Here is the first chapter of Promises to Keep(P2K for short): this is a new, re-written combination of Love & Loneliness and Konoha's Missing Bloodlines. I am simply taking L&L and, keeping parts I liked, re-wrote it to form the first few chapters of P2K. Once we get past the story/timeline of L&L, it will be the same only with KMB: the two are now one story, re-written with good scraps of the originals mixed in. Since I am re-writing ALL OF IT, KMB and L&L will be taken down now that this chapter is up. Do not ask me to update KMB because I wil not answer you and you will never get your wish: look for updates to P2K instead, since it is the same characters and story just re-vamped and more suitably fleshed out. There is another story, P2K Accompaniments, which has character profiles and side stories about other characters to go with this one. If someone requests a story and they want it written into P2K, that is where it will go. If someone requests me to do a particular pairing or something, that is where it will go. Thanks for supporting me thus far guys and I hope you enjoy this more than the originals!
P.S.: Don't forget to R&R even if you hate my guts, because I will look at everything you say and accept it if its true. If it isn't true...well I'll probably just ignore it but hey, I am a fanfiction writer: don't like it, BITE ME *shrugs and sticks out tongue Reno-style*
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto and those other pplz like Shounen Jump. I do own any and all OCs in the main P2K story, that is to say THIS ONE. Any OCs that aren't mine, I will SPECIFICALLY TELL YOU WHOSE THEY ARE AND PROVIDE LINKAGE, so don't ask if you can use them(My answer will probably be no.) unless you know they're mine.
Promises to Keep, Chapter One: Beginnings and Endings
~Hokage Tower, December 26th five years before the Kyuubi attack~
Noisy…so very, very noisy and only six and a-half months old: Orochimaru gazed down at the small bundle that the Third Hokage handed him with an expressionless face. :Why does it wail so?: Was the first thought the snake summoner had upon receiving his new ward. Quite suddenly, the bundle ceased all movement, a small coo issuing from it. One tiny hand reached towards Orochimaru's face and wolf met snake for the first time…
~One year & three months later, mid-morning on March 9th~
"Takeshi-kun, you cannot go outside naked!! It is frigid and raining!!" Orochimaru scolded, desperately trying to maintain patience with the nude almost two-year-old boy that was running away from him through the garden. Squealing with laughter, the toddler dodged his caretaker's every attempt to catch him.
"Having trouble, Orochimaru?" A woman's voice called from the front gate. Orochimaru looked up to spot Tsunade and glowered as the boy ran to her without pausing for a second. Tsunade picked up the toddler and wrapped him in a blanket that she'd brought on impulse. Jiraiya, appearing at her side, laughed as he tickled the boy's chin.
"Humph." Was the only answer that Orochimaru gave as he took the rambunctious toddler from his fellow Sannin. "I must get him dressed: he is to be taken before the Council this afternoon." Without another word, Orochimaru took the boy inside, shutting Tsunade and Jiraiya out. After a half hour of minor struggles, young Takeshi Uchiha was dressed and ready for presentation to the Council. As soon as Orochimaru finished putting the boy's coat on, they departed for the Hokage Tower.
Ten minutes passed and the two arrived at the Hokage Tower; several people waved at the youngster who walked with one of the three Sannin. Takeshi frowned…he had never understood why he couldn't live in the Uchiha district with his family, but he couldn't say that he didn't like his caretaker-sensei either. He was far more mature and more intelligent than average two-year-olds, this the boy knew exceptionally well; he also knew that he scared people. The Hokage and other council members were waiting for them as they entered the council chamber. After being seated, Orochimaru and Takeshi sat, patiently waiting to be addressed. The two sat in silence for many minutes before the Third finally spoke.
"He has made respectable progress?" The Third seemed to be genuinely curious and as straight-forward as always when he addressed Orochimaru: he was one of maybe five who truly cared about the boy.
"He has. He is not quite two, yet he can speak as well as any seven-year-old and has already achieved the skill level of a genin. I have kept his prowess and true identity hidden, as this Council requested. However, I am hard pressed not to ask why it is that you want him hidden. I have raised the boy as my apprentice, just as I was ordered. He is a handful at times, but all is manageable once you understand him. However, it is not an easy task to hide his Sharingan now that it has activated. I can't help but wonder what this council has planned for such a gifted child."
"That is not your business, Orochimaru-sama. Feel justified in the knowledge that this Council felt that you alone were capable of teaching such a child. But now he is to be instructed by another; your duty to him is over." Homura said coldly while Koharu nodded her agreement. Danzo entered and the Third was obviously displeased as he motioned to Orochimaru, who got the message: time for him to leave. The adults exchanged the proper farewells and formalities before the Sannin left, leaving Takeshi alone and at the mercy of the Council. It had been decided that he was to be given to Danzo and become a Root ANBU. Naturally, the boy DID NOT want to go to Root and proceeded to fight, tooth and nail, in an effort to escape the adults. After chasing the boy around the whole of Hokage Tower and finally getting an ANBU to catch him, the Third managed to convince the boy that he needed to trust in the Council's decision. Finally, after much heated debate from the boy along the lines of "NO!", the Third got him to accompany Danzo to wherever it was he was taking the boy.
~Meanwhile, elsewhere in Konoha~
"Minato-sensei, come quick! Its begun!" Rin panted as she pulled on her sensei's arm, having run all the way from the hospital to fetch him from a training session with Kakashi and Obito; she had offered to stay with Kushina because of her medical training. Minato Namikaze didn't have to ask what had begun, he knew and he instantly took off in the direction of the hospital. His students blinked after him for a moment, marveling as they always did at how fast their sensei could move, before following after him. Despite being on the other side of the village, they reached the hospital in less than ten minutes, with Minato well ahead of them. Konoha's Yellow Flash paused just long enough to ask a question of the nurse before dashing away again. His students gave up: there was no point trying to chase him now, since they would be required to wait outside anyways. Instead, the trio settled for trying to stop the stitches in their sides and catch their breath. When they had sufficiently regained their composure, the team made their way upstairs and into the waiting room designated for expectant families. After some time, Jiraiya arrived and silently took a seat; they were startled when, after a half-hour, Minato came in looking a bit haggard. He flopped into the seat beside Jiraiya and gave his sensei a weak smile in exchange for the raised eyebrow and silent question he'd offered.
"Apparently, I'm worrying to excess and it is annoying Kushina and the doctors. So, I've been instructed to wait out here until called." The young Namikaze explained with a rueful chuckle. "Perhaps I am being just a bit…overbearing." Jiraiya laughed at him and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Relax Minato! All fathers are nervous during the birth of their first-borns!" Minato gave him a half-hearted glare, causing the Sannin to laugh harder. "Besides, women have been doing this since long before any of us were born. Don't worry about Kushina; she's a strong woman and a fine kunoichi. She's got this whipped, you'll see. So stop worrying and concentrate on doing what you can and let other people worry about the rest." Minato sighed and gave his sensei a wane smile before beginning to converse with his own students in an attempt to distract himself from his worry over his wife. He and Kushina had been married for just under a year and they had not been planning on starting a family quite this quickly. Suffice to say, it had been a bit of a surprise to both of them when Kushina had found out she was pregnant only a couple of months into their marriage. Roughly an hour passed and the sun was setting before Minato was called back into the delivery room: he came in just as the sound of crying filled the room. One of the nurses ushered him to the bedside and he was relieved to see that Kushina was tired, but well as she smiled at him. The doctor, who had been suctioning out the baby's nose and mouth, had applied the clamps to the umbilical cord and asked Minato if he wanted to do the honor of cutting it. Startled, Minato did so with the guidance of one of the nurses before they took the baby over to a mobile warming table to be cleaned, examined, and wrapped up in warmed blankets.
"She's beautiful Minato…a perfect example of why women do this at all." Kushina chuckled, more than a bit wryly, as they brought the baby back and handed her to Minato. As he looked down at his daughter for the first time, Konoha's Yellow Flash felt his heart melt: this was different from the love he had for Kushina, and yet it was exactly the same. In that instant, he knew he would do anything for this fragile little life, even forfeit his own if it meant she would be safe and happy. After the nurses and the doctor finished cleaning up and had moved Kushina to a recovery room, Jiraiya was allowed in with Minato's students. The group brought in some flowers and other small gifts while Jiraiya had actually gone to the trouble of getting ramen from Ichiraku's for the new parents. The drowsing newborn was in the hospital bassinet, completely oblivious to the trio of teens that were casting disbelieving looks at her and then back at her mother: clearly, they weren't quite able to grasp at the reality that a seven pound, thirteen ounce baby had fit inside of Kushina.
"Minato-sensei, have you and Kushina-san named her yet? I'll bet its something really pretty!" Rin murmured as she reached out to tentatively stroke the baby's cheek but quickly pulled back when the little one scrunched up her face and wriggled. "Shhh! No, no, I'm sorry! Please don't cry!" Rin softly pleaded as the baby began to whimper.
"You just startled her Rin; she's new here is all!" Obito laughed as he watched Rin try to soothe the infant she had unintentionally upset. Kakashi was remaining obstinately distant, though out of respect or anxiety nobody knew. He was pointedly avoiding contact with the tiny newborn and he alone knew why: he was afraid to touch her, she was so small and fragile looking. He knew that if he put so much a single hair out of place on her little head, he'd catch absolute hell from Kushina.
"Hey, look- it's raining." Kushina observed, glancing out the open window at the soft sound of raindrops. "Rain can be soft and beautiful or harsh and terrible…especially rain that falls in the night…" She said thoughtfully, looking over at her daughter as Minato lifted her out of the bassinet. "Amaya…'night rain'." Minato had paused, understanding what Kushina meant as soon as she had said the name Amaya. He smiled and looked down at the baby girl, with her soft strawberry blond hair. Hair that would no doubt change in color as she aged and eventually earn her a solid reputation as a beauty if she was anything like her mother.
"Amaya Namikaze, huh? Well, it sounds fitting to me." Jiraiya said as he watched his student hold his newborn daughter with a broad smile.
~July 23rd, the year Kyuubi attacks~
"'Tachi, wait for me!!!" A small girl with fire-gold hair chased after the older boy while Rin watched them. Kushina had agreed to let Rin and Kakashi bring Amaya over to the Uchiha district while she had a doctor's appointment and Minato was in the middle of a meeting, effectively trapping him in his office as Hokage. It just happened that Mikoto had gone into labor and was currently at the hospital giving birth. So it was that the Uchiha boy and the Namikaze-Uzumaki girl were playing a game of "catch-me-if-you-can". By some stroke of fate, Takeshi had ditched Danzo and all of the other Root members and was now secretly watching his twin and this small girl child play. Meanwhile, Itachi had taken Kakashi's presence as a training opportunity and had asked the older boy to spar with him, while poor Amaya just wanted them to pay attention to her. As the boys continued with their 'training', Amaya fell and cut herself on a stray kunai from the boys' mini-combat. She gave out a high-pitched wail of pain, having only turned three a few months previously, which brought Rin and Kakashi running. Itachi was instantly worried and felt guilty for ignoring her, so he went to Amaya as well. Rin was examining the wound, which was fairly deep and two inches long, on the small girl's right wrist. Kakashi was mumbling on about how Minato-sensei was gonna kill them while Rin was trying desperately to stop the bleeding and mend the deep gash.
"Here, let me do it!" Takeshi said, dropping from the tree he been hiding in and taking the girl's wrist in his hands: Itachi, Rin, and Kakashi were startled but wisely made no comment. Silvery-blue chakra seeped from his hands into the wound, healing it in seconds. Just then, a man wearing the Uchiha crest appeared. After catching his breath, the man spoke, "Bring Itachi to the hospital; bring the girl and the other boy if you have to. A new Uchiha has just been born!" Kakashi and Rin exchanged looks and, while Rin carried Amaya, they shepherded the two boys in the direction of the hospital as quickly as they could. As they arrived in the hospital's main lobby, Fugaku was waiting and scowled at Takeshi.
"Aren't you supposed to be training, boy?" Takeshi looked his father straight in the eye and shrugged, as if in great boredom. Since everyone there looked confused, Takeshi sighed and explained.
"I have mastered all of my assignments for the week so I decided to observe Itachi-kun, sir." Was all he said which made Fugaku start: Takeshi was actually interested in Itachi's progress? Well, that was a first…no one had been able to actually hold the boy's attention for more than a moment since Orochimaru. "I think he will do very well in Ninja Academy, sir. We were told to come because a new Uchiha was born: does that mean that Mikoto-sama has had her baby, Fugaku-sama?"
Takeshi had to remember to use formalities with his parents' names, as he was not allowed to let on to the fact that he was Itachi's older twin. He was allowed to admit that he was of Uchiha heritage, but not that he was Fugaku and Mikoto's son. He hated it, but he would rather put up with calling them 'sir' or 'ma'am' than not being able to see them at all, which Fugaku had threatened if he did not "behave according to your status as a true prodigy of this village." After all, he was considered a child genius by many of the hidden ninja villages, not just among his clan.
"Yes, Itachi-kun has a little brother." It was one of the Uchiha nurses who said this, but Fugaku did not seem to mind. The head of the Uchiha family simply took Itachi's hand and led the group up to the nursery, where the newborn Uchiha was being weighed, measured, and having his first physical exam. Takeshi watched and, though he kept his face blank, he was very proud as he watched his new brother test out a powerful set of lungs: even at five, he knew that the baby couldn't have much wrong with him if he was crying like that. Smiling, he quickly bounded back downstairs and returned ten minutes later, easily finding Mikoto's room, with a large vase of roses and lilies. Fugaku allowed him to take them in by himself, giving his son a chance to visit his mother alone. As he entered, he noticed the smell he'd come to associate with newborns of all kinds and saw that while he was downstairs, the nurses had returned his new brother to his mother. Smiling, but just a little, the five year old proudly displayed the vase of flowers he'd brought.
"Thank you, Takeshi: they're beautiful! Would you like to see Sasuke?" Mikoto was obviously tired, but she was very pleased…. Takeshi gave his mother a wide smile as he set the flowers on a table near the bed. He then cautiously used a chair to allow him to be on the same level as his mother's bed. He looked down at the baby, all pink and soft helplessness with a thick patch of black hair. Takeshi beamed at his mother; he started when she held the baby out to him, though, obviously expecting him to hold this fragile little thing.
"Okasan, I don't want to! He's so small….I'm afraid I might accidentally hurt him or drop him or….or worse!" Mikoto smiled and assured him that though babies were small and fragile, they were quite resilient. She told him that she also knew that he wouldn't hurt Sasuke: he was too mature and far too careful. After giving his mother a dubious look, the boy took his baby brother with extreme delicacy. The baby made a small sound and Takeshi had a brief moment of panic before little Sasuke latched onto a handful of his shirt and went right back to sleep. Mikoto covertly took a picture of her oldest and youngest, since it was far too cute to resist capturing on film. Takeshi noticed, however, and glared while stating he had better get a copy of any pictures she took of him with Sasuke. They had done this all before whenever she'd secretly taken pictures of him and Itachi, so Mikoto just smiled.
"Okasan, I have to tell you something…will you promise not to tell anyone?" Mikoto, surprised at first, nodded and waited patiently for Takeshi to continue. "No matter what I turn into, I will always be your son…I'll look after my brothers if something happens to you and Father. I swear that I will make the Uchiha clan proud to call me family! I'm gonna surpass everyone! Mother, please watch me as I make everyone acknowledge my heritage!" Takeshi had a strange look in his eyes and an eerie air around him: Sasuke whimpered, indicating that he was hungry and quite possibly disturbed, just as his mother was, by Takeshi's odd change.
After giving his brother back to their mother, Takeshi left the room and said goodbye to Itachi and his father. He then offered to take the now sleeping Amaya home, since Rin and Kakashi probably wanted to get back to their normal duties. The two older ninja hesitated before remembering something their sensei had told them a few weeks previously….
…
"Don't worry about trusting Takeshi-kun; that boy is already on the level of an ANBU Black Ops. Leader and since he hasn't got any family unless you count the Hokage and Sannin, he's become a bit protective of mine." Minato grinned that silly grin of his as he spoke. "Plus, he's strong enough to beat many of the Chûnin in the village."
"Is he really that strong, Minato-sensei?" Rin asked while Kakashi simply gave a disbelieving snort.
"No five-year-old is as strong as a Chûnin, Rin. It's just not plausible!" Kakashi rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"Ah, maybe not plausible Kakashi, but it IS possible! Takeshi-kun just happens to be an exception to the general rules." Minato laughed as he ruffled Kakashi's hair. "He's actually similar to you, Kakashi-kun: an exception to the rules of what youngsters should be able to do and what they can REALLY do!"
Kakashi had grumbled and laughed sarcastically while Rin and Minato's laughter escalated nearly out of control….
…
Kakashi sighed and Rin handed Amaya over to Takeshi with a soft smile. "Now be sure you take her straight back to Kushina-san!" Rin said, wagging a stern finger under Takeshi's nose. The boy nodded and quickly left while Itachi and his father were in with Mikoto and the baby: if Fugaku didn't see it, he couldn't yell about it.
"It's not like I have anywhere else to go, Rin-chan…." Takeshi said a bit crossly as he left, carrying the sleeping little girl. As Takeshi made his way to Amaya's house, he thought how lucky she was to have parents that didn't care what people thought about them. After all, her mother was from the Whirlpool and her dad was now the prime candidate for the Fourth Hokage. Lots of people thought that Minato should've married someone from Konoha instead but it didn't seem to bother them. His family, on the other hand, was all about its reputation and keeping up good appearances. If you were an Uchiha, you HAD to live up to expectations: Uchihas were the best, no matter what. If you weren't the best at what you did, then you didn't deserve to be called an Uchiha. As a result, it was ironic to him that even though he was the only kid his age that was an established shinobi, even if he hadn't even officially graduated from the Academy yet, he was not allowed to use the Uchiha name. He knew that on his birthday, the Hokage had arranged for him to 'graduate' from the Academy, but he had not gone to the ceremonies. His reasons were simple: he was despised and nobody wanted him there, even ignoring that he would have gotten bored after five minutes. He was also aware that he was to partake in the first Chûnin exam following his graduation: no one doubted that he would be promoted to Chûnin before the age of six, even if they preferred to ignore his existence. For despite only being five-years-old, he had successfully completed thirty D-rank, twelve C-rank, eight B-rank, two A-rank, and two S-rank missions. It was true that, on the A-rank and S-ranks, he had required back-up, but in the end he was the one to actually complete the missions. Even taking all of this into account, he was denied the one thing he wanted: his place as an Uchiha…his family. That was what stung, what hurt, the most…the fact that his own family denied him even in light of his obvious skill and vast advancements.
From the day he was born, the council had wanted to kill him because he was too powerful: the chakra level he held was impossible for a normal human and was quite similar to a bijuu, he knew. The Third Hokage had stood up for him, saying that even though what they said was true, he was still only an infant and could be trained to control his powers and use them to protect the village. Regardless of what anyone said, the advisors outnumbered the Hokage and had a law passed: no one was to refer to him as an Uchiha and he was to be raised away from his family. None of the villagers were to ever tell Itachi or Sasuke that they had a brother who had been removed because of his gifts: all of the adults knew of his parentage, but it was to be forgotten as if he'd never been born. He was an outcast, allowed to stay only because the Hokage ordered it, even as he was totally ostracized by the villagers and his family. Only his mother was kind to him, and that was only when there was nobody to observe them. On very rare occasions, his father would give him a word of praise or perhaps a look of approval. He cherished those stolen moments of pride, acknowledgement, love, and affection…stolen moments of happiness with the mother and father who could not treat him as their own. The entire village treated him like some form of nasty parasite or something unpleasant that was tolerated only because the powers that be insisted on it. Not that Takeshi really minded…sometimes it was nice to have people leave you alone, even if it was because they thought you weren't trustworthy or a monster.
Reaching Amaya's house, Takeshi knocked on the door as best he could without dropping the girl he was carrying piggy-back style. As the door opened, he simply walked in, as the wind was starting to pick up and give the air an unpleasant chill. Without a word, he carried Amaya over to the couch and somehow maneuvered so that he was able to lay her down without waking her. Only then did he notice Jiraiya and Minato sitting at the table. This led him to the conclusion that Kushina had to have been the one to let him in. A moment later and his theory was confirmed as Kushina appeared in the doorway to the kitchen: Takeshi had just come through there. He politely declined when he was invited to stay for dinner. "I'm sorry, but Sensei is probably looking for me and he hates it when I'm late. Thank you for the invitation, though." Having said this, Takeshi promptly vanished in a small cloud of smoke…he was not seen in the village again for three months. When he did reappear, it was under the name Kurai Rokue: Takeshi Uchiha had never formally existed, after all…he had just been a boy named Takeshi, with no family and no last name.
~October 1st, year of the Kyuubi attack~
"Higher, Daddy, higher!" The soft and happy sound of Amaya Namikaze's young voice drifted through Hokage Tower and Jiraiya smiled as he made his way to the young Hokage's office with the Third. Kushina was taking a well-deserved nap, leaving the young Hokage alone with the task of watching his daughter AND performing his duties as Hokage, which currently included paperwork galore. As the pair opened the door, they were greeted by a sight that could only be described as adorable: Minato Namikaze, the Fourth, was tossing his daughter carefully above his head, causing her to giggle with delight. The three year old had seen less and less of her father since his recent appointment as Hokage, and was taking full advantage of spending the day in his office.
"Ah, Amaya, Daddy's arms are getting tired! You're getting to be a bit too big for this! Soon, Daddy won't be able to do it at all!" Minato laughed as he caught his daughter and rested her against one hip. Little Amaya looked hurt by the idea of her father not being strong enough to toss her as many times as she wished.
"But Daddy's the strongest shinobi in the village…and I'm not that heavy!" Amaya protested as she snuggled against her father's chest, happily tucking her head under his chin. Turning and strolling over to his desk, Minato smiled sheepishly at Jiraiya and the Third, who were both suppressing their laughter at the father and daughter. Amaya, ever the unrepentant little girl, gave a squeal of delight upon sighting Jiraiya and sprang from her father's arms, running to greet the Toad Sannin and the Third, both of whom she thought of as family. "Jiraiya-jiisan, Hiouji!" Jiraiya couldn't resist her and knelt down to catch the beautiful little girl in a hug, spinning her around. Neither man had been able to deny her when she'd begun calling them 'Grandpa Jiraiya' and 'Great-grandfather', respectively. It seemed that no-one in the village could deny the Fourth's daughter when she was always so damned adorable.
"Hey, now…there's my Maya-chan!" Jiraiya laughed as he set the girl down, kneeling so he could look her in the eyes. Slowly, he pulled a small velveteen pouch out of his pocket. "Now, it's really early, but I brought you a birthday present!" All of the men smiled as the girl patiently waited while Jiraiya opened the pouch and removed a carefully wrapped item no larger than a small box for a necklace. Removing the paper from the parcel, he first extracted a black leather cord, set to adjust easily to fit the girl loosely or tightly as she choose, even when she reached adulthood. For now, even at its tightest, the cord would always be loose on the girl. But the true gift was made obvious as Jiraiya finally revealed the pendant that was hanging from the cord: it was an intricately carved jade frog. The frog was mostly green in color but held traces of white, brownish-yellow, and the barest hint of black jade within it, lending a natural pattern to its appearance as a frog. Amaya was thrilled and immediately began begging Jiraiya to put it on for her. The Sannin did as asked and laughed with Minato and the Third when she exclaimed that she'd never take it off, no matter what. "I just bet that you won't!" Jiraiya affectionately ruffled the girl's beautiful hair as he rose to his feet, her tiny hand sliding contently into his as she pulled him over to her father's desk.
"What brings the two of you in here on such a lovely day?" Minato asked easily as his three-year-old scrambled back into his lap, effectively ending the attempt he'd begun to make at doing some paperwork.
"Well, I came to abduct you and that charming little imp presiding over all of Konoha from her position in your heart, Hokage-sama." Minato made to deny the implication but Jiraiya waved him off, chuckling good-humouredly. "As for Sarutobi-sensei, I believe he has an offer for you." Jiraiya laughed as Amaya stuck her tongue out at a woman who came in bringing another mountain of paperwork for the Fourth's attention, serving to reinforce the nickname he'd just applied: imp. "Now, Maya-chan...stop that. The nice lady is only doing her job!" He teased as the woman looked confused as to how to respond: the child was spoiled and rude, yet she could not object because the girl was the Fourth's daughter…saying anything to the child that displeased the father could equal HUGE trouble for all involved. Unable to do anything or make a decision, the woman simply turned and left in a bit of a private huff.
"Oh? What kind of an offer, Sarutobi-sama?" Minato asked with divided attention: Amaya had vacated his lap in interest of the kitten that the Uchiha family had given to her for her birthday. Now playing with the Siamese-tabby cross, she was coming perilously close to a large and unsteady pile of very heavy scrolls and other odd items. The Third chuckled and as Jiraiya tensed, ready to snatch Amaya out of harm's way should she unbalance the already precariously tipped stack, he proposed to fill in for Minato for the day: Minato was momentarily stunned but recovered in record speed to protest.
"I will remain here and take care of all this tedious paperwork; take the opportunity to go out among the villagers and spend time with Amaya-chan. Jiraiya will go with you and I will have an ANBU squad guarding Kushina, with Kakashi at point. When she wakes up she can join you, as long as she's feeling up to it." Sarutobi chuckled as Minato continued to make feeble protests before stopping and moving so quickly that he seemed to fly. Pulling Amaya and the kitten away, he gently cautioned the child against such actions while Jiraiya caught the tumbling pile of scrolls and replaced them. Looking thoroughly harassed, Minato gave a defeated sigh and agreed: there was no hope of getting any work done when you had an irrepressible and mischievous three-year-old locked in with you, anyways.
~Forty-five minutes later~
Amaya was happily humming as she got to ride around the village on her father's shoulders: Minato couldn't help but smile at his daughter and could only hope his son, due to be born in October, would be just as happy of a child. He could only pray, however, that his children wouldn't be the death of each other -or him, for that matter- when they got older… He knew that most siblings had rivalries and that some could be particularly violent. Oblivious to Minato's thoughts, Jiraiya was going on about his novel, a copy of which he'd given to his former student but which had not yet been opened, and keeping Amaya enthralled with some story or other about his many adventures. God, how the girl adored the old pervert. It didn't matter to her that he was a legendary Sannin or that he was one of the biggest perverts Konoha had to offer; no, all little Amaya cared about was that he was funny and always made her laugh. That he gave big hugs and called her his 'hime'…his little princess. Tsunade had once joked that if she was a princess, it was the princess of toads since both Jiraiya and Minato had signed blood contracts with the toads and eventually Amaya would be given the chance to do so as well. As they approached the lake by the Academy, they were hailed by several of the students and a few families that were picnicking at nearby tables: the students had been dismissed for lunch and would resume classes in an hour. Mixed in among the families that had come to eat with their children at the Academy was the Uchiha clan's head family: Fugaku and Mikoto with five-year-old Itachi and one & a half-month-old Sasuke. As usual, nearly everyone wanted to say 'hello' to the recently appointed Fourth and Minato was not one to say no; this was because everyone was important to Minato, each person worth more than their weight in gold.
After several minutes of these polite greetings and various bits of small-talk, Amaya whispered in her father's ear, announcing that she was bored and wanted to go play with Itachi, Iruka, and a few other boys: she was already a tomboy and all of the boys were older than her. Itachi was her elder by two years, Iruka by eleven, and Hatori, her cousin through Kushina, by nine years…these were only three of the roughly seven boys that made up the small band Amaya had assembled about herself as playmates and protective 'brother' figures. The girls wanted little to do with her because she liked to get absolutely filthy and didn't care about the things that made other girls scream, like bugs or mice. Exchanging an understanding look with Jiraiya, Minato let his daughter down and watched as she instantly was at Mikoto's side, dotting on baby Sasuke: she couldn't wait for her own baby brother to arrive and made it blatantly obvious. Jiraiya sighed and politely followed after the group of miniature shinobi and one fire-gold haired princess as they began a game of tag. Soon other students from the Academy were joining out of interest as Amaya performed a flawless henge, becoming Itachi: it would appear that she was spending far to much time around her father, Jiraiya, Itachi and other strong ninja or prodigies…she was beginning to pick up things that no child her age should be able to do, at least not with her level of accuracy and success. After giggling madly and earning a smile from her father, Amaya let the henge fade and concentrated on keeping up with the bigger and stronger boys.
"Iru! Tori! Wait for me!" She was running after Iruka and Hatori as they headed back towards the Academy, though both had long since graduated and become genin; they, with Kakashi, were like older brothers to her and often babysat her for Minato and Kushina along with Tsuchino, a girl three years older than Itachi that had been placed on a genin team with Hatori and Iruka. Itachi never once left Amaya's side as she tried to keep pace with the big kids and Tsuchino actually scolded the boys for ignoring her before producing two sticks of dango from her lunch: dango was not only Amaya's favorite treat, but Itachi's as well.
"You two are such cretins, ignoring Amaya-hime like that!" Hatori instantly tried to defend himself while Iruka just hung his head, shamefaced. "Oh, stuff it Hatori! Itachi-kun is the only one who pays any attention to her without being told to! Even Iruka ignores her most of the time! Kakashi-senpai is too busy to play with her anymore and none of the other kids will because they don't want to risk getting Yondaime-sama or Kushina-sama mad for hurting her feelings!" Tsuchino was quite a mother-hen and had a lethally short-fused temper. "There aren't any kids her age; we're all older than her unless you count the babies! The kid nearest her in age is Neji-kun and he's only one!"
"Stop it Tsuchino." Came a soft voice and all of the youngsters started as a boy, no older than five and bearing a striking resemblance to Itachi but without the worry-lines that Fugaku had passed to his son, stood covering Amaya's ears. The little girl was silently crying and had huddled between this boy and Itachi, clinging to both. "You're scaring her by yelling at them; she is only three." Tsuchino looked horrible abashed and quickly apologized: being Hatori's neighbor, she knew that the Fourth used to live on the other side of the street from Hatori and had seen this boy come and go many times. She'd once asked Kushina-sama about it and had been told that he was a very skilled shinobi, even as young as he was, and was assigned to protect Amaya, constantly tailing the child and whomever she might be with. He must be very mad to have blown his cover to scold her.
"Ah, Takeshi-kun!" Minato said as he spotted the boy, coming to collect his daughter with Mikoto doing likewise for Itachi. Mikoto froze as she saw the boy but quickly recovered, telling Itachi it was time to go home: Itachi didn't budge, but remained obstinately at Amaya's side while trying to comfort the younger girl. The boy looked up at Minato, completely impassive, and Minato felt his heart wrench for the boy he had known. Empty voids stared at him where emotion and conscious thought had once been, where maturity and an unbendable will of fire had lived but had somehow vanished. This was not Takeshi…this was an empty shell that had once been Takeshi, but no longer: Root had finally cracked him completely, breaking him to Danzo's will. Vaguely, he wondered what the old war hawk had done to the boy but quickly decided to find out after getting him and Amaya away from the current situation. "I see…come with me, shinobi. We have much to discuss at another location." He watched, horrified as his tone and authority as Hokage made the boy responsive when a friendly call of his name had not. What in all the levels of Hell had Root done to the lad…?