So this will be a thing where I answer questions in reviews.
Firstly, for everyone making guesses – SHHHH! Minato needs to figure it out himself! Don't tell him!
Miemae04 – Good thing I did! Don't get me wrong; time travel for any character is fine, but Minato really needed one. Give the Fourth some love!
Special note: Admittedly, this chapter is far shorter than I wanted it to be. But I needed to update this fic sometime, so, here's a little update while I get back into the swing of things.
-::Butterfly Wings::-
-:Chapter I – Awake and Alive:-
xxxxxx
When Minato awoke again, it was in pain.
Honestly, you would think with all the war and battles he had seen, he would have built an immense tolerance to such things by now. Then again, clocking out of life at only twenty-two was short by comparison, with several things he still hadn't yet experienced. So perhaps he had no room to complain.
Either way, he was in pain, lying on his back. How he wound up there, he had no idea. Struggling against the pain, Minato tried to make sense of what was going. What had happened prior to him being here?
Careful in taking in deep breaths, Minato thought, pondering and searching through his memories, trying to trace back to the last moments he could, for certain, remember. Ah, yes, the Kyuubi attacked his village. The masked man took his child hostage, killed Biwa, the Third's wife, and removed the beast from Kushina, his wife.
Slowly, as if the memories were being downloaded back into his brain, Minato began to recall more and more about what had happened that fateful night. He tried to defeat the man, only getting close enough to release the Kyuubi from his control. Then, he sealed the Yang half of the Kyuubi into his son, the Yin into himself using…
Oh.
The Shinigami. Did it happen? Was Minato really in the past now, able to relive his past? He had the memories of his past life, that was true. And yet…
He had to see.
Steeling himself, he slowly cracked one blue eye open. Bright, white light filled his irises, burning the receptors. Groaning, he slammed his eyes shut again, breathing in deeply as the pain slowly began to wear off. Now, however, wasn't the time to be weak. He had to open his eyes.
Once again, he forced one eye open, wincing in pain but not daring to close his eye. The light was painful, yet tolerable. He risked opening the other, increasing the pain. He blinked rapidly, fighting off the brightness.
Groaning again, he squinted up at the ceiling. Yes, it was a ceiling, cream in color. Oddly reminiscent of Village's hospital.
But a ceiling revealed little in terms of location. He needed more information on just where he was, when he was. Turning his head painfully, trying not to wince at very bit of discomfort that plagued his muscles. Finally, he caught sight of another item in the room (as it was definitely a room); a window. Outside, the clouds were gray and hindering any sunlight.
His mind began to race. What was a time he had landed in the hospital on a cloudy day? Or when he woke up in a hospital on a cloudy day? He knew this room wasn't the Hokage mansion, nor was it the apartment he and Kushina lived in.
Thinking through all his missions, the Fourth Hokage was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the other occupant in the room. Minato was so lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out and plan ahead, that it was too late to notice a hand reach down and touch his shoulder.
Under normal circumstances, Minato would have just jerked a bit before calming down when noticing just who had touched him. Although, under normal circumstances, he would have sensed the individual coming anyway. At this moment, he wasn't under normal circumstances. He had just been transported back into the past, with the promise of being allowed to relive his life and change his future.
Practically jumping out of his skin, Minato jerked his head towards the invader, his hand flying to his side to find… nothing. Not even a kunai (such a basic tool), which startled him. Eyes focused on the enemy, it took a few seconds for Minato to realize that it was a medic. A doctor, to be more precise.
Blinking in confusion, he could only stare when the man in the scrubs came up to him, looking down at him carefully before saying, "It seems you're awake. Can you tell me your name?"
"Namikaze Minato—" Gapping, he covered his mouth, the strange, little voice coming out of his mouth startling him.
This—this wasn't his voice. At least, it wasn't his adult voice.
What the hell was going on?
