Second Chances

Prologue

With a cough, Naruto's blood splattered across the rocky surface, glistening in the sun. The burning hot sun, the sun that she had once associated with happier times, now watched on as the five nations fell. Around her bodies lay, scattered like leaves in the wind. Kakashi-sensei's crumpled form lay just fifteen feet from her own, Sharingan eye wide and unseeing in death. Gai was just a few feet behind him. She heard a splutter behind her and slowly turned her head, blue eyes wide. Sasuke lay slain, Madara's scythe running right through his lower torso; it'd without doubt ruptured some organ. At the last second he'd swapped sides, fighting along side her against Madara and the Masked man. But even that hadn't been enough.

"Naruto," he croaked, voice scratchy, no doubt from all the blood and vomit that'd passed it most recently, "come here quick." T
he fox in her must have seen what the Uchiha was planning, and he begrudgingly nodded along side her. Recovering from the blows Sasuke's Susanoo had dealt out, Tobi and Madara both rose in unison, turning to look at the two remaining nin. With all the strength in her upper arms, Naruto dragged herself towards the Uchiha, her legs bloodied and useless. Already, he was running through hand seals, looking at her with sorrow-filled eyes. Blood was streaming from his eyes, from his mouth and the gaping wound in his stomach, but Sasuke still clung to life, determined to finish this one last task. He placed a hand on the bare skin of her arm, for her outer layer had been stripped from her skin by the flames, and grunting in pain.

"Change it Naruto, make sure you change it for the better!"
She wanted to ask what he meant, wanted to ask what he was doing, but the searing pain that raced through her body was more than enough to silence her.

"NO!" She heard Tobi's scream, muffled in the background, as her body began to twist and turn against her. The last thing she saw was the killing blow that would surly have ended her life, if Sasuke hadn't found the strength to leap in the way. Somehow, through the pain, she managed to scream his name, before she blacked out.

A nagging pain, throbbing in the back of her skull, was the first thing that brought Naruto in the hazy world of consciousness. Whining, she rolled onto her side, feeling the tug of a wire in her wrist. Voices floated above her, curling around in her memory as her brain tried to register the words.

"-seen anything like it... Healing too quickly..."

"-needs to be checked..."

"-an enemy nin..." Finally, the last sentence sent her jolting back into the conscious world and her blue eyes snapped open, scanning the room wildly.

"Ah! Good morning sweetheart!"
She looked up, frowning at the doctor above her, raising one blonde brow.

"You really gave us a scare dear. Our citizens say they saw a meteor fall from the sky, and in the crater, there you are! All covered in burns and bleeding all over the place! You're lucky to be alive miss!"
Naruto blinked a few times, running a hand through her inexplicitly short hair before shaking her head.

"I just need to run a few tests, okay?"
She shook her head harder, feeling her teeth change shape painfully, sharpening and elongating.

"No, just give me a second," Naruto hissed, forcing herself to calm down. Everyone was dead, even Sasuke now. But where was she, what had he done, because this was defiantly Konoha, the same village that'd been flattened just a day ago. Pressing her eyebrows together, Naruto rolled onto her side before ripping the IV from her wrist, watching as her skin healed over, like there had never been a hole there. The medic watched her astounded face, but it wasn't over her demon aided healing abilities. No, it was the thin, most certainly child like wrist that was was resting where her arm should be. Almost hesitantly, she looked down at the rest of her body. Her beautiful figure was gone, replaced by her scrawny -and if she was going by the shape of her awful knees- eight year old body. She blinked before stuffing her face into her hands, screaming for all she was worth. Suddenly, Sasuke's last words made sense.
'Change it Naruto, make sure you change it for the better'. To think that idiot had known a time travel jutsu. Why hadn't he used it himself? Why send her back? The medic had long since run off, something about fetching the head doctor to treat her, not that she needed it. What she need to was to see the Hokage, see if this was true. Tobi's horrified scream made sense now. He didn't want her with free rein in the past.

"Sasuke, why me?" She whispered harshly, struggling to her feet. Her legs hurt, strained against her weight as Naruto hesitantly tested her chakra. It reacted, as did the foxes chakra, spinning around inside her and begging to be used. Mentally, she sent out a light poke to find Kurama, but sensed nothing. Where could he be? With a grumbled, Naruto headed over to the window, deciding now that she was checking out of the hospital.

As soon as she hit the ground, Naruto knew she wasn't in her Konoha anymore. Not the rebuilt one, not the one she'd lived in before Orochimaru's attack. Because the villagers greeted her with light waves, cheerful hellos and happily given smiles. Which meant she was further back then the nine-tails attack. She hadn't even been born yet. There was streets she didn't recognise, people she didn't recognise, it was like she'd entered an alternate dimension. As if on cue, something burst into her mind growling and snarling as it did so. Kurama. Scampering over to the park where civilian children her own age were playing, Naruto slipped into the tunnel, taking up the middle compartment like she had done back when she was a child. Without hesitation, she entered her mind, looking at the chrome gates that now stood wide open. Her lodger was laid halfway out, next to a giant hole situated inside her mind.

"What did you do?" She hissed, watching as the fox lazily raised the head which had once been resting upon his paws.

"We've come back in time kit. For the state of the previous Jinchūriki's mind, I'd say we're about five years before your birth here."
Naruto chocked on her own saliva, looking at the fox in distrust and watching as he snorted through his nostrils, sending her tumbling backwards.

"What?"

"We've come back in time. I was sent back to where I was in this time, and have merged with the chakra your beloved fourth stole form me. Now, I've recovered my full power, our battle with that Masked brat will be much different. Since you aren't born yet, the jutsu just threw you into some random location. If you didn't have my chakra, you'd be dead from the injuries." So that was why Sasuke couldn't come back himself; anyone else would be killed even attempting it.

"So... You're saying we have a second chance Kurama?" She didn't want to get her hopes up, but it sounded so good, like the answer to her prays. Kurama however nodded, resting his head on his paws again and closing his eyes.

"Yes. The only problem is that your mind is now linked to that red-headed brat now. I had to tunnel here and I was trapped by her seal, but also bound with your seal. And I much prefer it here than to get ripped out by that bastard and used again."
Eyes shooting open, Naruto clutched at her head, shaking it violently before turning to the disturbance. A group of angry mothers were stood there, yelling at her for blocking the tunnel. Making a quick escape, Naruto stumbled out, taking a look around and testing her muscles. She'd need to train her body again, but she'd retained all her spiritual energy. She could easily use all her jutsu now. Scanning the horizon, Naruto froze at the sight of the three headed monument. Without a doubt, she was most defiantly in the past. And without a doubt, she had the change to change things.

"Watch out world!" She screamed, several passerby's jumping in shock around her, "because here comes Naruto Uzu-Namikaze! BELIEVE IT!"

Well, a time travel fic, because I've read so many I just gotta do my own. Rough start I know, but I hope you like the idea. And FemNaruto is just so cute an idea I couldn't not do it!

Read and review people?

Lot's of love,
Tsume