Summary: Sealed away by her own sons, death grips the Rabbit Goddess, and her soul wanders. After a thousand years of aimless drifting in and out of time, the Goddess is reborn into the world where so many things have changed since the days of old. But how will the Goddess cope with the girl that she has become?

Part One - Childhood

1: The Orphaned Girl

The Village Hidden within the Leaves was, and still is, one of the most prominent of Shinobi villages in that it was one of the two largest out of the five great villages, only smaller by a third than the Village Hidden within the Clouds, and the might of the village itself was something to behold. Her forces often consisted of four man squads; one Jonin instructor, and three young Genin apprentices. The Jonin would normally be a seasoned Shinobi of at least eighteen to twenty years of age, though there have been times when those Jonins were nothing but children themselves.

Two examples were the son of the White Fang, Kakashi Hatake, made Jonin at the tender age of seven during a time of war against three of the other Shinobi villages. Another would be the war hardened Shisui Uchiha, master of the Body Flicker technique, rivaling the great Fourth Hokage in speed and skill. And then there was the young prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Itachi, Shisui's best friend, whom made Anbu at the tender age of ten.

What it was most known for, however, was the fact that it was home to the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the strongest, and most feared of all the nine Tailed Beasts roamed the land, having been the last of its kind to be sealed into a human body through the meddling of one Madara Uchiha, the most feared of his clan.

Now, little over one hundred years after the founding, the village was in a state of brittle peace.

It is this brittle time that begins this tale. Within the village's perimeter lay a vast forest created by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, whose trees were as taller then the very walls of the village itself, hiding it from sight even though it was protected by a physical barrier held in place by seals, and powerful Shinobi that practiced the art of the seals.

Within the forest lived all manner of bird and beast, from the smallest cardinal, to the greatest onbaa the forest was full of life. But one such life was not meant to be there.

In the depths of the forest, the air chilled with the first touches of winter, seemingly out of the trunk of a giant oaken tree came a rift. A rift in the very space surrounding the bark. Out of this rift tumbled a small child. She was pale, with grey-ish-blue hair, and eyes so pale that one may think her blind at first glance. Her eyebrows were long and elegant for one so young, with a color the same as her hair.

A tattered and filthy dress covered pale skin which clung to her bones as she weakly trudged out of the rift, walking aimlessly in no particular direction. The creatures of the forest gave the child a wide berth, sensing danger even though the girl was so much smaller than any of the predators lurking nearby.

As she walked, her feet bare and swollen, she craved water, and pleaded with whatever Tengu that might be watching her for food as her stomach growled. She kept walking, knowing that if she stopped, she would never move again, and death would take her.

"The world is a great deal larger than you may believe, Naruto," she heard an old, wizened voice speaking, "Beyond this forest that keeps our village hidden, the land is vast, and filled with wonder." She turned in the direction of the voice, and tried to speed up her steps. She heard water.

"Wonder?" Asked a younger voice; much younger. "Like what, gramps?"

The first voice chuckled, "Well, for example," the old man spoke as she began to run, "did you know that these fish you've caught are small compared to others out in the oceans?"

Fish? The girl's mouth watered.

"Really?" The younger voice, Naruto, said, "Like how small?"

She didn't particularly care, just so long as she could eat.

"To compare these that you have caught to those in the ocean would be as if you were comparing a flea's size to the Hokage's Monument," the man chuckled, "And then there are bigger creatures still in the sea, such as the great horned-whales, and sharks that feed on smaller fish."

The girl stumbled out of the forest, nearly tumbling head first into a stream.

"I really wanna see that," yelled a blond boy sitting beside a roaring fire where fish and mushrooms were roasting.

The old man sat across from him, smiling kindly.

The sound of her stomach growled attracted the man's attention. His eyes widened if only a fraction as he saw the pale girl on her hands and knees, gazing at the fire hungrily. "Perhaps someday you can," he said, rising, and moving toward the stream, "But first," he said, making the girl start as he effortlessly glided across the waters without even getting his feet wet, and came to stand in front of her, "I believe this young lady would like some of that fish you caught?" He held out the fish he had been given by the blond child.

Naruto had only just noticed the girl, having been too wowed by the fact that the old man was walking on top of the water, and frowned. She looked worse than he himself did. And he was not in what one would call healthy shape. But he wasn't near as gaunt as the girl, who was now gobbling down the fish she was given, seemed to be.

"Uh, I-um, have more, if she wants?" The boy said, sounding unsure.

The old man smiled and picked the girl up, walking back across the stream without so much as a care, and sat them by the fire so that she could warm up while she ate.

Naruto was afraid she'd swallow a bone, or even the stick the food was skewered on at the rate she was going. He was no stranger to hunger, but he'd never seen someone like her before, not even himself when he hadn't eaten in a while.

The old man watched as the two children devoured the meal, smiling as the little girl in his arms all but inhaled the food given to her. 'Strange,' he thought as he looked over her, 'Her skin matches that of the Hyuga clan, but her hair is off by a great deal.' He frowned as he noticed the girl's eyes. They were indeed the pale, pupiless eyes of the Hyuga, but she was most certainly not of said clan. The dead giveaway to that was simply the fact that she was out here in the wilds on her own, gaunt, and starved. Pale they may be, but he had never met a Hyuga who had missed a meal such as this little girl obviously had.

Before the man could ask the name of the strange child, he found her dozing off in his arms. She seemed so tiny compared to even Naruto, who was not well cared for, as he had wanted, and the man frowned at the thought. "Naruto," the boy looked up at him, "Would you like to walk with me back to the village?" He smiled as the blond child nodded, "My family is quite large, so our home has more than enough room to put up two hungry children for the night."

Naruto beamed at him with shimmering blue eyes, "Really?!" He yelled, "Wow, you're a lot nicer than a lot of the other people in the village!"

The man chuckled, and rose, carefully shifting the sleeping little girl in his arms, "I suppose that I am, but if it were up to me, I would make sure that all of the villagers were nice to such a boy like you," he smiled as the boy looked at him in confusion, "You are quite the kindest boy I've ever met. Feeding an old man when you yourself are close to starving, and then giving more to this little girl. I think that you, out of all the people in the Village Hidden within the Leaves, have the greatest potential to become not only a great shinobi, but a Hokage that will surpass all others."

Naruto looked up at him in confusion still, "Shinobi are the guys that wear those awesome headbands, right?" He asked, gaining a nod from the man, "But what's a Hokage, old man?"

"The Hokage is the strongest Shinobi in the village, and he or she leads us through daily matters, and in times of war," he said, smiling at the child's curiosity, "The Hokage is also respected and acknowledged by all within the village."

Naruto looked at the man in interest, "I think I'd like being the Hokage," he said, frowning, "All of the people either ignore me, or yell at me when I pass by, even when I don't pull a prank on anyone, they're always looking at me like I did something really, really wrong."

"And you've done nothing to earn such resentment," the old man sighed as they walked along, "That shall change, I believe. I will make it so."

Naruto blinked up at the man, "How're you gonna do that?"

The man smiled, chuckling, "Oh, didn't I tell you, Naruto?" He asked, "I am the Third Hokage, and it is my duty to protect all those that reside in the Leaf."

(*)

The compound of the Sarutobi clan was one of the larger compounds of the Hidden Leaf Village in that it had a numerous amount of clansmen, second only the Akimichi clan. The Hyuga clan and Uchiha clans were tied with each other in numbers, which brought in the Nara clan at fourth place. Very few of the greater clans had long since passed from the world, leaving scant few Shinobi clans with special abilities left.

The Sarutobi clan was not among them.

The clan was known, not for any sort of special ability, but for their prowess with the bo staff, and their naturally occurring affinities for Wind and Fire style techniques. They were also allied with the great Monkey King, Enma. They were the village's fiercest warriors when in combat.

And the line of succession as the clan's leader was secure in Lord Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi's sons, Asuma and Takizawa Sarutobi. Now, as the clan's patriarch returned home with the two children in tow, it was to the clan's great surprise, and pleasure.

Naruto, while not like by the majority of the village, was welcomed among the Sarutobi clan. Hiruzen had made it very clear to his family that the boy was to be treated with kindness by them, if not by the rest of the village, and hailed as a hero for deeds unknown to the boy. The girl, a mystery even to the Hokage, was fussed over like a newborn as she was taken into the care of the clan's ladies.

Awakened by the commotion, the poor little girl clung to the Hokage until the man assured her that she would be well taken care of. She didn't say a word as she was whisked away to be bathed, and properly clothed.

"You poor dear," said the woman that had taken her, "Out in this horrible cold without even shoes!" She said, noting the girl's reddening feet as they warmed. The girl didn't know what to make of it all as she was stripped and placed in a warm tub. After a moment of surprise, she sighed at the feeling of the warm water on her pallid skin.

The woman went about carefully washing the child, taking care not to be too rough given her malnourished shape, and began washing her hair. "You have such pretty hair," she smiled as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I've never seen anyone with hair like yours, deary. Now close your eyes," she warned her as she pour water over her head to rinse out the soap. The girl did as instructed and covered her eyes with her hands before the water was dumped.

Another woman came into the bath with a set of fresh clothing, and a warm, fluffy towel for the girl, "Oh, she's so thin!" The newcomer bemoaned, "But we'll fix that right up, won't we?"

"Have the cooks started up, yet?" The woman bathing her asked.

"Yes, and they decided on something simple, rice porridge." The other woman said, kneeling down to help her, "Oh, my, what pretty eyes she has!" She said as the girl blinked at her, "What's your name, sweetie?"

The girl looked at them in confusion, blinking. "Ah...au..."

The two women looked at each other, "Kimi, I...I don't think she can talk!"

"I'll go get a medic right now!" The other woman, Kimi, said, rushing from the room frantically.

The girl felt herself heating up around her face, wondering if she had done something wrong. Then the woman picked her up gently and began toweling her off. "Don't worry, deary, it's alright," she said, comforting the girl's worry. "When the medical shinobi have a look at you, we'll have you talking in no time at all. You'll see."

The girl smiled a little and sighed as she was wrapped in the towel, feeling warm.

"Arms up, deary," the woman said, holding a white slip above her. She raised her hands and the dress was slipped over her head. "I've got some underwear here, too. Do you know how to put them on?"

She nodded.

"Good girl," the woman smiled, patting her head, "I'll leave you for a minute to see how dinner's coming, and then be right back, okay?"

Again, she nodded, and finished getting dressed as she was left alone. She was used to that. It didn't bother her all that much. Besides, they said that they would be back, didn't they?

And back they came. Kimi was the first to return with another woman in tow. She was younger than the elderly Kimi, and had soft-spoken features. The girl was immediately comfortable around her. The woman set about examining her, frowning from time to time as the first woman came back. The medic smiled and sent her on her way to dinner.

Kimi frowned at her, "Well?"

"Something is very wrong with that child," the medic said, shaking her head, "From what I could find, her throat, voice box included, was crushed, to the extent that she shouldn't even be alive," She growled, clenching her fists as Kimi stared at her aghast. "Strangely, though, her chakra seems to have a natural healing ability, and seems to be working to repair the damage that was done to her. Though it seems it's going to be a slow process considering how malnourished she is. She's going to need a lot of care over the next few months."

"She'll get it," the woman promised, "We won't let anyone lay another finger on her, or the boy if he decides to stay!"

(*)

Once both children were cleaned and properly fed, Hiruzen shooed them both off to bed, the hour well passed midnight, far too late for such young children to be awake, and placed them in the same room for the little girl's benefit.

It was his sons' old room, and had to twin beds, both of which were turned down for the two children. Naruto practically bounced up onto his bed, laughing as he flopped down onto the mattress. The little girl struggled to climb into her bed, and was helped by Hiruzen, who tucked both children into bed, smiling as Naruto immediately dropped off and started snoring.

The little girl had found a stuffed monkey by her pillow and cuddled it against her as she drifted off, comfortable for the first time in a long while. Satisfied the the two children were settled for the night, the Hokage left them to sleep.

Outside the room he found one of his guardsmen standing there, "Lord Third, what shall we do about the children?"

"For now, they shall stay here," Hiruzen said, tucking his arms behind his back, no longer the caring elderly man he had been from before, but now the Third Hokage, a man not to be questioned or trifled with. "I would like you to inform the elders of the development. Leave nothing out. Also, I would like you to call a small meeting of the clan heads tomorrow. This girl is strange. I've never seen anyone or anything like her."

"She seems a sweet child," the masked Shinobi said, "I'd heard from the medic that she'd been strangled to the point that she can no longer speak?"

Hiruzen nodded grimly, "So it would seem, and I would like nothing more than to set the bastard responsible ablaze," he said, moving down the hall, "The poor thing was more than half-starved, even after having two meals within two hours' time." He sighed, "Naruto was little better. I will not allow him to return to the life he was living. Both of them are of age to be placed in academy this coming year. By then, the girl should have recovered enough to speak, and perhaps tell us of her origins."

"The elders will not like you showing favoritism to the boy," the guard said.

"That is why they gave me the big hat," the old man grinned, "Besides, I'm tired of them dictating to me. I won't allow Naruto to grow up in that drafty apartment if I can do something about it. My one and only concern at the moment, however, is keeping those children safe until they're able to be come shinobi."

Something new begins.

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