Chapter One
Having knowledge of things that no one had ever taught you could not be normal, but Minato had always known more than anyone realized. She tried to play it off as being a genius, though her parents knew better. They themselves were known to be shrewd and, despite their lack of formal schooling, were generally acknowledged as borderline geniuses by those who knew them. Their older children had also been thought of as incredibly intelligent, yet Minato knew more than her eldest sibling. Minato's knowledge was beyond what any genius could infer on his or her own, and she knew things that could not be found in any of the books she has access to. The only thing that convinced her parents that she was actually a child, and not a wholly unnatural being, was that for all her knowledge and intellect, Minato was still a child emotionally and physically. When Minato told them that she wished to become a shinobi, they had their doubts, but didn't openly oppose her. Neither parent would admit it to anyone else, but they even felt a measure of guilty relief. Although she was their daughter, her abnormality had unnerved even them.
…
Minato knew that people were uncomfortable when she knew more than she should, including her parents. She'd tried to come up with explanations and excuses, but even she did not actually know how she had learned so much. It scared her, but she'd grown up with it and couldn't imagine what her life would be like without it. The knowledge was always just there, an addendum to what she'd learned naturally from others or on her own. The knowledge was not always right, though. Minato's parents had mentioned that she'd struggled with learning to speak when she was younger, and she still felt like she struggled with reading and writing, though her progress was actually rather quick for a child her age. Her parents taught her one language, but her extra knowledge told her how to speak, read, and write another one. The scary part was that Minato knew she was more comfortable with this other language, though no one else seemed to recognize it when she slipped up and used it instead of the new language she was learning.
When others realized how smart she was, they inevitably began asking about what she planned on doing when she grew up. Minato had just assumed that she would help her parents out with running the merchant caravan until one day she met a boy she liked, got married, and then supported him in whatever occupation he held. After all, her mother had grown up helping out with her father's shop, married, and now travelled with the caravan to take care of buying and selling most of their merchandise. However, Minato would always remember the day that being a great shinobi became her goal.
…
The caravan had pulled in to rest for the night. Horses were corralled, supper was made, and the merchants went to sleep – all but the smallest one, that is. A small, blond-haired, six-year-old girl was trying to sneak up on the shinobi guard taking first watch. Just one more step, she thought, and I'll pass my previous record. Minato knew that shinobi were trained to notice spies and assassins, but it was fun to see how close she could get before they'd send her back to her parents. This game had certainly made her first long trip with the caravan a lot more interesting. Suddenly, the shinobi turned and threw a kunai over her head and into the nearby brush. At first, Minato thought that he'd gotten fed up with her antics and wanted to scare her into stopping, but then she heard the kunai hit something that didn't quite sound like wood. Her stomach sank. She knew shinobi killed people, but that was close, too close. Minato dreaded what she would see if she turned around. Suddenly, she was pulled in next to someone and a hand covered her mouth. The hand muffled her startled scream and remained over her mouth even when she bit and licked it. Minato struggled, but she was too small - too weak - to do anything.
"Stop it! Relax, kid, it's me." The man's whispering voice was familiar. He was the shinobi she'd been sneaking up on. Minato relaxed. "Stay quiet. I'm going to take you back to your parents. You'll stay with them while my teammates and I take care of some shinobi business, okay?" The shinobi felt her nod and removed his hand. He carried her over the caravan leaders' wagon, set her inside, and disappeared into the darkness.
Minato's family remained asleep, so she decided to wait. After all, the shinobi hadn't woken them up. He'd told her to be quiet and wait while he and his fellow shinobi took care of things, so she assumed the shinobi either wanted the caravan to remain unaware of the threat, or they wanted to lull the threat into a feeling a false sense of security so that they'd be easier to take care of. Minato strained her eyes and ears listening for any noise. If the shinobi couldn't take care of things, she would scream like a banshee and hope that the warning would help her family and the other merchants. There was a bit of rustling and a bump against the side of a wagon, but nothing else. A few minutes passed, and the shinobi came back to the wagon.
"Pst, kid, wake up your dad quietly and tell him we need to talk." Minato carefully made her way over to her parents, but she could still hear the shinobi outside.
"Idiot, I thought you were going to get the caravan leader." That was the shinobi's male teammate. Minato didn't really like him. Something felt off about him that she couldn't really explain. It made her uneasy around him. That alone wouldn't have been enough for her to actually dislike him, but he acted as though everyone was beneath him. He even talked with her parents and other adults in a way that was so slick it was condescending and patronizing without being outright rude.
"Yeah, but, the kid's still awake, and this way we don't have to worry about intruding on them."
"Really? I would've thought that you'd jump at the chance to possibly sneak up on the caravan leader's wife while she's asleep, pervert." That was the female shinobi, and Minato really didn't need to have heard that. Did they think she was deaf? Ugh. She began to nudge her father and hoped that he woke up soon. Unfortunately, though her father was a lighter sleeper than her mother, her father was still not easy to wake up quietly.
"Hey! I am a pervert, but I'm also a shinobi, and I'm not going to endanger the mission like that." There was a pause, and then he continued with a grumbling voice, "Besides, the kid's still in there."
"Oh! So the idiot actually has some sense of decency left in him. Watch out, Tsunade, he might actually become a decent fellow."
"Bah! Don't insult me! I'm a super a pervert! I'll show you!" Thud. "Ow! What was that for?" Minato's father began to stir.
"Quiet, pervert, or do want the whole caravan to wake up after all the trouble we took to keep them blissfully unaware and well-rested for the last leg of the journey? The only ones that need to know are the leaders, since they hired us."
Inside the wagon, Minato was glad that her father was finally awake, though she wished he'd woken up sooner. "Whuh? Huh? Minato? You'd better not have been bothering the shinobi again."
"Actually, father, they want to talk to with you outside." He grunted and made his way out of the wagon to go speak with the shinobi. Minato listened to her father walk away from the wagons and into the bushes. The shinobi probably went with him too, though they walked too quietly for her to tell. If only they could speak more quietly too, she thought, remembering what had been said about her favorite of their three guards and her mother.
As Minato contemplated the events of that night, her thoughts drifted to a conversation she'd had with her father when he'd picked her up from her aunt's house and walked with her to where the caravan prepared to set out on their current trip.
- Flashback -
"Now, Minato, travelling with the caravan may not be as exciting as you imagine. There will be a lot of long, boring days where all we do is walk or ride along the road. Though you may get bored, remember not to bother anyone too much, especially our shinobi escorts."
"Shinobi? But, father, why do we need shinobi escorts? Auntie doesn't like shinobi. She says they're no-good, selfish, money-grubbing, perverted, killers."
"Well, despite the fact that shinobi may not always be the best of people, they are very capable guards. With a shinobi escort, we can be assured that most robbers and thugs will leave us alone, and those that don't will soon learn why they should have. I'm not a fan of shinobi, but like most people, they do a job and they get paid. In this case, the job they have is to protect our caravan. Now, since they are responsible for keeping us safe, you better not bother them, so that they can do their job properly."
"Hmmm. I see what you mean, Father. I should make sure not to complicate their job, and they might not be the best of people, so I should be wary, correct?"
Her father gave her a sideways look heavy with consideration and said in a heavy tone, "Yes, Minato, that is precisely what I mean."
-End Flashback-
As the trip progressed, Minato's curiosity lead her to get to know the shinobi escorts, though she was careful to not be too annoying or to disturb them when they were busy. She hadn't realized that there might actually be a threat levelled against them at night, since the shinobi (at least her favorite one, anyway) hadn't seemed bothered by her nightly sneaking game. Perhaps there were other threats they'd taken care of that she hadn't known about. Did they always do that? Keeping quiet about threats would make the fellow members of the caravan more happy and content, and a good safety record would encourage other merchants to join with them.
The shinobi worked hard to protect people, and left civilians largely unaware that there was even a threat, helping to keep them feeling comfortable and safe. These shinobi seemed to serve and protect people, and yet so many had a bad image of them. If Minato became a shinobi, she could help and protect people. Maybe she could even find a way to portray what they did in a good light, so that civilians would think better of the people that kept them safe. Yes, that's what she'd do. In the morning, she would have to talk with father and mother about it. Perhaps the shinobi would let her travel back to their village with them, but if not, she'd have to figure out another way.
...
"Shinobi? But, father, why do we need shinobi escorts? Auntie doesn't like shinobi. She says they're no-good, selfish, money-grubbing, perverted, killers."
Little did Minato know, but at that moment, the three shinobi waiting at the caravan suddenly found themselves attacked by a fit of sneezing.
...
Thank you very much to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story so far! :D Reviews, positive and negative, are appreciated! :) No guarantees on when the next chapter will be up. Sorry about real life getting in the way and all. :( I was really hoping to be able to update this on a semi-regular basis, but alas, that does not seem to be a viable option at the moment. :(
