin marker her father had in the village. Too few for her taste, but enough to escape, even in her current state. And she would have to flee if they forced a medical examination on her, or decided to browse her mind, or because of hundreds of other things Naruto couldn't and wouldn't allow them to do.

The moment Naruto finished routing the best escape path, they arrived at the hospital, landing on its roof. There were people already waiting for them. Medics. A team of Anbu hidden nearby.

She didn't like it despite already expecting something like this.

Unsurprisingly, Minato picked on her sudden tension. "You're safe," he told her again.

Naruto didn't quite believe him this time.

One of the medic-nins motioned towards the door and said politely, "Please, follow me, Namikaze-san."

They entered the building, descended the stairs, silently passed several corridors, until they stopped in front of the unremarkable door. The leading medic opened it and stood aside, waiting for Minato to carry the girl inside.

The room was nice as far as hospital rooms could be. A single bed with white sheets, a small table with two chairs at each side, and a bouquet of fresh flowers in a vase on it, doors to the bathroom behind it, and everything showered in the sunlight streaming through a window. Clean and bright, and yet Naruto felt like the colors were sucked from the world upon seeing it.

This was a cell and she was a prisoner.

A/N

Seems that Naruto is turning out to be a daddy's girl, ahaha. And Minato has an extremely soft spot for redheads in distress.

Also, yes, Kurama can sense ALL emotions, not just negative ones, thus making Naruto an empath of sorts. It fits, really.

Please, review! Comments are food for my soul!