Disclaimer: I do not nor have I ever owned Naruto.

This story will eventually be a SasuNaru story. If that's not your cup of tea then I bid you goodbye ... there is a back button so feel free to use it. Please don't flame me for your own inability to read the SasuNaru warning.

I'm still fairly new to writing, and as I don't have a beta feel free to tell me if you spy any grammatical errors.

~Thanks, Liz

Pain. Naruto gave a low moan of misery as his body throbbed with it, bringing him slowly back to consciousness. The last thing he remembered was his fight with Sasuke at the end of the war, and then waking up briefly as they talked while too drained to move. He'd nodded off again and must have been asleep for a while since he was on something soft. A bed. He must have been taken to the hospital then. Or he was dead. But he doubted they had beds on the other side. 'Cause if you're dead ... you don't sleep. At least, he didn't think you did. It'd be weird if the dead slept.

He tried to open his eyes, but they felt unimaginably heavy. He let out a low groan of exhausted frustration.

"Don't force yourself young man," a familiar voice ordered.

Naruto was finally able to force his eyes open, and with effort was able to turn his head in the direction of the voice.

"So I'm dead then after all Jiji," Naruto whispered as he gave the Sandaime a sad smile.

The Sandaime stared at the teen in surprise. "And what makes you think that you're dead?"

The blond sighed. "You, Tou-san, the Nidaime, and the Shodaime all disappeared after we defeated Kaguya. The Edo Tensei came to an end. You went back to the other side. Looking at you now ... you don't have the look of an Edo Tensei. So that means this is the other side. I'm dead. At least the war ended. Everyone should be freed of the Tsukuyomi now. My only question is ... did Sasuke die too?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the young man in shock. Edo Tensei. The Shodaime and the Nidaime. And who was Kaguya? The war? It had to have been a different war because the Third was still going strong. Tsukuyomi? He hadn't a clue what that was. Maybe some forbidden genjutsu. And, Sasuke must be the young Uchiha they found collapsed beside the blond. The two had been found unconscious, suffering from such extreme chakra exhaustion that should have killed them. The boys must be close, they'd been found holding hands, after all.

"Young man, what is your name?"

Naruto blinked at the question, before letting out a short laugh. "I didn't realize you could go senile in death Jiji! It's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Remember now?"

The Sandaime shook his head as he shared his, rather absurd, deduction. "Naruto. You're not dead. If my guess is correct, you somehow landed yourself back in time. You and that Uchiha of yours. I've heard whispers of the possibility of time travel, but never put much truth to the rumors ... until now."

Naruto gaped at the old man. He felt a brief tingling where his seal was and knew that, as exhausted as he was, Kurama was still trying to let Naruto know that he was with him as well. Naruto slowly brought his hand to his abdomen and rubbed where he knew the seal was in thanks.

"Not just me and Sasuke. Kurama came back with us as well," Naruto informed the Hokage, a small smile of gratitude still on his lips as he thought of the fox.

The Sandaime frowned. "Kurama?"

Naruto sighed. "I'm the jinchuuriki of Kurama in the future. The Kyuubi no Youko," he clarified.

The old man's eyes widened again.

Naruto frowned. "My Kaa-chan was his jinchuuriki in this timeline. I think, anyway. She told me Uzumaki Mito was the jinchuuriki before her but that she came from Uzushiogakure to be the next jinchuuriki because she had special chakra and Mito was dying. But I'm not entirely sure how far back we are. If my Kaa-chan already has Kurama sealed in her or not..."

Hiruzen fumbled around for a chair and sat down ... hard. This boy was Uzumaki Kushina's future son. He studied the boy intently and nodded. Naruto had her face. But he had his father's eyes and hair color. Kushina had been dating Namikaze Minato since they were fourteen. He hadn't a doubt in his mind that the teen before him was also Minato's. The tough part would be in trying to decide just how to tell the couple that their future son had landed himself in the past ... and was currently only four years or so younger than themselves. That would go over well. But Minato and Kushina were trustworthy. And they deserved to know about this. He wouldn't keep this from them. The council, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. And Danzo. His old friend had been headed down a dark path for a long time now and he simply couldn't let information like two time-traveling teens (one an Uchiha and the other a jinchuuriki) reach the old warhawk's ears. That would just spell disaster. For everyone.

Hiruzen closed his eyes. "Uchiha Sasuke. Who are his parents? Do you know?"

Naruto went silent. The Hokage opened his eyes to see Naruto staring at the ceiling with a sad look on his face. "Their names were Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. Sasuke also had an older brother named Itachi."

Were. Had. Sasuke's family had been dead in their future then. Poor boy. And his parents were the Clan Head and his wife who did indeed have a two year old son named Itachi.

"And your parents are Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, correct?"

The blond turned his head to look at the old man, his eyes incredibly sad, and looking far older than they should have. "Yes. They both died the day I was born though. A certain person attacked and released Kurama. My Tou-san sealed him in me at the cost of his life and ... my Kaa-chan died too. My Tou-san was great at seals though and, he made it so I got to see them one more time. When I needed them most," he stated the last with a small smile on his face with just the slightest touch of pride and awe in his voice.

The Sandaime looked at the boy sadly. He'd obviously had a very tough time growing up. He must have been especially lonely as most jinchuuriki were outcasts. Especially if the bijuu sealed inside them had recently attacked the village. He was certain the villagers had made this boy absolutely miserable in his childhood. But he hadn't let it get him down. It was admirable.

"The 'certain person' responsible?"

"Can be saved from that path," Naruto stated confidently.

"So you won't tell me who it was?"

The blond shook his head. "His identity led to a great many tragedies. The Uchiha massacre being one of them. I don't want a repeat of that. Sasuke barely survived it the first time. I don't think he'd be able to mentally survive it again. It would break him."

"Uchiha Massacre?" the Hokage choked out, shocked.

"Like I said, better left unsaid."

The Hokage nodded his agreement. He wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to know how something like that could happen. Frankly, he didn't want that kind of burden on his mind.

"I would like to talk with young Sasuke when he wakes up. I'll have them bring his bed in here so that he could at least awaken next to someone familiar since ... apparently I'm dead in the future."

Naruto gave him a sad smile.

Hiruzen nodded at him. "I'll summon Minato, Kushina, Fugaku, and Mikoto to my office and confide the truth of your ... adventure to the past. I want to keep this between as few people as possible, but I'll ask you now; is there anyone else you would like for me to tell?"

Naruto nodded. "Ero-Sennin. Jiraiya. He was my shisho. He was like a father to me. Also, baa-chan. Tsunade. She was Godaime Hokage, and like a mother to me. Sasuke may want to tell snake face as he was his teacher. Orochimaru, that is," The blond grimaced in distaste at the last. He was grateful that Orochimaru had shown up and helped them during the war. But he'd always hold a grudge against the man for stealing Sasuke away in the first place. And for killing the Sandaime.

Hiruzen raised a brow in surprise."You were each taught by one of my students then? Though, you don't seem particularly fond of Orochimaru."

Naruto sighed. "Like I said, Jiraiya was my shisho. My godfather. And I loved him like a father. Baa-chan was the Godaime. And she was like a mother to me. But, I don't like snake face. I have my own reasons for that though. I'd rather not get into it."

The Hokage nodded. "Alright, then."

They fell into a comfortable silence.

It was getting harder and harder for Naruto to keep his eyes open and the Sandaime began to take notice of it and had to bite back a smile. The boy was so stubborn. He was just like his mother. He was trying to fight off the sleep that was trying to drag him under by sheer force of will. He gave the blond a fond smile and rose from his chair to reach out and give the teen an affectionate pat on the head.

"Get some sleep Naruto. We'll talk after you've gained back some strength. You and Sasuke are both suffering from extreme chakra exhaustion. Right now the best thing you can do is rest. I'll talk to you in a day or two. Just close your eyes and the next time you wake up, Sasuke will be in a bed next to your own, alright?"

Naruto let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes. Before he let sleep pull him away from the land of the conscious he murmured his gratitude. "Thanks, Jiji."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at his gawking audience with growing amusement.

"C-c-can you run that by us again, sensei?" Jiraiya stuttered out.

Hiruzen grinned at his most perverted student. "I said, that the two unidentified shinobi found unconscious at the Valley of the End were time travelers from around twenty years in the future. The two had just finished fighting a war and somehow, I'm not entirely sure how, they ended up back here. In the past."

"Sandaime-sama, this is not a time for jokes! We are in the midst of war and-"

"I do not jest Mikoto-san! Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are time travelers. I had a person I trust run blood tests just to double check that Naruto-kun told me the truth. Naruto is the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato-" Kushina let out a gasp, while Minato stared at him wide-eyed as Hiruzen gestured toward them before continuing with,"and Sasuke is the son of yourself and Fugaku-san." He then proceeded to pull out copies of said reports and presented a copy to the stunned Uchiha's and to the still shocked Kushina and Minato. He then proceeded to sit back and puff on his pipe as he allowed the information to sink in.

"Sensei, if what you're saying is true then I understand why you called the four of them here. But, why were we called here as well?" Tsunade inquired, looking slightly put out. They were at war after all.

"Jiraiya was Naruto's teacher and godfather. Orochimaru was Sasuke's teacher. You, Tsunade, were the Godaime, and the closest thing Naruto had to a mother, as Kushina and Minato died the day he was born."

Kushina sucked in a breath of shock as she stared in horror at the Sandaime. Minato's hands clenched, upset that their son had grown up without them. He'd studied that paper and the boy in the hospital was without a doubt his child and the very thought that they hadn't been there to raise him ... to give him the family that every child needed, the love and attention they needed ... he felt like he'd failed him, his son, his child, his own flesh and blood.

"Naruto is also the jinchuuriki from his timeline," Hiruzen added, which made Kushina fall to her knees as she clutched at her stomach in horror before burying her face in her hands as she cried her eyes out.

Minato, himself, had gone pale. Not only had their son grown up alone, but he'd been a jinchuurki. His hands started to shake and he felt his mask start to crack as one by one tears started to stream from his eyes. He tried to swallow his tears and went to try to comfort Kushina, but he was still very shaken, and try as he might, the tears wouldn't stop.

"He's a remarkable young man," the Sandaime stated, trying to reassure the young couple that had begun to fall apart before him. Kushina and Minato turned their tear stained faces up to hear what he had to say. "He and Sasuke are suffering from such extreme chakra exhaustion that it's nothing short of a miracle that they're even alive. According to the hospital staff that are attending to them, they both barely had even a flicker of chakra when they were brought in. Anybody else would have died, but those two have such a fierce spirit that they fought the odds to survive. It's a miracle in itself that Naruto was even able to wake up and speak to me." Hiruzen laughed a bit as he recalled the med-nin's disbelief when he'd told them Naruto had woken up for a bit before falling back unconscious. "The med-nin's didn't even believe me when I told them Naruto had woken up for a few minutes before he'd fallen unconscious again! I barely know the boy but, from what I saw, he's every bit your son Kushina. He was trying to fight sleep through sheer will power alone. He's stubborn that one!"

She gave him a shaky smile as she wiped up her tears, listening attentively.

"When he saw me, he thought he was dead. Apparently I died in their timeline," Hiruzen stated nonchalantly, giving the worried looking Tsunade and Jiraiya a reassuring smile. "I asked him why he thought he was dead and he said, and I quote, 'You, Tou-san, the Nidaime, and the Shodaime all disappeared after we defeated Kaguya. The Edo Tensei came to an end. You went back to the other side. Looking at you now ... you don't have the look of an Edo Tensei. So that means this is the other side. I'm dead. At least the war ended. Everyone should be freed of the Tsukuyomi now. My only question is ... did Sasuke die too?'"

The Hokage looked at Minato sadly. "You are my chosen successor. I was planning on making the announcement in another year or so, hopefully the war would have ended by then but, if not, I was going to let you get used to the position slowly when you weren't needed on the battlefield. Obviously from that statement he gave me, you did succeed me. More than likely after you died I took up the position again and upon my death, Tsunade obviously took the role of Godaime. The four of us were, apparently, raised during the war via Edo Tensei to assist on the battlefield, on what side, I'm unsure as I wasn't able to question him on that. But he and Sasuke can't be more that 16 or 17 years old. Yet ... I have a very strong feeling that the two of them were instrumental on the battlefield. From what Naruto said, 'after we defeated Kaguya', who I'm assuming was their main enemy, I feel the two of them were the ones who decided the end of the battle. And it drained them down to dangerous life-threatening levels."

The Sandaime looked around the room and saw that he had all of their attention firmly fixed on his every word. "Despite his lonely upbringing Naruto is a surprisingly upbeat person. When I asked his name he laughed and said, 'I didn't realize you could go senile in death Jiji! It's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. Remember now?'" Hiruzen laughed, at the amused look on Kushina, Jiraiya, and Tsunade's faces as well as the appalled ones of Mikoto, Fugaku, and Minato. Orochimaru just raised a brow at him.

"He has a friendly relationship with the fox as well," he stated, shocking everyone, most especially Kushina. "He smiled when he told me he was the jinchuuriki of Kurama, the Kyuubi no Youko."

Kushina let out a gasp as she clutched at her head. She stared down at her stomach in shock. "I don't think he likes having his name used! I didn't even know he had a name, 'ttebane!"

The Hokage smiled at her. "Like I said, a truly remarkable young man."

"W-what about Sasuke?" Mikoto asked, hesitantly.

The Sandaime closed his eyes as he thought over what Naruto had told him. "Sasuke lost his entire family. Apparently, in the future, a massacre happens within your clan and Sasuke was a survivor of it."

Everyone was stunned. The Uchiha clan was one of the largest clans in Konoha ... for them to be massacred ... was a huge blow for all of them, most especially Mikoto and Fugaku, the two were horrified.

"Naruto said that they would prevent it from happening again because Sasuke barely survived it the first time and wouldn't be able to survive it mentally if he had to go through it again. He warned me that it would break him."

Mikoto began to cry at that. She didn't even know the boy but knew that he was her son, future or not, he was still her child and she ached for him.

"Do you know how old he was when ... when we died?" Fugaku asked, his voice unsteady at the last.

"Young, I assume. But, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't press Naruto for details. He seems determined to make sure it doesn't happen and, frankly, I think it's best that we don't know certain things about the future else we may change something that never needed to be changed. I leave it to Naruto and Sasuke to handle that. Naruto has a good head on his shoulders and although I don't know Sasuke, this is his clan we're talking about so I'm sure the two of them can be trusted to handle this. We just need to have faith in them. The Will of Fire burns brightly in Naruto."

"When can we see them Hokage-sama?" Minato asked, a determined look on his face.

"I don't mind you visiting them. I'm going to wait a few days after they wake up before questioning them but they've only been in the hospital for two days. I spoke to Naruto yesterday. Sasuke probably won't wake up for a week or two and ... well, since Naruto has already woken up once, he may very well do so again. I put Sasuke in the same room as Naruto so I give the four of you permission to visit them. Jiraiya and Tsunade can visit as well."

Orochimaru frowned. "And me, sensei?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto asked that I include you for Sasuke's sake, as you were his teacher and he felt that Sasuke would want you to know. However, Naruto doesn't like you. He told me rather bluntly that he didn't like you, but he had his own reasons for it. He didn't elaborate. I don't want to upset him by giving you access to his hospital room so, for now, I ask you leave them be."

Kushina and Minato frowned at Orochimaru as they wondered just what those reasons were. Orochimaru had always unnerved Minato. The man was far too much like his summons and Minato had never trusted him despite the fact that his sensei considered the man a good friend. Kushina had always been wary of Orochimaru, but had never understood why. There was just this dark aura that clung to him, almost like death, and it made her very uncomfortable. Perhaps it was that same aura that made her son distrust the man.

Orochimaru looked unhappy with the Hokage's explanation but agreed to keep his distance none the less.

"They can be found in room 216. I have Anbu guarding them."

Kushina stared at the hospital room door, absurdly nervous. Minato stood next to her, holding her hand, yet was in much the same state. Fugaku had gone home to check on Itachi, but Mikoto had come with them and she was also noticeably unnerved. Minato attempted to bury his nerves and calmly reached out and opened the door. They weren't expecting to find a young blond teen sitting up and looking at them in surprise. His eyes widened as he saw Minato and Kushina and they saw him get a little teary eyed as he stared at them. They studied him in awe, this boy who was their son. Looking at him, he was undoubtedly theirs, a perfect blend of the two of them.

He smiled at them and waved them in. "I'm glad you came to visit me. Make yourself comfortable, 'ttebayo!"

Minato laughed at that. "You inherited Kushina's verbal tic!"

Kushina smacked him on the back of the head. "It's not funny, 'ttebane!"

Another peal of laughter made Naruto turn his attention to Mikoto who was clutching her stomach in amusement. They saw Naruto stare at her in shock before he grinned. "Ah, your the Teme's Kaa-san!"

She stopped laughing and stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Did you just call my son a teme?"

Naruto's eyes widened a bit before he waved his hands in a placating gesture. "I call him Teme and he calls me Dobe. We've always done that since we were in the academy. Especially when we ended up on the same Genin team. But he's my best friend. I don't mean anything bad by it. He's just a bit of a bastard. No offense."

Mikoto frowned and bit her lip. She looked over to the bed that her son slept in and approached cautiously. "When did we die?" she asked Naruto, her voice shaking as she moved the hair off her son's face and saw just how much he looked like a male version of her. She had to fight back tears as she saw their resemblance. This was her baby. Even if she hadn't given birth to him in this timeline, this boy was undeniably her son.

"When he was eight. Itachi died just a few months ago though. That's a really long story and I promise I'll tell you about it later, but don't ask Sasuke about it. Itachi's death is something he didn't handle very well and he kind of lost himself. He did a lot of crazy things and hasn't really gotten over it at all. He's a bit broken, but ... I think now he'll finally allow his heart and his mind to heal."

"So ... Itachi survived the massacre too? I'm relieved," Mikoto stated as she ran her fingers through Sasuke's hair.

"Sasuke, Itachi, and Obito were the only survivors of your clan. But Sasuke was alone after the massacre. Obito was believed to have died toward the end of the Third War, but he'd actually survived. He went down a dark path and lost himself for a really long time. He did end up switching sides during the war though and helped us defeat Kaguya. He died protecting me, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei. Itachi, on the other hand, became a nuke-nin. He did it to protect Sasuke. Though Sasuke didn't know that until after Itachi died. Itachi was a hero. He made a lot of really difficult choices that would have broken a lesser man. I have the utmost respect for him. He was a good man. A strong shinobi. The last advice he gave to me is something I hold really close to my heart. He told me, 'You once said it was everyone who cares about you who helped you get where you are now. If you forget others because you have power, and become arrogant and egotistical, you'll eventually become just like Madara. No matter how powerful you become, do not try to shoulder everything alone. Becoming Hokage doesn't mean people will acknowledge you. But when the people acknowledge you, you can become Hokage. Never forget your friends!'" Naruto smiled at Mikoto. "He was a good man. And this time around, he doesn't have to die. Maybe he'll even become Hokage. He'd make a great one," Naruto declared with a smile. He meant every word.

"His advice ..." Kushina prompted hesitantly.

Naruto grinned at her. "I always dreamed of being Hokage. I worked so hard to get stronger, to protect my precious people, and to prove myself to the village. If we'd managed to stay in our timeline I'd probably have gotten my wish eventually. But, we didn't. We're in this timeline instead. It's not a bad thing, really. Just different. But, I doubt that I can ever become Hokage in this timeline. But I'm okay with that. I'm just happy to see you and Tou-san alive. To see Jiji alive. To know Ero-Sennen is alive. I can give up being Hokage for that. It's worth the sacrifice."

Minato stared at his son with pride. The Sandaime was right. He was a remarkable person and the Will of Fire burned strong within him.

A low groan of pain came from Sasuke and they all turned their attention to him. Mikoto pulled her hand from his hair and bit her lip as she stared down at him anxiously.

"Mikoto-san, come here," Naruto ordered her, urgency in his voice.

Mikoto frowned at him as she glanced worriedly at her son, but did as he asked. They all watched as the Sasuke's eyes fluttered open and he stared at the ceiling sleepily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Teme!" Naruto declared cheerfully.

Sasuke let out a groan as he closed his eyes, an obvious look of irritation overtaking the pained look on his face. "They put us in the same room together, dobe?"

Naruto grinned at him. "They did. And somehow we ended up about twenty or so years in the past."

"Hn. Is that-" Sasuke started to say, only to cut himself off when the blond's words sunk in. His eyes flew open and he jerked himself upright, letting out a groan of pain as he twisted to face the dobe. He ended up looking right at his mother instead. A much younger version of his mother, but his mother none the less. His eyes widened as he gaped at her in stunned silence. "Kaa-san," he whispered, brokenly.

Mikoto gawked at him. He had a Rinnegan in his left eye! His sorrowful call broke through her shock though and she studied him intently. Naruto had told her that he was a little bit broken, and right now she could very much tell just how fractured her son was, as in his unsettled state he'd allowed his mask to drop. She felt tears well up in her eyes. There was such sorrow there. Such pain from loss and loneliness. From disappointment and betrayal. She walked around Naruto's bed once more and approached Sasuke slowly, carefully, so as to not startle him.

"May I hug you Sasuke?" she asked softly.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself, and nodded.

She very gently, very carefully, wrapped her arms around her son and laid her head on his shoulder. He was stiff in her arms at first, but then she felt his arms come around her and she felt him start to shake as silent sobs wracked his body. She held him silently and just let him cry as she knew he needed to let it out.

She felt him let her go and she pulled back to look at him. He leaned back on the pillows, obviously still exhausted from the chakra loss and was even now fighting sleep as he stared at her in wonder.

"You're really here? And we're not dead?"

She smiled at him. "I'm really here. And you're one hundred percent alive. Just suffering from chakra exhaustion."

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto. "What did you do, Dobe?"

Naruto scowled at him, offended. "What makes you think it was me, Teme?! This was probably the result of the combination of that last attack. I blame you!"

Sasuke stared at him silently for several heartbeats before his lips twitched and he laughed. As his amusement waned he let out a sigh of contentment and looked at his much younger mother with a small smile. "Sorry that I'm not much company. I'm still rather tired from the chakra loss. I'm not entirely sure how much longer I can keep my eyes open."

She smiled at him softly as she reached out and gently ran her hand through his hair. "Then sleep. Don't fight it. I want you better and right now, sleep is the best thing for you! We can talk more later."

He nodded and then closed his eyes. He was asleep seconds later, a small smile still on his lips.

Mikoto pulled her hand back and turned to Naruto to find him watching her with tears in his eyes.

"He needed that. You have no idea how much your deaths have weighed on him. He needed this so much! He looks so at peace right now. I've never seen him look so unburdened. Thank you, Mikoto-san," Naruto said as a small stream of tears fell down his cheeks as he smiled at her in thanks.

She wiped at her eyes and walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, surprising the blond. "Thank you for being his friend! Thank you for being there for him and for caring about him so much!"

Naruto awkwardly patted her on the back. "You don't need to thank me for that Mikoto-san. Sasuke is my best friend. I'll always be here for him. That won't ever change, 'ttebayo!"

A.N~

So ... I've mentioned before that I've started around a dozen or so stories and they just sit around waiting for me to get off my tush and either post them or sit there. I figure if I post this one then maybe I'll get around to working on it more. I started this story a few months back. It's based off the idea of a what if that really sparked my imagination. What if Naruto and Sasuke hurled themselves back in time during their fight? What if they lay there exhausted from their battle and instead of their arms being blown off (which pissed me off) they, instead ,were holding hands? I'm a total SasuNaru shipper. The ending of the series pissed me off. I was not satisfied by it at all... So here is one of the stories that my random thought sparked. This is the second longest chapter I've ever written. The story that holds the number one position is still in my document file so ... you get to sit and wonder about that lol.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and feel free to leave me a comment!