Title: Butterfly Wings
Author: Cecil Kain Cerberus
Characters (central focus): Minato, Kurama
Pairings: Minato/Kushina
Rating: T
Warnings for the reader: time travel fic for Minato! Yay, like those don't exist (actually, they don't for Minato's character. Just Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto)
Setting: the past, pre Naruto
Summary: The Shinigami usually doesn't take pity on humans; this time is an exception. Minato is given a chance to live his entire life over again, to undo every wrong he could. However, even the lightest flutter of a butterfly's wings can cause tremendous typhoons on the other side of the globe. With each change, he'll have to be careful that it doesn't cause even greater evils, and at the same time, he must prevent others from knowing the truth. After all, it doesn't bode well when a twenty-two year old kage suddenly time-travels back to his seven year old boy.
Length: Do I seriously need to answer this yet?
Genre: Suspense, friendship, mystery, drama
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Kishimoto does. But if I did . . . well, let's just say some people would lose their sanity, while others would . . . erm . . . yeah.
Oh, and Kazuki Yone would make millions of drawings of Minato, because potatoes.
-::Butterfly Wings::-
-:Prologue – A Stroke of Luck:-
In accordance with the rule of summoning the Shinigami, Minato knew his soul would be sealed along with the Yin portion of the Kyuubi inside the demon's stomach.
What actually happened was something he did not expect.
The Shinigami looked down at him with disinterest, its large, black mouth full of long, pointy tooth, sent in an expression the Fourth Hokage could only describe as… a frown?
But he was certain the Shinigami made no facial expressions, outside of looking possible evil and terrifying. Yet here it was, frowning, a claw on its chin, black eyes dull and distant, yet focused entirely on the blond.
Just what was happening? Wasn't he supposed to be trapped inside the Shinigami's stomach?
"I find this entire scenario… amusing."
Minato blinked. Did… the Shinigami just speak? As in, say something in order to convey information, an opinion, or a feeling?
"P-pardon?" Minato asked hesitantly, blue eyes carefully observing the demon's body language. The Shinigami merely chuckled, causing the Fourth to almost jump out of his skin.
"A mortal questioning my ability to act independently from the jutsu used to summon me? My, my, what nonsense they feel the youth with these days." To that, the Shinigami tutted, clicking its long tongue while shaking its shaggy head.
Minato was taken aback, honestly. While yes, summons were independent beings capable of autonomous from the summoner, the Shinigami… was different entirely. It was ghoul from another plane, only summoned to consume the souls of both the caster and victim of its seal, nothing more. But, it wasn't like that excluded the possibility of it being sentient.
Still, Minato didn't, couldn't find a way to respond to this. He didn't know what to do, so he merely stood there and stared, waiting for the Shinigami to speak again, hoping this time it might offer a hint as to why it hasn't eaten him yet.
The Shinigami, however, had other plans besides talking. It continued to watch him with its beady, little eyes, the frown working its way slowly into an eerie smirk. Finally, after a pregnant pause, it spoke again;
"Well, I do suppose my being here and you not being in my stomach is certainly a shocking revelation. However, I do stand by what I said before. I find this scenario amusing."
The word, "amusing," rang as odd to the Fourth. "Amusing?" he parroted, arching a yellow brow at the reaper. The Shinigami snorted.
"Yes. Amusing. Funny. Humorous. Entertaining. Comical. Witty. Droll. Hilarious. Charming. I could go on, but I suppose that will only bore you. You humans never did a good handle on patience."
"I'm sorry," Minato began slowly, hoping to word himself carefully, "but I fail to see what's so 'amusing,' here."
"I suppose not," the Shinigami replied thoughtfully, tilting its head. "After all, you did just sacrifice yourself to save your offspring. Perhaps the word 'amusing,' was misplaced." Tabbing a long claw against its pale chin, the demon hummed. "It's been ages since I've spoken with a human. It seems I've lost my touch. Ah, well. I suppose that's all about to change."
Alarm bells began to rang in Minato's head at that. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded, taking another cautionary step back, even if it was futile to escape the demon's curse.
Turning its head so it was facing him directly, the Shinigami's horrendous face broke into a gruesome smile, clapping its large hands together. "Why, you haven't figured it out already? My, my, Minato-kun, is death already wearing on your mind?" When his only reply was a blank stare, the Shinigami sighed, its shoulders sagging.
"Perhaps I had my hopes up? I suppose not. I haven't bothered communicating with any of my clients in eons. I have truly lost my touch."
"Why am I here?" Minato decided, after seeing the Shinigami's reaction to his lack of knowledge, to try to get to the beginning. A simple question, with a hopefully simple answer.
Then again, this was the Shinigami he was talking about.
Crossing its arms, the Shinigami straightened, glaring down at the Fourth. "Hmm, I suppose informing you of your current situation is called for. After all, it seems my skills at communication have decayed." The demon spread its arms out, as if addressing a large audience. "You see, Minato-kun, after sacrificing yourself in such a passionate and loving embrace, I, the Shinigami, took pity on your poor, pitiful, lost soul!
"'Poor fool,' I thought to myself. 'If only he could go back in time and fix his blunders.' And that's when I had an epiphany! I could give you such a chance, another shot at life. And since you are my client, you belong to me. You have no choice in the matter!"
"What?!" Minato's mouth moved automatically, shock freezing all rational thought from his mind.
The Shinigami nodded eagerly. "Yes, I know! Quite the shock. Ah, but of course, like with any deal, there will be a give and receive. I give you a second chance, you give me a soul in exchange for your allowance to depart from my bowels."
Minato blinked. He blinked again. And again. His mouth was gapping, uselessly opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. The demon seemed to find amusement in his facial expression, chuckling demonically to itself.
Second chance? Going back in time? Fixing all wrongs?
This was a dream come true.
Kushina. Naruto. Biwa. Lord Third. Jiraiya. Kakashi. Obito. Rin.
He could help them all.
But wait, wasn't there a catch?
The Shinigami was smirking when Minato finally came back from this news. Blue eyes narrowed slightly towards the white, ghostly form of the demon. When the kage spoke, it was with the same authority he used when addressing his subordinates.
"Shinigami-sama, what catch is there to this second chance?"
The demon nodded, humming in approval. "I suppose death hasn't taken your sharp mind yet, Minato-kun. Well, since you asked so nicely, I will gladly give you the details to this contract."
The demon closed its hand, only to open it again, revealing a simple scroll in its palm. "The contract is simple," it said, allowing the scroll to unravel as the end tipped down towards Minato. "I will give you a chance to relive your life, keeping with you the memories and skills of your old life. However," the word cut like a sword, drawing Minato to look away from the unrolled scroll to the Shinigami, "there are conditions to this. One is that you cannot decide at which moment you can return. You will also not tell anyone of what has transpired, that I gave you a second chance, or even that this is your second chance to begin with."
Waving a long finger at the blond, the demon continued, "Another thing. I will require someone else to be taking your place. Again, not your choice. However, you do not need to hand the soul over to me yet. That, I want you to do while reliving your life."
"And what soul do you want?" Minato hoped it wasn't someone he cared for. If he had a choice, he would have offered the Masked Man's soul easily.
The Shinigami smirked at this. "My, my. Worried already? I suppose it shouldn't be such a surprise. But you needn't worry. I have no intention of taking someone you know." Minato's shoulders relaxed a bit, but he watched the Shinigami carefully as he waited for further information.
"The soul I want is the one who hides in the shadows, the one who pulls all the strings, killing yet never dying. I want the soul born from a single desire." The Shinigami chuckled darkly at Minato's confused look. "But, as I said, you needn't worry. For I am a compassionate demon, I shall grant you the time until your past death to give me my soul. Once you do that, I will severe my ties with you, the contract complete, and you free to live your life as you please.
"Now the key question I must ask you," the demon said, "is do you accept the terms of this contract?"
Minato looked up at the Shinigami. Slowly, he lifted a hand up, grasping the end of the scroll. "Where do I sign?" he asked solemnly.
"You already did," the demon replied. In shock, Minato looked down at the once blank scroll, now slowly scribbling in kanji the terms and, finally, his name.
Jerking its wrist, the scroll rolled up back to the demon's hand. "The contract is signed," the Shinigami stated, lifting its other hand, its middle finger and thumb touching. "Now, let's begin."
"But wait, what will happen—" Again, Minato was cut off, this time by the snapping of the demon's fingers. At that moment, the world suddenly began to warp and distort, the already diluted colors draining completely.
Balance lost, Minato stumbled, trying to find his footing again. His ears were filled with the roar of waves, his mouth becoming dryer with each passing second. As if it couldn't get any worse, his own body began to warp along with the environment, twisting and bending, as if he was crushed under an immense weight. Minato tried to cry in pain, yet his voice was lost to the sudden rumble of earth shattering and birds screaming
Somehow, through all this pain, the Fourth Hokage barely managed to hear the final words of the Shinigami.
"When next we meet, Minato-kun, I hope you secure my desired soul. Until then, I wish you luck."
And then the world went black.