Chapter Text
Uzumaki Naruto didn't mean to wreck the past.
Honest.
The fact that he hadn't intended to however, doesn't negate the fact that he had. Totally and utterly co*cking up the sealing of the Kyuubi on that fateful October 10th was first on the list of his many transgressions.
As it turns out, grumpy old Kyuu-chan had been returned to the past with the Uzumaki brat at that moment and had politely requested, with an earth-shaking snarl and gnashing of teeth, that Minato Namikaze seal him into the unknown shinobi that looked too much like him to be coincidental instead of his newborn infant. The 27-year-old whiskered blonde had certainly not found it amusing when the sudden influx of already familiar chakra had been thrust into his belly, his body physically and spiritually weak from what had clearly been time-travel, which – I mean, just how – and had promptly fainted much to the surprise of a previously distraught fourth hokage, whom had been guiltily awaiting the demise of the unknown, and apparently non-hostile, ninja whom, he believed, he had just sentenced to death.
The sealing shouldn't have worked otherwise, the sudden transformation of chakra coils typically being too much for the fully developed ones of an adult. But, it wasn't like Naruto could explain to him that he had grown up with good, ol' Kyuu-chan in his gut and that he would have actually died not from the influx, but rather the sudden removal of the bijuu. Due to his being unconscious, and all.
And, y'know, time travel.
When Naruto woke up, in a tidy private recovery room in Konoha's hospital, the fourth hokage had practically thrown himself onto the man, sobbing with what seemed to be an odd mix of relief, joy and mild hysteria. For some reason, when the Shinigami had arrived to collect his dues, he had caught a glimpse of the unconscious Naruto, the new (old) seal on his stomach sizzling faintly. The death god had apparently chuckled – chuckled. The grim reaper – had given a toodle-doo kind of wave with his fingers to the astonished Minato, who was sure he had finally lost his mind, and then promptly vanished.
Naruto was sure that the powers that be merely wanted to make his life as complicated as possible.
But, back to the snotty blonde on his shoulder.
His starved-for-love father had immediately declared that the newcomer was no doubt a long-lost brother because, really who could argue that a strong family resemblance wasn't present and had immediately set about making Naruto a shinobi of Konoha.
The older blonde (and wasn't that weird, he was older than his dad) had merely heaved a world-weary sigh from his hospital bed, eyed suspiciously by an adorable de-aged version of his sensei, and accepted his fate.
It surprisingly wasn't that hard to do.
It was a good few months later that Naruto Namikaze met Mikoto Uchiha.
He had been enjoying a rousing conversation over a meal at the, then just freshly opened, Ichiraku Ramen, with his once parents (whom he now referred to as ototou and Kushina-chan) that he had heard rather than seen, because Uzumakis were loud, the arrival of a new party member.
"Is that Sasuke?!" the red-headed menace had squealed at the bundle in the newcomer's gentle hold. The Namikaze "brothers" (and only Naruto and Kurama knew about the quotation marks at this point in time; it would remain that way forever if they could help it) both flinched at their proximity to the banshee screech.
To her credit the woman, who was obviously an Uchiha if the name of her child was anything to go by, only giggled brightly and presented her son to her friend for inspection. Little Naruto was currently asleep in his carriage next to his uncle's seat, evidently able to sleep through anything. Kushina cooed and waggled her fingers at the child, who grinned and babbled happily at the attention, trying to grab hold of a strand of her vivid red hair.
While the two entertained each other, Minato dutifully introduced his older brother to the dark-haired woman, something akin to hero-worship in his eyes as he told her all about how he had shown up out of nowhere to save him, Kushina, their son and indeed the whole of Konoha from a dark demise. He was where little Naruto had ended up getting his namesake from after all, Jiraiya's book sparking the idea, and the fact that a hero of Konoha (never mind the fact that he had only officially been living there for a few months) shared the name, solidifying it. It was no doubt that the name Naruto would exchange its oddness for trendiness within a couple years, and that the Toad sannin would attempt to take credit for its popularity eventually.
Mikoto was watching the older man seriously as a large hand raised to rub the back of his neck, the other coming to Minato's skull as he conked him fondly on the head in an attempt to get him to stop extolling his virtues. So, he was rather humble then.
The man of the moment then turned to her with a disarming grin and gave an acknowledging nod of his own blonde-mop of a head. She blinked before returning the gesture, her smile only slightly strained as she internally reprimanded herself for finding someone other than her husband as attractive as she found her long-time friend's – only recently discovered, might she add – brother.
"It is a pleasure, Naruto-san."
It was then that Kushina thrust Sasuke into said man's arms, eliciting an undignified squawk that Mikoto had to suppress the urge to giggle at, as he fumbled with the precious package in his grasp. The Uchiha heiress (which was not common knowledge, as everyone merely assumed Fugaku to be the clan head by blood rather than marriage) watched him with the vigilance only a mother could possess as he handled her child. She was taken aback when she saw the seemingly ever-present mischievous glint in his eyes soften and a small, somehow more genuine smile curl his lips as he gazed at the tiny infant he held.
Sasuke gawked up at Naruto, his eyes too big for his face and his little nose scrunched up, as if he were considering something. Everyone whom had met the boy winced and mentally braced themselves for the squawling that would no doubt follow. The child was not known for taking to strangers very well, and even out of the people he knew, there were very few he actually seemed to like. Naruto tapped a chubby cheek with his finger and the little boy seemed to make up his mind as he squealed with delight and curled his own around the much larger appendage tightly.
The blonde man didn't notice the looks of shock on the faces of his company as he continued to play with the happy baby, but he froze when one small hand found its place on a tanned cheek, its owner clearly fascinated with the whisker marks that found their home there. He glanced up, only to find his companions with identical expressions and gaping jaws and snorted at the sight, he gave a show of nonchalance as he held out Sasuke for his mother to take back, which she did so, still gawping.
Yet, the magical moment was broken, as always, when he spoke, "He's not a very cute baby, you know."
Jaws snapped shut and Minato stifled a chuckle while Kushina laughed uproariously, catching the attention of the ramen stand's other customers who looked over at the group curiously. Mikoto's cheeks however, were rapidly attaining a very impressive hue of red as her dark eyes narrowed at her newest acquaintance.
"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" she ground out between gritted teeth, as it appeared that Naruto either gave the appearance of obliviousness or was genuinely stupid. And, for all his hero status, the raven-haired Uchiha was seriously starting to consider the latter an option, as he had insulted her beautiful baby boy.
"Exactly what I said, Mikoto-chan," her eye twitched at his manner of address, while an undignified snort managed to escape Minato's lips, "he's all weirdly pink and squishy, and not to mention heavy."
Another twitch, this time more violently. Had this insolent man just suggested that Sasuke was a fat baby?
"I'm not implying that your skills as a mother are inadequate, Mikoto-chan," he attempted to correct himself, "In fact I'm told that it's a good thing for children his age."
…Oh, she thought as her twitch calmed down slightly. Well, perhaps she had been too quick to –
"I'm just saying that he'll never be as handsome as little Naru-chan over here!" he boisterously proclaimed as he leaned over to where the aforementioned infant was rousing from sleep, as if on cue. The boy giggled tiredly, not entirely sure why or what was funny, he just knew that usually something was and strived to react appropriately.
Mikoto Uchiha was not amused however, and her tick was back with a vengeance. She unceremoniously shoved Sasuke into Minato's grasp, who yelped in surprise as he managed to correct his hold on the child, while the usually demure woman shoved her face so close to Naruto's that their noses were almost touching.
"Listen here, you insufferable man! I do not care if you are the hero of the Konoha, the hokage's brother, or if he idolises you so excessively that it makes you both look like idiots," Minato made a sound of protest at the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a whine, but was quickly shushed by his wife, who was staring at her typically tame friend with a glint of barely contained excitement in her eyes.
"You!" Mikoto was undeterred, "- do not have the right to insult my child, who is a beautiful baby boy, and the apple of my eye, and – and – who actually likes you for some unfathomable reason – and –"
She was interrupted by the look in the eyes of the man whom she was verbally assaulting and trailed off, having suddenly lost her bluster. There was endless humour in them and what was clearly a teasing, but not unkind, sparkle was glaringly present. He had merely been pulling her leg, then. Well didn't she feel like an idiot.
"I'm sorry to have offended you in anyway Uchiha-san," he didn't laugh at her which she was grateful for as it would have only made her feel worse, but the sudden change in the way he addressed her gave her a strange uncomfortable feeling in her stomach that she didn't like at all, "I actually believe that your Sasuke is an adorable child, and I just wanted to make you feel at ease, y'know? To help you come out of your shell. I apologise if that was in poor taste."
Mikoto blinked. She had a shell? Her confusion must have shown on her face as Naruto laughed this time, and still she didn't feel like it was being aimed at her. He graciously elaborated, "Kushina-chan had told me many stories of what you all got up to in your genin days and, forgive me if I'm being too personal, but the feisty, excitable woman that my dear little sister described had not seemed to be present at the beginning of our encounter."
He paused for a bit, as if to consider something, and then his grin was back tenfold, "She is now, though."
Mikoto blinked again, and then took stock of her position. She was still up in the tall man's face, an accusatory finger planted firmly on his chest (when had she put that there?) and so she quickly righted herself, smoothed down the skirt of her modest dress and attempted to regain some of her dignity, mildly red in the face and very flustered.
He was right, she marked with no small degree of surprise. And just when had she changed so drastically? Where she was once a proudly burning wildfire, she had somehow been turned into a small, tamed, flickering flame. It was most likely with her marriage to Fugaku, she concluded, with her responsibilities as a shinobi at an end, and those as a wife and mother about to begin…
She cut off her own train of thought. She was getting introspective, she noticed, and her three companions were waiting for her to say something in response to what Minato's brother – Naruto – had said to her. Still, this merited some thought later.
Clearing her throat and promising herself she would do some soul-searching that evening, she straightened her back and looked Naruto directly in those crystal clear, blue eyes of his.
"Forgive me, Naruto-san, I acted hastily and I can only asked for your f –"
"You know what, otouto?" the man cut in obnoxiously, his now sly gaze remaining on the woman he had so rudely interrupted even as he seemed to be addressing his brother, "I think that all Uchiha are stiff, old, fuddy-"
Mikoto took back control of the conversation, "Must you interrupt every attempt to be civil by giving me more reason to resent you, you idiot?!" She would not admit that she yelled, even shrieked this, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and begrudging amusem*nt at the situation even as she was aware of that imbecile's plot.
He only gave her an infuriating smirk as he replied, "No. I will interrupt you, however, every time you try to act like a stuffy, old lady, Mikoto-chan."
She returned his efforts with a patented Uchiha glare, her dark eyes flashing hotly, but not resentful. She crossed her arms and thrust her nose into the air.
"Fine," she sniffed. And then deciding that she would not let him entirely get away with his win she added, "Dobe."
Naruto's response was entirely unexpected to that friendly ribbing. He froze and simply gazed at her, astonished for a reason that she could not fathom, and for a moment she was worried she had actually offended him.
Before she could attempt an apology however, the blonde burst into genuinely loud and not entirely obnoxious laughter. He was actually wiping away a tear of mirth from a blue eye when he finally beamed back at her unreservedly. So, he had liked that one, it seemed.
She would be sure to address him with that often, then.
