Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
Hello readers! Thank you very much for reviewing! I was extremely pleased with all the commenting you all have done. And as for shnizlefritz, thank you for your comment. It made me think a lot about my fanfic, but I've decided not to change the plot after all. Please continue reading and reviewing!
Thank you very much!
Updated: 12/26/09
Namikaze Minato, Jounin of the Village hidden in the leaves, was currently not in the best of situations.
Being surrounded by his three students, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, Minato was experiencing a familiar sense of dread, as all three of them sprouted a head as big as the trees and loomed over his figure like a executioner waiting for the criminal's last words. And fittingly, Minato found himself unable to respond as his students turned out to be more fearsome than he first thought they were. Even docile Rin glared at him with her humongous, magnified eyes. Poor Minato found himself being pressed to the tree trunk, feeling ever more the helpless animal trapped amongst hunters. He gulped, his blue eyes mirroring the terror within him.
"What did you just say right now sensei? Could you care to repeat?" Obito, Kakashi, and Rin said, in a tone that dripped danger.
"Umm guys, I personally don't think this is necessary....//"Minato stumbled, the rough bark of the trees pressing into his back. It was a good thing he had worn his Jounin flak jacket; otherwise his back would really have felt the brunt of that push, not to mention Obito was now currently tying him to the tree with special Anbu-use wire. "Can you guys please let me go? And Obito, just where did you get that wire?!"
"That's not important right now sensei!" Obito cried, his fists curled up into tight balls around his waist.
"The point is that you're leaving, and for a HELL LONG TIME without any good reason..." he trailed off, as Kakashi decided to cut in right at that moment.
"He does have a good reason. He has a mission. However, the problem is that he is leaving us behind."
"Sensei...just what is going on? What is this mission that the Hokage is sending you on? Please tell us!" Rin cried, her voice somehow sounding soft and encouraging while she looked murderous. Minato supposed it was the medic side of her kicking in. Even though his students were only 9, they were all quite intimidating, and Minato found himself gulping again before opening his mouth to answer. 'Damn, they really shouldn't allow students to graduate the academy early.. no matter how talented they are,' he thought. Then he began talking.
"Well, I was just about to explain the details, until SOMEONE decided to tie me up to this tree, and until someone freaked out about this whole 'prolonged mission thing'". Minato cleared this throat, feeling especially self-conscious as the piercing gaze of his students' eyes followed him up and down, as if searching for some kind of trick. He sighed, once again feeling the stress of being a mentor to not just one, but three bright kids who somehow became Genin before they were supposed to. It drove him crazy, but he was a tough guy, and he could deal. He quickly undid the binds—even if they were talented, he was the Jounin here, and undoing a mere Genin's ties were like snapping a twig in half.
The wire whipping and hissing as it coiled around his hand, he sat down on the grass once again, tucking in the anbu-wire away in his holster. Silently, he motioned for the rest of his team to follow suit. "Now, where to begin..."Minato ran a hand through his hair.
"How about the part about the mission?" Kakashi suggested, ever the meticulous one.
"Alright, listen up." Minato held his head high and looked at all of his students with a hard eye.
"I have been assigned a solo mission from the Hokage. It is an A rank,and like you've heard before, it will take a long period of time." seeing how his students were about to jump up again he said, "BUT! I will be returning every once in a while, so you don't have to worry. Also, Hokage-sama said something about you guys coming to see me sometimes, so that we can meet and train together," at this, the three students both visibly relaxed. Minato grinned, it was so cute sometimes, the way they would argue with him. He then realized this might be one of the last times he would see them like this, at least for a long time. As his students bickered with one another, Obito arguing with Kakashi most of the time, he leaned into the tree behind him and closed his eyes.
".....like I SAID, SHINOBI AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE STUCK UP LIKE YOU!!" Obito's loud shout roused Minato from his little rest. Obito jumped up and faced Kakashi, his eyes blazing with hatred for his comrade, his round face contorting with anger. Kakashi merely looked calm. He almost looked bored, only no one could really tell, with that mask on his face, but his eyes indicated a sign of annoyance if not irritation. Clearly, the young Chuunin cared less whether his teammate became fired up or not.
"Oh, and if not, are they supposed to be dumb like you are?" he calmly retorted, casually putting his arms behind his head as he lowered himself to the ground with practiced ease. Once settled in, he flicked his eyes up menacingly to look at the still furious Obito. "Still fuming? Dumb one," he yawned.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY???!" Obito began rolling up his sleeves, he was about to pounce on Kakashi when Minato finally decided to intervene.
"Put a rest to it both of you. I'm leaving in two days, do you really want to make this one of my last memories of you two?" he fixed his clear blue eyes on the two children, both of them looking away in embarrassment and guilt. Even Kakashi looked ashamed; he sat up, his gray eyes suddenly finding his toes very interesting. Smiling at his students' understanding and shining innocence, he stood up and brushed his clothes off. "Come on guys, why don't I treat you all to lunch then we can go train a bit. My treat," Instantly all three of them brightened.
"YES!" they hollered, and soon they were dragging him down to the bustling streets of Konoha.
"Woah, whoa, slow DOWN!" Minato called out. He laughed helplessly when Kakashi and Obito began arguing AGAIN about what restaurant they would go to. Rin was no help at all, as she threw in her own two cents on her opinion of where to go. After a minute, Minato yelled, "Enough! We will go to Ichiraku, and that is that. No more arguing, all of you!" At this, his team finally quieted down and began talking in a fluid manner. The rest of the afternoon was spent in an animated chat, and Minato was beginning to miss him team already. He wanted more time with them, but he knew that his mission was of great importance. After training, he sent them home early and walked down the streets to his own house, taking out a duffel and dutifully beginning to pack.
It was only 1 in the afternoon, yet Minato's house was cluttered with all sorts of stuff. Jutsu scrolls, socks, pieces of kunai, clothes, blankets, and even picture albums were spread out across the light wooden floor of his apartment. This was the state the blonde jounin's house was in as Jiraiya entered his student's home; he was shocked beyond belief. Minato's house was NEVER messy. His student was a helpless clean freak, and this..this mess just proved THAT STUPID MISSION HAS AFFECTED Minato TO THE POINT HE WASN'T HIMSELF!
He was sure of it, and to do his duty as a teacher and "sort of" father, he burst in to Minato's room.
"MIIIINato~! Just what is going on?! What is this crazy mission that I've heard from Sarutobi sensei that you're going away—" he trailed off as he spotted the duffel on Minato's bed. "No," Jiraiya huffed, disbelief evident on his red streaked face, "you're—you're really going? Away? To some kind of alter dimension to who knows what psycho clan? To venture into the unknown?" all of a sudden, Jiraiya screamed, "NOOO!!! I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE TRAINING RIGHT HERE IN KONOHA RIGHT NEXT TO ME AND I REFUSE TO LET YOU GO! YOU COME WITH ME YOUNG MAN AND WE'LL GET MY SENILE SENSEI'S HEAD SCREWED ON STRAIGHT. FOLLOW M----"
"WAIT! Calm down sensei. It's all right. I've already agreed to this," Minato waved his hands wildly, attempting to placate his enraged teacher. "And you don't have to worry, it's not exactly 'venturing into the unknown,' Hokage-sama has been there many times. And he assures me that the Uzumaki are not psycho, so don't worry about that either, okay?" Minato put a consoling look on his face. Jiraiya rolled his eyes in utter frustration.
"Don't you get it? What matters is not that you're going to be safe or whatever, since safety is never guaranteed in ANY mission, but your feelings. How do YOU feel about all this Minato? And if you do go, what about your dream? How are you going to achieve the strength that you always have dreamed of? What about becoming a kage? Answer me!" Minato sighed.
"I can very easily picture that you ran out of the Hokage's office before hearing the entire story Jiraiya sensei," Minato chuckled, rubbing his neck tiredly. Grinning up at his still angry teacher, he sat down on his bed and cleared away a spot for him. Putting his stuff away in the duffel, he patted the now empty space on the comforter. "sit down—I'll explain." Looking at Minato suspiciously, Jiraiya sat straight down, his back ramrod stiff, his arms permanently crossed, his black eyes piercing.
"Well, first of all, I am not going there to slack off. I'm going there to train," Minato spoke, watching Jiraiya jolt like a cartoon.
"Huh? How can you train when you are on an A rank mission?" he asked.
"I'm getting to that. Anyway, one of the reasons why I agreed to this is because Hokage-sama promised that I'll become strong if I go there, and that the Uzumaki are willing to teach me all their techniques and fighting styles," Jiraiya dropped out of the bed.
"WHAT?? THEY'RE REALLY WILLING TO DO THAT? THEY REALLY WANT TO SHARE THEIR SECRETS WITH AN OUTSIDER??!" Jiraiya practically yelled in amazement and disbelief.
Such a thing was unheard of...take the Hyuuga Clan for instance, they even go to lengths to place that disgusting excuse of a seal on their own family members, all for the sake of "security." But a clan that was willing to share their family techniques? 'All the more reason to not let him go, they're too suspcious,' thought Jiraiya, but his mental ramblings were interrupted when Minato opened his mouth again.
"Sensei, have you heard what Hokage-sama said about the Uzumaki? He said that they were extremely talented in kenjutsu, I hope they teach it to me," Minato's excited tone snapped Jiraiya out of his trance. The boy..sounded as if he was actually eager to leave his home. Could he--? No he couldn't... ..
"MINATOOOOOO!!! ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU'RE HAPPY, THAT YOU WANT TO LEAVE ME—ME...leave me behind? Is--that what you're implying?" stunned, Jiraiya stared at his prize student, hurt clearly etched on his streaked face. Somehow, his white hair made him seem much older and tired than he actually looked. Devastated, Jiraiya buried his face in his hands.
"What?! NO! How could you even think that? Of course I would never feel that way!" Minato sputtered, he too getting out of his bed. "The truth is that I—well, I really do want to learn all that they have to offer, and to become the strongest, but...at the same time, it pains me that I'll be leaving you all.
Go talk to Hokage-sama again, he'll tell you when you can visit me, or when I can visit you. Don't worry Jiraiya-sensei, I'll be fine, and I'll come back stronger than before! It's a promise!" Smiling brightly, Minato walked right up to his sensei and gave him one of his dazzling foxy grins. Disgruntled, but clearly unable to resist the assault of those blue eyes, Jiraiya, looked down hastily and clapped his large hand over Minato's shoulder.
"AheM... whatever you do, just remember you good ol' sensei. Got it?"
"Yup! You can count on me. Now get out and let me pack, or help me pack, or do something productive—I don't care," brushing it off, Minato once again bent down to pick up his clothes. Jiraiya took one last look at his student, then sped of to interrogate his teacher. Sarutobi was still gonna pay for this.
After Jiraiya left, Minato packed his things for a little longer, then couldn't take it anymore. So instead of sitting and packing, he created a handful of Kage Bunshin, instructed them to pack for him, then left the house in civilian clothing. As it would be a long time since he would come back, he decided to look around the village for a while. And going to the hot springs sounded nice. Oh and he'd have to go to Ichiraku's again for dinner....indulge while he can...checking out the watch on his wrist, he noted that it was only around 1:30, and the sun was still high up in the sky. There was no more breeze at this time of the day, but the scent of the fresh leaves was still thick. The warm, dry air engulfed his body, and he looked around the bustle of the streets, carving those images to his heart. Glancing up at the Hokage monument, he grinned manically. Then he lifted his hand over the engravings. 'One day,' he thought, 'I'll be up there! Just wait for me! I'll turn this mission into a chance to become stronger...the chance to become Hokage!'
Nearly sprinting through the trees, the slim, slender girl skipped lightly on her feet in the direction towards the village of the hidden leaf. It was her first time there, and she was so excited! She had heard many stories about the great ninja village, and she couldn't wait till she got there. The light filtered through the leaves on the trees; glossy, black, silky hair flowing down straight to her waistline bounced up and down with every step she took. Her hair wasn't thick at all, instead, it was very fine, and very smooth. Creamy, light colored skin covering her shapely frame, her large, gray eyes shone with innocence and curiosity. Anyone who saw her would have instantly noticed that she was not an ordinary civilian, for her movements were too light and feathery to be considered normal. Especially the way one skip took her gently two and a half feet in the air then gently brought her back down, staying up in the air far too long, and far too gracefully without making a sound. She donned strange, somewhat kimono like (not really) clothes which seemed to be made out of a fine, beautiful material. She wore a white, long sleeved kimono that fell to her toes, where near the end it had some delicately interwoven flower designs, and the way the clothe was wrapped around her bared her legs, allowing maximum movement and freedom. Then on top, she wore a smaller, dark blue kimono made out of a much thicker and tough material with a light brown/gold cloth circling her waist. A short piece of sash held everything together, and lastly, she had a large, open sword holder designed to hold many swords at once. However, at the moment, she only had, a long, elegant sword with a plain black hilt and small, silvery guard. The holder hung from her waist, not from front to back like normal, but from side to side, diagonally. She had no shoes on, but instead had gold anklets each with a bell on one of her feet. Hopping, she hummed a merry tune as she continued her journey to the ninja village.
Up ahead, she saw the tips of the huge, double doors of the main gate. Upon seeing this, the girl let out a joyful cry, and with amazing speed, closed the distance between herself and the gates in one sprightly bound. Ignoring the protests of the Chuunin guards, she leapt right over the the threshold and sped into the village. "Yahoo~!" she called out, a happy smile splitting her face in two.
"Hey wait! You can't just go in there!! Hey! Come back!" the two Chuunin yelled at the top of their lungs, but to no avail, as the girl was already out of sight. Staring at open space with no one there, both said at the same time : "Damn,"
"We have to let the Hokage know!" said his partner.
"Right!" and together they hurriedly filed an intruder report and sent it off to the tower via messenger bird. They were in a desperate hurry. They had to find and capture this intruder fast, or she might just wreck havoc on their village.
Meanwhile, the said intruder was having a very fun time examining the ginormous monuments of the Hokages, completely oblivious to the problems she was stirring up. "Wow!! so that's the famed Hokage Mountain. No wonder Saru-jiji spoke so reverently about it. I wonder what else there is to see here in Konoha~~ I'm so excited! I hope my new family member will be happy to see me~!"
And this way, Uzumaki Kushina was inside the village.
"Hokage-sama!" a female Chuunin with mousy brown hair and panicked eyes burst into the office.
"It's an emergency! There is an intruder at the main gate, sector A-1 of the village! We suspect that she has snuck into point A-3, or A-4, possibly gathering info or assaulting the villagers. The fact that she charged right through the gate, rather than stealthily infiltrate, leads me to believe that this is a full out attack on the village!"
"What's our status?" Sarutobi urgently asked.
"Currently, our shinobi are giving chase. They should have located her by now."
"I see. Do the Chuunin at the gate have any information on the enemy's physique? What she looks like, the main feature, most noticeable factor?" Sarutobi carefully questioned the woman. Whoever this ninja was, no one was going to harm his village.
"Hai, it seems that the two guards at the gate know for a fact that the enemy is in fact, a female. They have clarified that she was strangely dressed, with her legs bare, and had a sword on her back. She also had long black hair. That is it for the descriptions as she was moving too fast for any of the guards to catch her face or height or even age," Sarutobi digested all this with practiced ease. He was an experienced shinobi, one who has seen war many times. In this era of fighting and kill for hire, an attack on the village was not entirely unexpected. Himself, Homura, and Koharu, the advisors, have discussed this matter many times.
"How many casualties so far?" he took a deep breath on his pipe.
"None sir, at least, not that we know of. It may be that they haven't even reached the infiltrator yet,"
Sarutobi let out a thick stream of smoke. "I see." another breath.
"We will wait until there are more updates on the situation. Until then, I will not make any more moves. See to it that the ninja we have over there rate the enemy of their strength, then notify me if more men are necessary,"
"Hai!" the woman ran out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her. Sarutobi sighed. First Jiraiya, now this? He really was getting old.
"Eh? W-what is this?" stumbled Kushina, surrounded by 5 older ninja from all directions. She was trapped, but she didn't know why. Circling around the girl, the older shinobi were shocked at her young age, but did not show any traces of it on their calm facade. One of them secretly sent a message to the Hokage based on the girls physical traits.
"Umm, excuse me, but may I ask why all of you are surrounding me?" she politely asked her audience, visibly shaken by the sudden ensnarement. The leaf ninja shared looks between themselves.
"We ask that you come with us to the interrogation department. You have trespassed upon our village and certain measures must be taken, as well as figuring out why you're here," a Chuunin answered.
"Trespass? What are you talking about?" Kushina asked, not knowing that to get inside a hidden village, one must show their passport and get approval from the tower to allow them inside. Being from
America, she had no idea what went on in the ninja world, which was, the truth on her part, but to the ninja, it merely looked like some form of trickery.
"We are not kidding. Please submit yourself and hand over your weapon," another Chuunin stated, holding out his hand.
"Huh? My sword? No! This is very precious to me! I don't know what you people want but my sword stays with me!" Kushina shook her fist at the shinobi. Unfortunately, to the overly tense ninja, this was seen as a physical threat, and each took a step back and pulled out a kunai. Kushina eyed the ninja warily. Whatever reason they had for ganging up on her, was serious enough to fight and injure her. 'Ugh, Saru-jij never said that it was so hostile in here! Is this how all ninja are? Is this...how my new family is going to be like?' thoughts running through her head, Kushina put her hands in front of her.
"Woah, people! No need to get physical here~! Let's just sort through our little problem calmly, calmly and rationally. Okay? No need for those pointy weapons," she pointed to the kunai. However, her choice of words alarmed the ninja.
'Did she come here on a diplomatic ground? No, then she has no reason to trespass like that. She's dangerous,' they all thought. Quietly, the grip on their kunai handle hardened, and finally, another shinobi yelled out, "If you do not surrender in 5 seconds, we will attack," silently gesturing over to his teammates, they all nodded and readied themselves for battle.
Meanwhile, Kushina was in shock. 'they're going to attack me?' she thought, her mind spinning wildly.
'but, why? I haven't done anything wrong...or have I?'
"....1....0!" the countdown finished and Kushina found all 5 ninja speeding towards her with their kunai in place. 'oh shoot!' she mentally yelled. Just before the kunai was about to connect, she twisted her body and fluidly twirled away from danger. Stunned, the ninja attempted a similar melee attack, but once again, she gracefully moved out of the way like she was simply dancing. Confused, the ninja took out their shuriken, and circling the Uzumaki, launched all of their projectiles at her. The said girl jumped up, and twirled sideways a few times in mid air in mad speed, her white robes whipping about her, effectively dodging all 40 shuriken. Landing lightly on the ground, she tilted her head and scratched her cheek. All the ninja were in shock.
Minato was walking down the street when he heard all the commotion. Vying to the left, into a more secluded area of the market, the Jounin found himself staring at a group of fellow ninja circling a girl about his age. His face shifting into one of seriousness and analytical coldness, he began moving in closer to the group. At the same time....
"Hokage-sama! We have more information on the girl!" the brown haired Chuunin announced, barging into his office.
"Report!" Sarutobi barked out, not at all like his normal, fatherly figure.
"Yes sir! The shinobi who apprehended the intruder has notified that the girl is extremely talented, effortlessly dodging all of their attacks as well as shuriken thrown from all sides. They have also said that she moves with precision and grace. All of them who are there have related it to being similar to a...a dance." she finished lamely.
"A dance?" Sarutobi asked, his eyebrows shooting off to the middle of his forehead. A dance....there was only one person he had seen who had been able to dodge shuriken thrown from all sides by moves equal to a dance. That person was Naoki.......no, he couldn't be here. Also, the reports say that it was a girl, with black hair nonetheless..Uzumaki's don't have black hair. They have fiery red hair that.....
"Oh shit," Sarutobi jerked up and ran out the door with unrivaled speed, brushing by the Chuunin; he knew who that girl was and his men were attacking the wrong person. And if his memory serves him right, neither party were the type to go easy on each other. He really didn't want any casualties, not when he still has to file paperwork for Minato's mission!
Minato slipped next to the nearest ninja, a colleague 5 years his senior, a respectable Jounin with hanging, lank black hair that came to his chin. Sporting a red/white fan on his flak jacket, the said ninja was holding his arms close to his chest in a fighting position. His coal eyes were slitted with concentration—Uchiha Fugaku's eyes quickly flicked over to Minato, then regained their focus on the girl wearing the strange clothes. "what's going on," Minato said in a low voice that was only barely registered by Fugaku.
"we have an intruder. Hokage-sama has told us to capture and bring her in for interrogation. However, this has proven to me much more difficult than I first thought," Fugaku intensified his gaze. Minato carefully slid into his ready position, his hand hovering just above his kunai holster.
"Need some help?" he whispered, hooking one of his fingers onto the ring of his kunai.
"Yes, but a kunai won't help. She dodged all our shuriken that's on the floor. We need jutsu," Fugaku replied urgently, motioning to the 40-50 shuriken littering the dusty ground. His hands discreetly formed a snake, the first seal to the sequence for Katon: Goukyaku no Jutsu, or the Grand Fireball technique. Managing to get through the two other seals required for the tech, he finished with a tiger, his index finger and middle finger of both hands sticking up from the rest. The Uchiha was just about to pump chakra to his chest and blow out a massive fireball when a loud voice came from behind.
"STOP!" Sarutobi, the third Hokage, roared just in time. He had been running at full speed towards the group when he happened to spot a tiny, pulsing chakra signiture coming from Uchiha Fugaku. Using his superior intelligence, he immediately realized that the pulse, while it may seem normal for fighting ninja, when it was in use with the fire/tiger seal, it meant only one thing. As such, he had yelled out as loud as he could in order to stop the battle from commencing any further. Nearing his men, he saw that his outburst had done the trick; the leaf ninja were all shocked at the sight of their leader charging at them, but they were all sane enough to not launch any more attacks on the intruder. As for Sarutobi, as he got closer and closer, he was able to get a good look at the girl's face. He sighed a deep breath of relief to know that his assumption had been correct. The girl was indeed Kushina.
Screeching to a stop right next to Fugaku, Sarutobi noticed that Minato also happened to be there. Looking just as shocked as the rest of his mates, Minato gaped at his leader. "Hokage-sama? Why..?"
Throwing a glance to all the other leaf shinobi, Sarutobi cleared his throat.
"Everyone stand down. This person is not an enemy, nor is she a spy," he firmly stated.
"But Hokage-sama, she is an unidentified individual who entered the village without permission. She should be taken in for questioning—or at least inquired for any dangerous potential she might have!" stated a Chuunin that happened to be with the group, the one who spoke out earlier.
"I agree Hokage-sama," Fugaku pointed out. "How do you know that she isn't a spy? Even if you are personally acquainted with this young girl, how are we to know whether we can trust her or not?"
At this, the middle aged leader of the village squared his shoulders. He met eyes with everyone there, giving them a deep, penetrating look. "I'll personally vouch for her. The fact that she failed to hand in her identification is mainly because of her ignorance and my foolishness. As this incident has caused all of you trouble, I sincerely apologize," Sarutobi bowed his head in atonement. Again, stunned that their leader was bowing his head, they all hurriedly assured him it was no trouble at all, and to please raise his head. All of them were feeling tremendously awkward. It just didn't feel right. After this, everyone dissipated into the regular crowd of Konoha's lively streets. Minato however, just stood there. Pressing a hand to his face, Sarutobi internally groaned, this was way too much trouble. The heroine for this little dramatic episode indubitably has it coming to her. He was just about to open his mouth and reproach when a sound of pattering feet halted him.
"Saru-jiji!" Kushina ran into the professor and threw her arms around his neck. Jumping into his arms, Kushina was more than glad to see her old friend. Witnessing her happiness and her illuminating character, Sarutobi physically felt his anger and stress melting away. Chuckling in response, he said,
"Ah, Kushina-hime, it's been such a long time. How I missed you," he hugged the girl back, catching how big she was now compared to three years ago, which was the last time they had seen each other. Kushina just snuggled in to his chest, breathing the familiar tobacco scent that he always had. He had never smoked in front of her, but she knew that he did it often. She actually like the smell, the smell was very comforting. A sparse second passed, and they separated.
"I missed you soo much Saru-jiji. How come you didn't visit these last three years?"
"My child, I simply had too much work to do. I am sorry I did not come to your house lately. Anyhow, why are you here, may I ask?" Kushina flinched.
"Umm, sorry, but I was just so delighted to hear that we were going to have a new family member coming from the leaf village, and Otou-sama said that I could be the one to go pick him up...and I was excited...and he did say it was the leaf village, so I thought I might be able to see you too!" she jovially concluded. Sarutobi's eyebrows furrowed into a questioning look.
"Kushina, you were supposed to meet Minato at the rendezvous point located 5 miles from here TWO days from now. You weren't supposed to come to the village nor were you supposed to be here so quickly! Also, may I inquire just why you have your chakra sealed? Because that particular seal changes your hair and eye color, I failed to recognize you when they first gave me your description. Care to explain again?" the Hokage crossed his arms.
"Minato... so THAT'S his name....haha, sorry again Saru-jiji, but I guess I was just overridden by eagerness to see the ninja world. As you know—Otou-sama and Okaa-sama don't really let me come here. And about the chakra, I thought that if I looked like a civilian, then they would let me right in..So, so I was just..." she trailed off, staring at the floor. Sarutobi uncrossed his arms and placed a caring hand on her arm.
"It's all right. Don't fret. Just no more of these affairs, okay?" Kushina nodded, her hair bouncing up and down. "Oh by the way, since you're already here, why don't you go ahead and meet Minato, Kushina?" the said girl's head popped up.
"Where can I find him?!?" she piped, overly enthusiastic. Sarutobi smiled, this particular one pretty much splitting his dotted face in half,
"Well, for starters, I think I'll look right behind you," he slyly mentioned.
Kushina pivoted on the spot, nearly colliding with a blonde, well-toned boy a bit taller than herself. Peeking up, their eyes connected, blue to black. In a corner of her mind, she noted that he was quite handsome. Minato, was going into a panic attack in his mind. He had overheard the conversation between the ...very pretty girl and the Hokage. She was an Uzumaki? He was gonna live with her? And...she's also not blushing like all the other girls I've met. On the other hand, Kushina was scrutinizing Minato from top to bottom. After a painful silence between the two, Kushina turned around to face Sarutobi again.
"There's a problem," she somberly stated. Sarutobi and Minato's eyes widened. For Sarutobi, it was surprise, and for Minato, it was shock. He had a problem??
"And what might that be?" Sarutobi asked, his eyebrows furrowing once more. Kushina, with all the solemness of a catholic bishop, looked at him seriously in the eye and said,
"He's blonde."
If I misspelled the Fireball technique in Japanese, please excuse me. I am very limited in my fluency..although I am studying. Also, those little plays with the punctuation are not accidental, they're entirely purposeful and please understand I put them there for a reason. Oh, and I will explain more about Kushina's seal in the next chapter. Like I've already explained, it changes her appearance when utilized. But I will go more into detail later. Stay tuned! Oh and thank you for putting on story alert! It may be insignificant but I'm really thankful. I hope I can get a pic of Kushina on my profile. I have no idea how to do it though. I do not own the pic and it's just an image of what I picture Kushina to be while she has her chakra sealed and her clothes on that she is currently wearing. Once again, thank you. Every little review means a lot to me. If it's not too much trouble, please to R/R. THANK YOU!!!
-Hulkishpower
