Cutting Ties Book One
The Persistence of Memory
Chapter Three
With A Lost Plot
The day was Himawari's funeral. It wasn't bleak, nor sunny, it just was. I am unsure if I just didn't pay attention to the weather, or if I receded so far into my mind that everything went gray.
Once again, I lost a parent. Once again, I lost someone that would love me unconditionally. Once again, I lost my mother.
My hair covered my blinded eye, I cried silently. Hinata was sobbing. Hiashi was holding baby Hanabi, face made of stone. Neji looked away from my eyes when they wandered to him. He looked guilty. But at the time, he didn't matter. Hinata's sobs didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Just the sky full of nothing. And just the pale, cold body of Himawari.
With the kind wife to the head gone, tension within the clan got tighter. Harder to breathe. You wouldn't be able to cut the tension, not even with a steak knife in your hand.
I couldn't accompany Hinata or Neji to training, they had the Byakugan and I didn't. So I did my own.
I would scamper out of my room with my five-year-old body, and casually walk out of the house. Out of the compound. Then out of the district. Of course, I seemed to forget that I was five, and therefore couldn't go to the training grounds without an adult. I also didn't consider that I didn't exactly know my way around Konoha.
"Where is it again?" I asked myself, "The crap did it go?"
Most pedestrians looked at me weirdly, but continued walking. My bright green eye kept darting through the crowd, the streets, the buildings, they settled on the mountain. Which was no help, you could see that stupid thing from anywhere, everywhere!
I groaned in frustration, stifling a cry. Children were so stinking emotional!
I felt a tap on my shoulder. In a split second, I considered the wrathful tactic. But quickly decided against it. I went for the scared/sad child. It lasted maybe two seconds.
"Hey kiddo, are you lost?"
And I couldn't believe who I saw.
And I couldn't believe I hadn't figured it out already.
Crouching down to get with my height was none other than the Fourth Hokage himself. In the flesh. And not dead.
I legit could not believe it.
Here I am. A little over five years after the Kyuubi attack/Naruto's birthday/the day he died. And, somehow, he's not dead.
Did me just being born cause this much difference? I haven't done anything to the plot yet. Surely, just me being in Konoha couldn't cause this much.
But plot...
"Uh, yeah, mugi," I stammered. Of course, I had just developed a verbal tick. I blushed, this was not the first impression I wanted.
The Yellow Flash just chuckled, amused. I was not mentally prepared for the Fourth Hokage to walk me home.
...
Nor Obito Uchiha.
'Plooooottt!' My mind screamed to me, trying to pull the cushion back.
"Heyo, Sensei! Whatcha doin'?" The supposed to be considered dead teenager asked.
I was ready to faint.
"Hey Obito! I am just about to escort this little girl home; would you like to walk with us?" Minato greeted.
"Sure thing, Sensei! Now where do you live, little girl?"
"First off, my name is Erin! And-" I started.
"Erin-chan? That's a cute name!" The Uchiha all but yelled, interrupting me.
"And I live in the Hyuuga compound." I continued as if he didn't even talk.
"Hyuuga?" Supposed-to-be Tobi drawled.
"You don't look like a Hyuuga..." The Namikaze all but asked.
"That's cuz I'm not, mugi. I was adopted." I spilled.
"Adopted...?" He still questioned me. Obviously it was unlike any Hyuuga to adopted non-clan children.
"Yeah, mugi. My real name is Erin Wantanabe."
"Wantanabe... Where have I heard that name before?" The yellow head mused, he started walking in the direction of what I assumed to be the Hyuuga compound. Finally.
"My birth father, maybe." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Oh, where's he from?"
"The Bloody Mist, he and my mom died trying to get me out, mugi." I couldn't help but tell him things I'm not supposed to know. Really, he just emits this trustworthy air around him. It was impossible to not trust him.
It made me wonder how he wasn't put into T&I.
Obito followed us, and the rest of the trip was full of casual conversation.
We got to the gates.
"You can drop me off now, mugi." I told them.
"No, we insist." Minato said.
"Fine, mugi."
Hiashi would not be happy to hear about this.
Walking in, I was glared at. Minato got many bows, as expected. After all he was the Hokage. The difference was almost startling. Until you consider that he was the Hokage, and I was some orphan girl adopted into the clan. And nobody liked outsiders.
"What's with the tense air?" Obito said, a little too loudly. Hyuuga didn't care for Uchiha's.
"The wife of the head just died." Minato explained, though it didn't do much, so I finished for him.
"The Branch Family hates the Main Family, because of the seals, mostly. You've heard of them, mugi?" I received a nod, "Lady Himawari was one of the kindest, and from the Branch Family, mugi. She smoothed down the tensions. Just a month ago, she died in childbirth. Making the clan go crazy, mugi."
"Right," Minato said. We continued walking until the biggest house in the compound was reached.
"Um, Erin-chan? Are you sure this is your house?" Obito asked.
"Yes, my adoptive parents died, giving me to Hizashi, the late twin brother of the head. Lady Himawari insisted I stay after he died."
"What are you gonna do now that she's dead?" he asked, tactless.
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there, mugi."
He had asked a good question. Would I stay, under the wishes of a dead women? Would I leave, under the wishes of the majority of the clan? I was unsure. On one hand, they may want to respect Himawari's wishes. On the other, everyone that has taken care of me has died. I know "I'm an outsider" doesn't cover all the glares.
Of course, Minato and Obito didn't know all that. They only know what it looks like from a distance. Not the up close and personal glares I'm getting.
"Well, We'll leave you here. By the way, you should visit sometime, I have a son about your age." The Yellow Flash and his student walked away.
'Naruto! And here we have the living reminders, literally, that the plot has gone to ashes!' My mind though, I quickly pushed it away.
I still haven't trained anything!
