Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Mr Kishimoto Does.

Arc 4: A Chance Meeting Part 5

"I just wish I've brought the cart."

Yet another one of his regrets had entered his thoughts. There was a little bits of sweat falling from his forehead and he could feel his hands struggling for a little bit. He wondered on how the shopping bags seemed to get heavier as he and his cousin headed back home.

The Hyuga deduced the fact that it was just him a little bit drowsy, which caused his body to somehow loosened up on its own. However, His lameman's side on the other hand was just telling him that he was on the verge of giving up.

Hanabi took noticed of her cousin's struggle and stopped her tracks." Is everything alright Neji?" She asked the older teen.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Neji replied with a small struggling smile, as he tried to hide it, yet he was too late eventually.

The girl raised both of her eyebrows." Hey, I could help carry off the load ya know." She said, offerring her assistance." You don't have to hide it." She added.

"No worries Hanabi, I can handle this." Neji replied, strengthening himself up with will power and continued on walking.

The Hyuga girl blinked a couple of times before shrugging off." If you say so." She said as she resumed on walking.

It had been awhile since the two had bid their goodbyes to their niece, whom headed to local park to pass the rest of her time. Neji's thoughts still focused on the Uzumaki girl. He gave a little bit of disappointment since he couldn't have the enough time to bond with the girl a little more, yet he had other things to focus on.

Yes, the first thing that came into his mind was these freaking shopping bags which were definitely giving him a kind of torture. They looked small and light but when he carried them, it was all goodbye from there.

Then he suddenly realized something, that he didn't even took a peek of the things that his cousin had bought In every department store they went to.

"Seriously, Hanabi how many clothes did you bought this time!?" He asked in the most calmest way possible.

Hanabi began to scratched her chin and attempted to recall everything she had bought, yet she just couldn't count the exact numbers." Well...I couldn't them all but i'm sure it includes toys, snacks and so on..."

"You what?" Neji quickly replied back." How did toys get into the mix, I mean you're too old for them you know?" He said." Did we really went to a toy shop?" He thought to himself.

Hanabi frowned." Of course, I'm too old for them." She said, before continuing." And it's actually not for me you know." She added.

Her cousin both raised his eyebrows." Then for who?" He asked. It was too much for the girl to have all of these and used them for a reason.

"It's for the orphanage." She simply said, before going quiet thereafter. Should she really tell him everything?

Neji blinked couple of times before putting himself into a state of confusion and wonderment." Why would she do that?" He thought to himself. His curiosity was rising at the same time.

"I still don't understand, why would you involved yourself just to-"

"It's for charity." Hanabi cut him off once again." and also I'm not a type of person, who would just stand and watch things." She explained." I wanted to extend the help myself too."

"Okay?" Her cousin said amusingly." Any motivations on why you want to be some kind of philantrophist?" He added.

This made the younger Hyuuga chuckle." Oh come on big cousin, do we really have to talk all about it?" She asked, receiving a simple nod from the latter.

"Yes Hanabi and At least I know what I have to deal with it." Neji explained." Your father would ask a lot of questions." He added.

It was at this time that the two Hyuugas turned to a direction leading up to the girl's certain destination. There were currently at the east side of the village, and it was just recently noticed by Neji himself that they were already far away from their supposed path back to the compound, and he was busy conversing with his cousin that his mind was occupied.

Thinking that they were already far away to head back, Neji just let things go with the flow and accompanied his cousin to finish her task.

At the same time, a new topic entered into the conversation.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to have a training session with your team?" Hanabi asked, recalling her cousin earlier statement.

It was at this time that Neji widened his eyes in realization as he slowly began to panic. It has come to his mind that an hour had passed and he was already late for his team training. He was about to dropped all the shopping bags on the ground at the same time when a certain static sound entered the scene.

"Hey Neji are you there?" The voice of his bushy brow teammate spoke through a certain walkie talkie located inside one of his pockets.

"Lee!" The Hyuuga froze as he waited for the next sentence.

"Hey man, if you're there, our Team training has been postponed into a different date." The voice of Lee explained." Gai-sensei has a special seminar to attend to."

The message had ended there before the brown haired Hyuuga could reply back. This time he gave out a huge sigh of relief and then looked up to see his cousin giving him a small amused face.

"Well, would you looked at that." Hanabi commented, placing her hands on her hips." Looks like my big cousin is born to accompany me everytime." She gave a little snicker.

Neji rolled his eyes in return as he continued on walking. It seemed that fate had him already assigned to that certain position for long time now.

"Yeah, whatever."

(MEANWHILE)

Surrounded by the lively forest, Kurama dashed through his way as he followed the supposed appearance of the girl, to whom he previously saw back at the open space. At the same time, he sensed the familiar energy and that's when he really took this chance and followed.

Leaving those nightmarish kids behind was worth the move for the crimson fox. It totally gave him worth the freedom and he was now on his way for an expected reunion or to so he had thought for awhile.

His eyes more focused than ever as he continued to traverse every obstacle and emerged victorious everytime. The figure of the girl was still there walking to a certain direction and she was not that from afar.

There were times that the girl would be far away and then would appear suddenly near. It made the fox wonder on where she was exactly going to right now. It seemed that she was leading him to somewhere.

"Nobody could pass by a tailed beast's detection like me."

Kurama's confidence was brewing, he had this unreadable confident smirked on his face. There wasn't going to be anymore setbacks, challenges, lowly failures and anything that were considered to be hindrances.

The memories also paid him a visit as Kurama's mind played images of the good old peaceful days. Particularly the times spent with the little Uzumaki girl.

A little while of following has passed and the fox found himself being led into different pathways with the last one being on the right, which led to a certain path leading up to a lone bench near a wall.

Without any hesitation, he proceeded to head towards the spot and by the time he was nearing, he could finally see two human figures sitting on the bench.

Sensing a certain caution, the fox immediately diverted from his current path and directly headed right towards the forest and continued on from there. He wasn't going to lose his cover and he forgot to realized that the girl was just an apparition of somesort.

He didn't care eventually.

As he found himself in the bushes, he quietly crawled over to the spot where he could get a a good preview of the ongoing scene then after arriving at the spot, the crimson fox then positioned himself as he leaned to an opening where he could finally what's going on.

His heart beat stopped as he found himself looking at the girl once again. In all her presence and appearance. He didn't know how to react as he finally had the opportunity to see the teen in full view and without any interruptions.

His emotions would soon began to emerged as small tears were falling from his eyes accompanied by the gritting of his teeth in an attempt to calm himself down.

"Himawari"

He muttered her name, his eyes didn't wasted anytime, focusing on the girl throughout and observing her.

The signature bright smile on her face and she wore this thin light yellow bomber jacket covering a peach shirt, and light blue pants. She also had a small waist bag to which was strapped on to her and a shopping bag beside her.

As his mind repeated the thoughts of the girl looking much mature than before, the fox's attention then shifted towards the second person in the form of that little girl. "Who's this then?" He asked himself.

He recalled her seeing awhile back but yet he didn't actually know her. Perhaps just a random citizen girl whom the Uzumaki girl had met prior. Yet, they seemed to talk as if they knew each other for a long time now.

As Kurama began to go deeper into their conversation, he would learn something new and unexpected.

(MEANWHILE)

"So what's so troubling about your mom?"

Miyuki had finally asked which ramped up the memories of the teen. She was so bothered about this topic.

Himawari took a deep breath and finally spoke." Well for starters, I never really knew my mom would be that type of a very sociable person." She explained, her eyes observing the quiet scenery surrounding her.

By this time, confusion entered the scene as Miyuki gave a puzzled look." What do you mean, you never knew?" She then asked.

"When I was a little girl, My Aunt Hanabi would often tell me stories when they were young and she would bring up her everytime." She explained." From what I've heard, Mom was a really shy and timid person during her younger years." She added.

"Oh, you mean, your mom was an introvert back in the day?" Miyuki raised an eyebrow as she tried to clarify the teen's statement

The Uzumaki girl simply nodded. She also gave shrug as some of her own thoughts began to cloud her mind again. She wondered if she was really was imagining things and her mom was always that kind of person. But at the same time, it was hard to believe since pretty much everybody was telling her the same testimony.

Not only that, from what she had learned, her teenage mom had been experiencing these strange dreams and visions of unknown memories to which she had no Idea where it came from.

"So your teenage mom is also experiencing these weird dreams?" Miyuki asked, by the time the conversation had arrived to that topic.

Himawari nodded." Yeah, My uncle Neji told me lately, He told me that my mom would occasionally wake up in any night screaming about seeing the village destroyed and all that." She explained." Even mentioning our names.

Miyuki nodded in understanding." I see, but does it affect her normal life?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Then how?"

Himawari took another deep breath in preparation for another explanation. " Well according to my uncle, these dreams would somehow affect mom a little, in a way of changing something in her personality." She paused, before continuing." Such as giving her a sudden confidence boost or a change in preference and hobbies.

"Okay? That's a little bit over already." Miyuki commented while the teen gave a small chuckle.

The Uzumaki girl continued." Yeah, but it's really a bit creepy for me, I mean when I saw her back recently, she was wearing an outfit that she wasn't supposed to wear right now." She said." I mean when she was at this age." She added.

Miyuki raised an eyebrow." Alright... So meaning she wore a specific type of clothes when she was teen." She clarified.

Himawari gave a nod." Yes Ma'am!" She said." I really wished my phone was here!" Her inner thoughts then came out. It was unfortunate that her own phone didn't survived the war yet she could still remember that type of style that her mom wore when she was a young adult.

"When I saw her for the first time, she was wearing a type of outfit that she used to wore when she was nineteen." The Uzumaki teen explained." And she looked more mature wearing that style."

Quietness then took over for a brief moment.

"Oh I see, so your teenage mom suddenly matured overnight and started having big fashion change in taste because of those dreams?" Miyuki attempted to summarized the whole idea.

"Exactly!" Himawari gave a smile and a thumbs up.

Miyuki, as any stressed adult would do, rubbed her forehead as she carefully absorbed the information." Great Scott, this is heavy." She commented.

"I know right?" Himawari gave a small unreadable grin, before continuing.

"Do you think it has something to do with us going back in time?" The Uzumaki girl finally asked. There was little worry growing inside of her. There was a small fear that if she and the rest were to change most of the past, it could severely affect their future.

There was quietness that took over once again. Miyuki was baffled yet interested on the topic. She was also beginning to wonder if it really has something to do with the time travel aspect. Further, thoughts brought her to the Jougan in the end. It was the only possible case so far. Maybe the eye itself also had the ability of bringing in some of their parents' memories when they travelled back.

"I guess it could be a possible answer but..." Miyuki suddenly trailed off from her sentence. She had just realized something. "No, that's not even possible." She thought to herself as she tried to deny that simple possible fact.

There was something more to it and she could not decide whether to believed in that theory.

As for Himawari, she was even more confused yet curious right now. Her whole body didn't move as she waited for a response. What could be that possible fact or missing link?

Another silence took over once again.

Miyuki was hesitant to tell the girl about this. This revelation could be the possible truth someday but it was still early to consider this as the reason on why these recent dreams and visions were happening to the Hyuuga girl.

It didn't matter though, she needed to know this so that she can prepare herself and the other two in the near future.

She then took a deep breath. Looking directly at her in the eyes." I'm not really sure on how should I explain this but, I think it really has something to do with the travelling back to the past aspect." She explained while the girl nodded in understanding.

Taking another deep breath, Miyuki then proceeded to explain her theory.

"The Jougan, when activated to its full power, would only react to those who are still living." She explained, before continuing on" And during that time when it was triggered, it somehow brought the memories of your parents along and those memories were directly implemented to the younger versions of your parents." She paused, letting the girl digest the information.

Himawari was losing her words and becoming speechless, although she managed to open her mouth again." So you mean, they're only memories that came along right?" She asked.

Miyuki gave a little nod." Well we can consider it for now." She said before continuing." There's also a possibility that those memories are not even memories at all."

Himawari raised both eyebrows in confusion." What do you mean by that Miyuki-san?" She asked. This topic was really turning her head upside down, as much as she wanted to discuss more about this.

As for Miyuki herself, the young woman gazed upon the sky for a brief moment before turning her attention to the lavender haired haired teen. She closed her eyes for a moment, clearing her throat before finally revealing the revelation.

"It's possible that your parents' mind or at least a part of their souls had somehow been transferred into their younger selves hence the occasional headaches and visions or maybe their souls had returned from the future beyond and won't stay down."

Silence once again had took over.

This finally reduced Himawari, she was now loss for words and as she absorbed the new information which had been revealed to her. It was very hard to believe this kind of revelation.

Was it really possible for her parents' souls to be reincarnated or reborn into their younger selves?

The available evidence was right in front of her and it was really scaring for a little bit. She rested and leaned on the bench as she thought of any idea on how will this affect the past and their current lives.

If this was really true, then she had no choice but to spend more time with her teenage mom and get to the bottom of this mystery. She gave this little grin of deny as she slowly shook her head.

As for Miyuki, she gave the teen an encouraging look. "Well, there's only one way to find out." She replied.

(MEANWHILE)

"Alright, I guess we are getting somewhere here."

The crimson fox whispered, still in this leaning position as his ears and mind were doing all the work right now.

His mind processing the story told by the Uzumaki girl regarding about Hinata. Now, he did kind of actually agreed to that since he saw the girl before donning a different kind of civilian outfit as she walked along the busy streets of the village. But it might be just a rare occasion and it maybe was just an attempt or a fluke.

Although, with the soul tranfer idea, it was still very confusing to him. There was no possible evidence that it could really happen. If it were to happen, it would be utter chaos. He didn't know how would it be chaotic but he had just a bad feeling about it.

The fox took a deep breath once more as he prepared himself to listen to the next topic of the conversation.

(MEANWHILE)

"I really wanted to ask you this Miss Miyuki."

"Yeah, what is it?"

Himawari took a deep breath as she finally opened up the mystery that she wanted to know." How did Kami-sama died?" She said." I mean, He sacrificed his life to save the world but I don't understand on why did he had to give up his own." She added.

Miyuki stared at the teen for a brief moment before forming a small sad smile her lips. She darted her eyes towards the blank space as she began to recall that fateful day.

"To be honest, I really didn't know the real reason on why he had to do it." She said, before continuing." I was just one of the rest , who wanted to find out the truth as well."

The Uzumaki teen blinked a couple of times in surprised." Oh." She muttered." But what really happened the day he sacrificed himself?" She added.

Miyuki simply nodded, taking another deep breath as she summarized her story." Well, I was pretty much in charged of the whole evacuation process back at the citadel." She replied, with small smile.

"Citadel?" Himawari wondered, this was first time she heard of it.

"Yes, the Citadel of Eiko, the main seat of power of the Pure Land, when it was still residing on this world." Miyuki explained, causing the teen to give him a surprised look.

"You mean the Pure Land was originally here on..."

Miyuki nodded." Yes Hima, I don't know if I told you guys before, but the human world was originally supposed to be a place where death, pain, and sadness are non-existant." She explained, looking at several small birds on the nearby trees.

"It was Kami's original vision for this world." Miyuki said, as the emotions slowly started to emerged." That until chaos came, his sacrifice, and then everything changed after that." She added.

"But did you manage to find the real reason of his sacrifice?" Himawari asked.

Miyuki took another deep breath once more, before continuing." Kami-sama had instructed everyone to handle what was necessary to ensure the safety and security of the people." She said." He told us to leave the citadel once all the tasks have been done.

"But did you...?"

The older woman shook her head." Well, a part of me wanted to go back and save him." She said.

"I don't know but I think my loyalty has gone too far." She gave out a little chuckle, before continuing." And a long time friend also came along with me."

Himawari smiled." I wonder who's that friend." She commented.

Miyuki continued." After Evacuating the rest of the people out of the citadel, We returned back to the area where Kami was residing but he had left by the time we got there." She explained." And that was the moment I realized that He was really going to do it."

Himawari was shocked to hear that decision. It seemed that a choice like that is something Kami would not entertain. He was just too powerful to gIve up his life. " So what did you do next?" She asked.

A small smile formed around the latter's lips." Well, by means of common sense, We all know he was heading off to." Miyuki explained." So what we did? We used a Phoenix to get there." She gave a little chuckle.

"A Phoenix? isn't that only a legend?" Himwari wondered. She did heard of those Massive-bird like creatures from stories and also seen them in children's books museums.

Miyuki smiled." Well dear, It's indeed true and you can even summon them back then." She explained.

Himawari gave an amused look." Oh I see." She said as she was going to ask the next question but was immediately answered by the older woman.

"Well, Council Shenanigans banned them from this world and they transferred most of them to the current location when the Pure Land had separated from the Human world." Miyuki explained, while the Uzumaki teen gave a sigh.

It was at this time that the older woman sensed a presence from one of the nearby bushes. She took a glanced at the spot before continuing her story.

Miyuki then cleared her throat." Now where was I, oh so we did eventually used a phoenix to get to the spot where Kami headed, since all Otsutsukis in the citadel were also part of the evacuations."

Himawari raised a hand." Well, did you at least asked one of them to help you along?" She asked." I mean they have the ability to teleport people."

Miyuki shrugged." Well, we did ask for assistance but most of them had priorities, ya know the family and stuff." She simply said with a bored tone. Everytime an Otsutsuki is mentioned in a conversation, she would often give that certain expression.

(INTERVIEW)

"I have some trust ssues when it comes to that clan. We all know what their main goal is."

-Miyuki

"Well, I think most Otsutsukis are a bit of creeps, I mean one of them tried to take over my brother's body and another one somehow succeeded in take over one of our friends."

-Himawari

So what happened when you guys arrived there?" The Uzumaki teen asked.

"By the time we got there...

It was just too late." Miyuki sighed, giving this sadness and disappointment.

She remembered that particular moment when she witnessed both beings clashing and colliding with each other causing a massive explosion, a powerful shockwave thereafter, and a bright light which engulfed the entire sky and then silence.

The effects of the explosion also had done a massive damage to Eiko, that left the Capital into ruins.

"And then after that, there was no trace of both Chaos and Kami." Miyuki explained as finished her sentence.

Quietness took charged once more as the wind grew stronger.

"So that's how Kami-sama..." Himawari trailed off. She couldn't even say the word. A major part of her was in disbelief and wished that all of this wasn't true. It really hit her when Kami was actually gone for a very long time.

Miyuki simply nodded. She could see the girl's sadness and there was nothing that she could do for now except to explain everything to her.

"After the ordeal, the council was immediately established to reform the system and the first decision was to separate the Pure Land from the Human world." Miyuki explained." And the Citadel was eventually abandoned."

Himawari gave a suprised look." But why would the Pure Land move out?" She asked." I mean could they just rebuild the place?"

Miyuko shrugged in response." It's the majority decision." She said." They all think that conflicts would rise up if the seat of power stayed here." She explained." That's why made the heavens the final and permanent location."

"Oh I see."

Miyuki then cleared her throat." So when the Pure Land move out, it brought along the happiness and the peace with it." She paused." And of course your world became vulnerable to sickness, pain, and death."

"And the only way to go there is also by death."

Himawari nodded in understanding as she decided to pull one more question." Is there a way that we could go there alive?" She asked, causing the other to smirk.

"Well...There is one way but I won't tell it for now." Miyuki said, glancing back at the spot where she felt the presence.

"It's dangerous since there could be someone following us."

(INTERVIEW)

"I been having that feeling for awhile now. Looks like someone was really eavesdropping on our conversation.

-Miyuki

(MEANWHILE)

Kurama was in the middle of disbelief and skepticism. He had heard everything so far and he couldn't believe this so called truth. He didn't quite buy the idea of the little girl being a thousand year old being. She looked normal to him and he didn't even sense any massive amounts of chakra within her.

So he quickly dismissed her claim. It was too far fetched for him.

He did quite believe the Pure Land part of the conversation. Hagomoro used to tell him and the rest of the Bijuus stories of the Pure Land and how it was a wonderful place and by the time the sage died of old age, the fox wanted to go to the place to meet his caretaker once again.

He shook his head to avoid anymore emotional butterflies and decided to focus on listening. Unbeknownst to him that his cover was blown already.

(MEANWHILE)

Himawari took a deep breath as she finally recalled another thought that she wanted to share to the other. She looked at the older woman just to see her slightly bothered by something." Is she alright?" She thought afterwards.

"Uhmm, I also wanted to tell you about something."

Miyuki, who was still looking at the bushes, turned around towards the teen and said." Yes Hima, what's it about?"

"Have you ever experienced the feeling of being followed?" She asked.

By the time, she had heard that certain statement, the black haired lady quickly turned her focus towards the younger girl." You mean that someone's stalking you?" She asked, being surprised the girl's statement.

Himawari simply nodded." Yeah, something like that." She said, before continuing." And it really is giving me the creeps.

"When did this stalking thing start?" Miyuki asked, wanting to know more information. She had that slight guess that the enemy was responsible for this.

Himawari scratched her chin and attempted to recall the events which led to this." Well, I really can't remember the exact details but what I do recall is that after I visited went out for the day, I started sensing that someone was following me." She explained and continued." And just about today, while I was strolling along the village, I kept seeing two figures amongst the crowds."

Miyuki raised an eyebrow." Two figures?" She muttered." Have you tried using your Byakugan on them?" She asked.

Himawari simply nodded." I did, but when I activated it, these figures would be gone immediately." She explained, still wondering about those mysterious figures.

"Oh I see." Miyuki nodded in understanding. Just what or who were these figures? This was very much alarming and she needed to figured it out.

She had the responsibility of keeping the lavender haired girl safe away from the enemy's move.

Every passing moment, the wind grew stronger around the park. While the lavender haired teen was left to wonder the mystery, Miyuki somehow had figured out a part of the mystery.

In that moment in time, she suddenly felt the presence again, this time as loud obvious movements could be heard from the certain spot where the bushes were.

Finally sensing the mystery presence that had been bothering the Uzumaki girl as she had assumed as of now.

The older woman hailing from the Pure land, finally narrowed her eyes on the certain spot which were just a few distances away from each other. She gave this slight threatening look projecting a small part of her wrath towards those so called mystery stalker.

"You think you could get away that easily?"

(MEANWHILE)

A slight pinch of crimson red could be seen moving along the bushes as a certain small nine tailed fox froze all the way instantly sensing that supposedly menacing aura to which he had received from the little girl.

Kurama's eyes widened in surpised as he never expected for his presence to be immediately detected by the little girl. This was best way he could to conceal all of his aura and energy and yet he epically failed to do so.

"How's that even possible!?" He exclaimed inside his head.

This was the one time opportunity that he could get to the bottom of this. His curiosity fully took over and he left the boy and his teammates back at the main park which also left the orange haired girl, pondering his own whereabouts once again. This was indeed the chance that he was waiting for yet only to get his cover blown just like that.

His eyes focused once more at the little girl, who was now looking at his direction. Somehow, releazation had caught up to him. He tried to search through his memories and found out that the girl was the one who he had stumbled upon during the food festival not too long ago.

He was brought back to reality once more as he found the little girl looking directly at his eyes from that distant a far. She gave this small smile and flashed an unreadable smirk at him.

"H-How did she...!?"

This gave Kurama the creeps as slight chill went up on his spine. He could feel his furs standing up and he wondered once more about this mysterious little.

"Just who or what was she exactly?"

(MEANWHILE)

It was a choice deemed worth it yet it slowly makes one regretful, especially for the shark man himself.

He thought the park was going to be just a small place yet by the time he had step foot inside, he was greeted by the overwhelming giant atmosphere. The park itself was wider than any parks that he had been through with its many open fields perfect for family picnics and team trainings.

A small river system inside which coincides with a big pond located at the middle and lastly, several pathways leading to a bunch of forest-like areas.

"How are we gonna find the girl here?" Kisame asked himself, as he then turned his focus on his partner.

Itachi took a deep breath, he could still sense the girl's energy somewhere around here and he realized that they were getting closer to their target.

Kisame could only agree at this moment. They already crossed through different places in the village just to get to this point and he finally accepted the fact that there was no turning back right now.

As they continued their search throughout the park, they pretty much encountered a lot of silly stuff. One of them being the Shark man getting a lot of attention from many children.

"Look Mama, It's a blue shark man!"

"Hey mister where did you get those gills?"

"Can you breath underwater?"

"What kind of gel did you use to get that hairstyle?"

As irritating and annoying as they can be, Kisame managed to keep his temper under control. He was in full ignore mode as he and the Uchiha walked through the crowded and lively areas.

In those moments, he felt that peace and happiness that his friend was talking about. Just by seeing these families joyfully bonding together.

It was actually not bad.

His focused slowly turning to the active surroundings, he witnessed how normal life was being played in front of him. He was quite amazed since he didn't have a normal life of his own. It's a very long story for him, yet he was starting to like this and he wanted to have this life in the future, as long as he doesn't get himself killed.

Same did for Itachi, he knew he won't be able to bring back the normal life he once had but he knew that there was still hope and if the opportunity came he would take that and even in the farthest places as long as this disease won't take him away sooner.

By the time, they had reached a certain pathway, The Uchiha spotted a familiar figure entering the small forest." It's the same energy signature from before." He thought, as there was no time to waste.

"Kisame-san let's go!" Itachi informed his friend, before immediately heading towards the small forest.

As for the Shark man himself, he was pretty much unaware of what his Uchiha friend did since he was immersed with the general atmosphere and surroundings that he was already left behind.

It took him several minutes to realized on what has happened and by the time he looked back to his main direction, his friend was already gone.

"Oh crap not again."

(MEANWHILE)

"Is something going on ?"

The atmosphere suddenly took a change when the older woman had to halt the conversation due to something more different.

Miyuki stood up from her seat, her eyes still focusing on the spot where the presence currently resided." Alright, you've been hiding on that spot for a very long time!" She announced in a loud voice.

"So please stop the stalking and eavesdropping."

Himawari widened her eyes in surprised. This was pretty much unexpected for someone to follow them right now and let alone listen to their conversation. Could it be the ones that she was talking about awhile ago?

The Uzumaki teen then secretly readied herself for any kind of suspecting conflict. She was now facing the same direction where the other was currently looking at.

As for Miyuki, she could see the color crimson and she let out a smirk.

"Just reveal yourself fox!"

(MEANWHILE)

Kurama was in dire straits. He was already shaken by just making eye contact with her for the first time. He could feel this small nervousness latching on his back as if it was really trying so hard to make his day tougher. His cover has been officially blown.

Not only that, even the Uzumaki teen had joined in and was now expecting for him to come out although she was unaware of his true identity.

"Dammit! what should I do?"

He could feel the sweat coming out of his furs. This was definitely a big deal for him. How he hated to see the girl with that kind of hostile face. He could hardly himself going up against the girl right now. It was a nightmare for him and he didn't want that to happen.

What about this Miyuki person? Just to the what heck was she? Could she be really telling the truth that she is a thousand year old being?

"No no no! This is getting ridiculous!"

"She might be an enemy, who could have brainwashed the poor girl!"

"It's impossible, she is just a freaking young girl!"

"There's no way she's that powerful!"

All these assumptions and conflicts inside the fox's mind were taking a toll right now. How much stress he could take by just hiding and thinking? He needed to do something as soon as possible.

Kurama gritted his teeth, as he prepared himself to finally reveal his true identity to the two." As long as I don't start a fight here." He muttered to himself.

The crimson fox took a deep breath to relieved himself from any tension as he finally made his move by walking out of the bushes towards the main pathway.

As the mystery presence finally revealed itself, a certain small crimson fox emerged from the bushes as it walked slowly towards the area where the two girls were currently at.

"Looks like we got a newcomer in the field." Miyuki commented to herself." And it's a cute nine-tailed fox." She said with a little dose of sarcasm in her voice.

Himawari was greeted by shock. She was immediately placed into a state of disbelief as she found herself staring at a certain individual, whom she thought she would never see again because of the war and onslaught.

Her mind went back to the time when she met the famous Kurama in person for the first time. A tear slowly fell from her eye.

"Kuu-chan." She muttered under her breath.

Miyuki paid no heed to the emotions building from girl. She focused on the fox himself, who had this very calm but serioud facade. She stood there confronting the latter. She wanted to know the fox's intention and true agenda before she could judge him. Although, he looked kind of familiar.

"So why are you here and what do you want?" She asked straightforwardly.

As for Kurama, He stayed in this calm state making a confident eye contact with the supposed little girl. He also gave a glance at the stunned Uzumaki teen, flashing her a small smile, before turning back the other. He then slowly took a deep breath and finally spoke:

"I came here to see Hima."

(CHAPTER END)

AN: That's a wrap for this chapter! Also, there you have it, in a way that even I wasn't expecting, Himawari and Kurama finally met in a middle of a rising conflict. If there's gonna be a potential fight between the two I'm not quite sure yet.

In other news, Boruto chapter 49 of the manga is several days away and I'm so excited to see on how will they handle Ishiki Otsutsuki, I hope Sasuke doesn't get carried away with his death flag sign. The manga is really foreshadowing that a character will soon be gone. I hope everyone survives.

Also, there has been some feedback from some readers regarding the OC in this story, Miyuki, she's the first OC to appear and so far, readers like her character. I never really expected to get a feedback like that since in every story, OCs would often not get the attention and even scrutinized sometimes. I'm curious to know your thoughts about Miyuki, her character, her past and her role.

With that said, thank you very much for reading the chapter and hope to see you guys again!