A/N: Custom in Japan prior to Western influence was that men took their wives' surnames upon marriage, and children also were given their mother's surname. For a long time, the men also left their family and became an asset to support their wife's family through labor or whatever their trade. Today, however, it is actually law that the women take their husbands' surname. Although neither tends to move in with the opposite family these days, omiai (arranged meetings for the purpose of meeting an intended partner by the parents' choice) still occur frequently.

In this fic, the Daimyo worked with the grandparents of Minato to arrange his parents marriage for the purpose of his (and his sister's) creation. They had a few omiai and agreed to marry, the Hatake man then moved to the Haruno woman's family farm, took the Haruno name, and worked for her parents in their orchard as would have been customary at that time.

Haruno Yoriko and Minato were ten years old.

Most children at that age would still be learning their family trade during the day, playing in the fields with friends, and reluctantly doing chores before bedtime. At ten, these two should be helping their father's clan plant rice and soybeans on the farm, or their mother's clan tend the cherry and apple orchards. They should be loading carts, some to sell in town and others to sell to the house of the Daimyo. They should be tending the horses and fixing wooden wheels.

Instead, the young twins were armed with thirty shuriken, six kunai, and a tanto each. They wore thick protective clothing, heavy and hot under the summer sun, wading through tall grasses towards their home, wounded and supporting one another from the skirmish with the Yuuhi clan.

The Daimyo had sent a Haruno woman to them, warning of an impending attack by the Yuuhi clan that would wipe out the remainder of the Hatake family. If they acted now, they could stop the attack. As it was now, there were only twenty Hatake left. Five years ago, most of them were sick and carefully quarantined themselves to stop the sickness from spreading to the near-by Haruno clan. When the sickness passed and the survivors came out, it was to find that most of their clan lay dead in their beds. Only those with superior immune systems survived. Yoriko and Minato survived only because they were staying with their mother's parents at the time. Their older cousin, Jiraiya, had to burry his father and younger brother, but, thankfully, his mother survived.

A lot of people wondered why no Haruno was sent to warn them of the sickness.

All eleven of the current women who could use their ability to travel back in time lived with the Daimyo, and if any of them left this time without his express, their immediate family would be killed. In return for doing his bidding, the Daimyo paid extra for the fruits and grains the farming community produced and made sure the capable children among them were taught to harness their chakra as weapons to defend their clans and the Daimyo's house. Extra fire wood would be supplied in the winter for every ninja who pledged themselves to him, and extra working animals like dogs, cats, horses and oxen would be sent for each Haruno or Hatake that successfully demonstrated their loyalty by using their respective kekke genkai to ensure the Daimyo and his successors remained untouched by enemies.

These people were very happy with the trade-off, until the Hatake were allowed to be nearly wiped out. Those people of the Hatake who had been working for the Daimyo withdrew their support as soon as news of the death toll reached them. All support for the Hatake clan was revoked the next harvest season. No horses or oxen came from the Daimyo's estate to help haul the grain to the silos or to the markets. Nearly half of their harvest rotted in the field despite the fact they worked their own animals twice as hard to move their stock. The extra bonus of money did not grace their pockets for what they were able to bring in to the Daimyo. Several families shared their wood with one another to stay warm the following winter, some even taking down their own homes to use the wood for warmth. Mice and other rodents ate the seeds they planned on using to start the next year's crops.

On top of that, the Haruno were pressured into withholding any aid they wanted to give. Any Haruno found helping the "traitors" would, also, find their allotted aid reduced in the next season. Some aid came their way, however, in the form of the twins and their father.

The non-Haruno, non-Hatake guards did not know the children were Haruno, but it was obvious their father was a Hatake by his extremely fair coloring and the fact that his family crest was tattooed into his neck. They would be allowed to go back to the Hatake lands, but only if their mother did not come along. She was instantly recognizable as a Haruno with her very brightly colored hair and eyes. The guards who stopped them were curious for a moment, but were reminded that it was not uncommon for Hatake whom had not activated their kekke genkai not to have the signature silvery pale hair and colorless grey eyes of those who had. They, and all of their "belongings" were allowed to pass. It was a one way trip, but it brought needed food and medicines to their friends and extended family.

The next spring, an offer to re-establish the original agreement between the Hatake and the Daimyo was sent. It seemed the Daimyo had realized his prized soldiers, the twins Yoriko and Minato, had escaped his hold on the Haruno. He knew of the slip they and their father had given the guards separating the Haruno and the Hatake that winter, and now was willing to make amends. Of course, everyone knew it was so that he could get his hands on the children. As a good faith gesture, a royal doctor, extra food, clothing, and building materials were sent to the Hatake to aid them whether or not they agreed to rekindle the previous arrangement.

For the next five years things were touch-and-go between the Hatake and the Daimyo. Tensions grew on the Haruno end as well. Some of the women who activated their kekke genkai refused to serve the Daimyo. The Hatake numbers were so small, they were actually considering asking the Haruno to absorb their lands and become one clan together.

Then, one day, young Hatake Jiraiya came running home with a story that worried the heads of both clans. He had met a Haruno woman on the road and brought her to his father, the Hatake clan leader, and then set about telling everyone that she was there to help them stop their clans from being wiped out by the Yuuhi. Her suggestion was unreasonable as far as the Hatake leader was concerned. He would be willing to give up his status and lands to the Haruno clan if it meant his family's survival, but he would not pick up and leave. The woman told him it would have to happen no matter what. Instead, he chose to petition the Haruno for soldiers to join his and ambush the Yuuhi clan.

When asked why he would not leave, he answered her honestly. One day, there would be a Hatake leading a grand army of ninja in these mountains. It was a long way off, but he trusted what his nephew and niece had said, especially since he sent his son with them a second time to that far-away time. He planned on helping to build the foundations for that future.

Thus every able bodied Hatake and Haruno, with no aid from the Daimyo's other soldiers, slowly advanced on this outpost of the Yuuhi closest to their own lands. While the rest of the clans stayed on the farms to continue their daily lives, these thirty ninja would protect them.

Upon their arrival home, however, it was to see all of the land in ruin. Their homes were burning. The grain fields were full of bodies, and the orchards were torn apart, not one tree left standing. No one was left alive except for a handful of those responsible. Two Terumi, one Yamanaka, and two Sarutobi were left alive, but barely. Even though the non-ninja among the Hatake and Haruno focused their lives on their farms, they could handle themselves in a fight. Many were as strong and well versed in battle as those who had left, but they had reasons not to go... like having young children, being quite old, or somewhat disabled from previous service. All in all, they were still capable fighters, and had shown their enemies just how capable with their last breaths.

The two clan leaders decided to abandon the land the way the woman had said to in the first place. If the Daimyo wanted this land so badly he would allow this to happen, he could have it all... and the wounded children who should have known this would happen. If they had spend enough time in the future of this place, they would have learned about this catastrophe and warned them of the real enemy.

Their uncle was so angry, he attacked the young and very weakened Minato. His son, Jiraiya, tried to pull his father away, yelling at him that there was no way for them to know this would happen. They had gone so far into the future that this time period was relatively forgotten. The man did not stop even when Minato was unconscious. He did not stop when Youko broke free of the hold others had on her and jumped in the way of his fists. He hit her so hard on the top of her head that everyone heard her skull pop.

She had already been hit so hard in the head by an enemy that she was in need of medical attention. Now, it didn't matter. Red and grey oozed from her wound into the ground by her brother's side. When Minato awoke, everyone alive was gone. The five who were left alive when he had come home were executed, and his sister... She was laying across him.

"Yoriko-chan," he shook her arm, "wake up. We have to find-"

He stopped when he realized that not only was she not breathing, she was cold and stiff. Shuffling out from under her body, he got the full picture. He cried for hours, holding her body close despite the smell, the blood, and brain now staining his cloths and skin. This was his sister, his twin whom he had never done anything without. He always knew what she was going to say, what she was going to do, the moment she chose to say or do it. She anticipated his every move, his every thought. If one of them was hurt, the other knew. If one of them was happy beyond explanation, the other knew. It didn't matter the distance.

How could he live without her? He needed her to share every experience with. It was obvious neither side of his remaining family wanted him. He had failed them so greatly they killed Yoriko and left him for dead, too.

The next day he noted the graves that must have held the majority of the Hatake and Haruno killed while they were away. With melancholy, he dug a separate grave for Yoriko, marking it with a stone and using raw chakra to engrave her name. He then took the next two days to dig pits for bonfires. In the evening and night of the second hot summer day, he piled the bodies of the Yamanaka, Terumi, and Sarutobi onto the blazing fires. With what money he found in his two clans' homes, his clothes from his mother's home, and a few of Yoriko's belongings, he made his way up into the mountains, away from the contaminated ground of his home, and found clean water to bathe, burning the clothing he wore the past several days while burning the rotting corpses in the same fire he then used to cook his dinner.

It was hard trying to decide what to do now. He knew he would have to conceal his identity as a Haruno. He couldn't claim to be Hatake either. Both names invited trouble now, it seemed. He thought for a while about the other names related to his family, he wanted to use something he'd answer to quickly when called. He remembered that his mother's sister had married a man whose brother had married a Namikaze. Their children grew up in the same part of the farm lands and even went to the school the Daimyo had made. He was familiar with that name, and that name he would take.

The next thing was finding a place to live. He couldn't go home, and he couldn't stay within the Daimyo's grasp, or that of any enemy of his clans. He would be recognized quickly. Sitting by his little cooking fire, he felt so alone. No one had stayed with him. His mother would never chide him for not eating enough again. His father would never again straighten his armor. His cousin Jiraiya and Yoriko would never again race with him between farms with rice sacks on their backs to see who had the best endurance, speed, and strength.

He would have none of that wherever he went, if he ever made it anywhere at all.

That's when it hit him.

There were six faces on the mountain the second time he and Yoriko visited the place called Konohagakure No Sato. They had gone farther into the future that time and found out that not only had this place been experiencing a post-war baby-boom among ninja and civilian alike, but there was a Hatake in charge of the ninja, and it was his face up on that wall of stone. Two faces to his left was another familiar face. This one looked much like Minato's mother's face, much like Yoriko's, only male and adult. That would be his face. He promised it would be his face.

Mind made up, he gathered up his things, intent on expending enough energy to bring everything he had with him. There would be no way to make it as far as he had the first or second time with all of these things, but he didn't have to. He just had to make it far enough. Closing his eyes, Minato tapped into the well of white chakra inside, beneath the blue. It was the hardest to grasp, but, once grasped, flowed freely, silky, hot.

Minato opened his eyes, watching the scenery change around him, trees grow old, rot, new ones sprout up, grow old, rot. Erosion from wind and rain wore down the rocks slightly, and people passed by on a new path a few yards away. A shock of pale silvery white hair caught Minato's attention, and he stopped the transfer. This young man looked similar to his father, but more like his uncle. This man was most certainly a Hatake descendant, and not far behind him came another a couple years younger, one more closely resembling the sixth face on the mountain.

He had made it!

Maybe he made it too far. If this was Hatake Kakashi Minato was looking at, he had to take a moment and retouch his timing, regress a couple decades. Arriving too late wasn't a problem in any way other than being a hassle.

"Jiraiya, you know Tsunade will never go out with you, so give me a break, okay?" the younger man plead.

Minato stopped. No... it couldn't be!

"She will be mine one day, Sakumo," Jiraiya retorted. "I know she will, so just focus on finding yourself a different girlfriend. I don't care if she asked you out first. You are destined to have a lovely, somewhat younger, wife you can't keep your hands off."

"How would you know that Tsunade isn't the woman for me, then, huh?"

"I told you already," Jiraiya shrugged. "I can see the future... kinda."

"Last week you said you could go to the future," the younger man shoved him on the shoulder.

This comment sealed the deal for Minato. Even if this was not his Jiraiya, this was a Jiraiya who knew his family secret. Minato stood up and announced his presence now. "Because he can!"

Both young shinobi were startled, but disciplined enough not to just start attacking. They checked their target first.

"Who are you, kid?" Sakumo asked, relaxing his stance and starting towards Minato.

Jiraiya stopped him beaming, "I know the kid. He's one of the war orphans."

"I'm Namikaze Minato," the boy introduced bowing to Sakumo and Jiraiya formally. "I... I was trying to run away and got kinda lost. I don't think they'll notice I was gone at all if you take me back now."

"My gods, kid, what happened to you?" Sakumo asked, brushing his friend off and advancing on Minato. "You look like you got the shit kicked out of you. Jiraiya, we need to get him to the hospital right now and let Tsunade look at him."

Jiraiya shook his head, "She's with Orochimaru right now, she won't come out to look at him."

"I do need help," Minato pouted. "They beat my head pretty good. It's hurt for days."

"Oh, fine," Jiraiya shrugged. "Go catch up with your team, Hatake... I'll get this one to the hospital and find out where he lives and all that boring crap."

Minato and Jiraiya stood there, staring at one another for a while after Sakumo made Jiraiya promise to get the boy taken care of. He would check by the hospital later to see if he had been seen at all for good measure.

"It's been a long time, cousin," Jiraiya offered, slowly walking towards him.

"It really is you, then," Minato frowned. "It's been days! Yoriko is dead! Why did you leave us? What happened to Yoriko-chan? Why didn't you stay with us? You saw everything Yoriko and I saw! You could go back and make things right! Why didn't you stop them from killing Yoriko?"

Jiraiya stood there and let Minato punch, kick, and scream. He deserved it, and he knew it. Back then, as a twelve-year-old boy, he didn't have the power to protect his friends, his cousins. He had tried anyway. When his father threatened to do the same to him days later, Jiraiya left. He left for the future he had seen with his cousins, and had vowed to find the man who would be the fourth face on that wall, Hatake or Haruno, and help him ascend to that place. Now, though, he knew he had been wrong.

Yoriko had died, but Minato had not. He had left his cousin, his best friend, alone to discover the death of his cherished sister. He could have ran back home after the argument he'd had with his father, and he could have found Minato. He could have ran away with him. Instead, he chose to leave all together, think only of himself.

Jiraiya stood there, collecting bruises, and took all of his failures in as the boy wore himself out. He only moved to block Minato's attacks once the boy produced a kunai and tried to stab him in the gut. Jiraiya knocked the weapon out of his hand and side stepped. Minato produced another weapon, his anger and grief focusing now into a thought out attack, a planned revenge of sorts.

"Enough!" Jiraiya commanded, taking advantage of their height difference to hold Minato by his collar in the air after knocking another weapon aside. "Don't make me knock you out in order to get you to the hospital."

"Do it then!" Minato demanded. "Or just kill me instead! I wanna die! I don't want to live without my Kaa-san and Nee-chan!"

With an eye roll, Jiraiya chose an all together different rout and placed the boy under a genjutsu instead, one in which Minato believed he was hog tied. It made carrying him and his things to the hospital much easier.