I don't think I was prepared for this, in all honesty.
I knew that as soon as I met Hana and Inoichi, I was in the dangerous territory of becoming 'Plotline-relevant'.
I didn't think it would happen so…quickly though.
I wasn't ready! I was just a brat who was the slowest reader ever!
Anyway, every year since we'd been friends, Noko and I attended each other's Birthday parties. That was kind of a given fact.
I'd never had a particularly long conversation with Noko's dad, Inoichi's younger brother Inokumo, but he was still 'Oji-san' seeing as I'd know him most of my life. The same for Natsuko-oba-san, who always helped Noko and I pick the prettiest flowers. But they were still family and I'd probably get even closer to them the older I grew (as then we'd actually talk more). But I'd never twigged that Inokumo (cloud-pig, I was guessing, ha!) was the younger brother of Inoichi. Even if they looked kind of similar now I thought about it.
But I thought it was just a Yamanaka clan thing! Noko looked similar enough to Ino to be her elder sister. Well, if you ignored her strawberry blonde hair, the front of which just brushed her collar bones whilst the back was cut short in a long, asymmetric bob.
I was the one who gave her the idea when she was sick of her plaits.
She looked awesome!
Anyway, Noko's sixth birthday, three weeks after Minato was made Yondaime, was June 28th. The weather was absolutely sweltering and I found myself tugging uncomfortably at the back of my buttercup-yellow tank top, glad my blue shorts weren't so tight that they would stick to me. My hair was up in a high ponytail to keep it off my neck, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief everytime a cool breeze blew past.
The sky was completely clear of merciful cloud-cover, so blue it was almost white in places.
Noko had come to greet me immediately, dressed in a cute white co-ord set that made her hair burn like copper. We'd scarcely exchanged delighted hugs (I was always happy to see her) when a very pretty woman coughed politely behind us. Noko turned around with a beaming grin and I felt the keenest sense of foreboding.
"Nekki! This is Sora-oba-san! You've not met her yet, cause she used to work alllllll the time! As a ninja!" Noko babbled on for a bit, Sora smiling fondly. Her hair was chocolate brown and pulled into a high bun with a red ribbon. I'm pretty sure this was Ino's mother, though. Noko didn't have that many close relatives, despite being in a clan.
Warning, Warning! Getting a bit too close to a Main Character…
She couldn't be pregnant yet, Ino wouldn't be born til next September, but meeting the mother whose name we never knew, like Hana's dad, felt very…involved.
I wasn't gonna run for the hills at the idea of ninja, that would be ridiculous, but I was feeling unexpectedly hesitant to have a say in the plotline.
I felt bad enough trying to leave everything as it was without fucking it up accidentally.
Then I mentally slapped myself.
Idiot! I'm here already and no matter what I do, unless I actually act on it, what will happen, will happen! I had dark hair this time around, I wasn't gonna make myself go grey prematurely. The first sight of just the possibility of a main character (the mother did all the work, as someone who remembers being in the womb, I can confirm this) has me jittery as a field mouse. I already met Hana! Get a grip girl.
Whilst I had been giving myself that little mental pep-talk, Sora had gracefully guided us into the kitchen, where a bunch of brats from the academy and some of Noko's cousins were already congregated. I didn't recognise any of them as future canon characters and breathed a mental sigh of relief, despite myself.
The party was cute enough, although next year I vowed to bake her a cake myself. It just wasn't the same. Obviously, cake and stuff already existed here, but not like back in Europe! There wasn't any fresh whipped cream and I'm pretty sure I would be credited with the invention of caramel, the ice-cream was stuff like red-bean paste and matcha. I couldn't wait to introduce everyone to the heaven that was matcha green tea cheesecake…
I was so going to open the most delicious (and only) patisserie in the Shinobi Nations. And then get all my ninja friends to guard my secrets so I'd hold the monopoly on the stuff.
It was my duty as a glutton.
…
Life was moving pretty quickly by now.
Or maybe I was just aware of how soon everything was going to change.
It was late Winter already, almost February, and I was hyperaware that Hinata had just been born.
Dad had stopped taking missions outside the village after the war. He was still the happy man I'd always known but now he seemed more tired. He could only be 30 or so and yet sometimes he seemed as aged as men twice his age. He'd sit by the fire before dinner, eyes unfocused and fingers rubbing over the scarred stumps which used to be his last two fingers on his right hand.
I always made a point of kissing them before curling up in his lap and purring.
(The first time I did that after the war, I pretended I didn't feel his shoulders shake or my head grow damp.)
Mum had started helping out even more at Yuri-oba-san's dress shop, sometimes spending entire mornings there whilst I exercised and practised my punches under the watchful eye of Hitoshi.
I ignored the few silver hairs that had appeared around the big panther's eyes over the years. Or how, when I'd gotten older, I'd noticed the scars the laced his skin, concealed beneath ebony fur.
By this point, I was still pretty tall for a 6-year-old, waist height on my mum. My hair had never seen scissors beyond the usual trim to keep it healthy and was down to my waist. Maybe it was silly, to want hair as long as possible, but I would never be a ninja and so wouldn't need to be functional. Even if Kushina proved otherwise.
In my previous life, my mum always sabotaged my haircuts as a kid; I'd ask for a trim and then the next thing I know, I've got a bob and my mum's grinning like the cat that got the canary. Very uncool.
But anyway, hair aside, now that I'd gained a bit more independence, it was full steam ahead on the 'inventions'. The most annoying part, aside from taking way too long to write everything down (the temptation to use English had never been so great), was purposefully mucking things up.
It was a crime to waste that many ingredients. All the potential goodies….lost!
But, by now I had a pretty decent spread of things, not including the 'desserts' kaa-san had taught me when she realised that's where my interest lay. I mean they were fine but…they just didn't hit the spot on my sweet tooth cravings. Speaking of…
"Ta-dah!" I announced to my dad, happily sliding the stack of pancakes towards him.
"Err," he blinked. The poor man doesn't even know the gift I have just bestowed on him. "What..is it?" he asked delicately, fully aware of how sensitive I could be towards my creations.
"I call them 'Pancakes'" I sang, arms poised like a performer on stage. "cause they're made in the pan!" not like he couldn't tell. He'd been watching me suspiciously the entire time and I wasn't sure if that was just being a ninja or if I should have been insulted. With a sigh, like I'd asked him a great favour, he picked up his fork and used it to tear off a corner. At my pointed glance, he obediently dipped it in the strawberry cream before putting it in his mouth.
You would've thought I'd asked him to taste test laxatives, for all the attitude he was giving me.
The look of surprised delight on his face as he took another, more generous bite, had me grinning in satisfaction.
Another success!
Hitoshi rolled his eyes from where he lay slumped in an armchair. "If she was going to poison you, " he paused to lick his paw, "she would have done so by now, Seiichi-sama."
I looked around for a new seconds before face vaulting at my own stupidity.
Seiichi was my dad, huh?
Tou-san ignored me, too busy polishing off my present but Hitoshi missed nothing. The stupid cat burst out laughing (more of a choked growl) and I resisted the urge to pounce him. It wouldn't have ended well for me, big surprise. Still, I wasn't the most mature of people so I threw a cushion at him, snarling- "Shut up, cat! Go un-summon yourself!"
When all noise cut off, I realised I might have missed something.
Hitoshi sat up, back to me, and ignored me like he hadn't since I'd teethed on his tail. AKA almost 5 years.
Turning around in confusion to my dad, my eyes widened upon seeing the happiness flee from his face. A look of quiet grief and sad acceptance where there ought to have always been joy and humour. Guilt rolled in my stomach and I undoubtedly looked at lost as I felt.
"I'm sorry, Kiharu-chan. It's not your fault." Stretching out an arm, tou-san beckoned me into his side. I went without hesitation, hating how quiet everything had gone. A flex of his arm and dad had heaved me up to perch on his knee. At any other time, I would've been impressed by his smoothness. For a long moment, there wasn't any sound except for the quiet ticking of the kitchen clock. I found myself holding my breath. It felt like I was tip-toeing on sugar-glass.
"Summoning contracts are a focal point between two realms. This one and the summoning realm. If a contract is lost, sometimes we may travel through to plead for a new one to be forged. If all of the summons perish, the contract is voided. During the second Shinobi war, your Jiji found a summoning contract. It was from a foreign village, possibly Iwa, but he found it on the battlefield and… we'll never know for sure. The Uchiha have long held the cat contract but this one was for the larger felines, a smaller contract but still powerful. There weren't many summons to begin with and we lost many in that war. I signed the contract when I turned 18, just before your Jiji died." I'd never heard dad speak of his family before and something hard clenched in my chest.
"When you sign the contract, you are given a partner to hone your fighting skills and be your main point of contact. Sometimes they were already proficient fighters. Sometimes they learnt alongside you. Hitoshi was but a cub when he came to me." Said cat flinched as if struck and Dad's arms tightened. "the war was very scary, Hime, and people died. Hitoshi's parents died alongside your Jiji and I was left to raise him. The last feline summon, Keida, died to save both my life and Hitoshi's just before you were born."
I felt pale, heart thudding so hard I shook.
The idea that I might never have known dad, never have grown up with him… a tear dripped into his T-shirt and before I knew it I was sniffling helplessly.
Dad squeezed me tightly but soldiered on to finish the story nonetheless. "Because he is the last, if Hitoshi goes back to the summon realm, he'd be all alone. Whilst the realms between animals are connected, he would still be the only one of his kind. And that's why he stays with us always because we're family."
At this point, I was fairly sobbing into Neko-tou's chest, crying and apologising to Hitoshi for anything I had ever said. A warm brush of velvet against my leg and I moved to clutch the panther closer to me.
After calming down slightly, I had one serious concern.
"Doesn't maintaining a summoning take loads of chakra, though?" I remembered how much effort it always was in the fanfics and anime, what if-
"No, hime. The initial summoning can take a lot but after that, so long as the summon doesn't use up their chakra, they can stay for quite a while. I only really have to re-summon Hitoshi once a month or so. It's like with nin-ken summons; once they've been contracted individually, it barely takes anything."
Well, thank god. With a mostly mental sigh of relief, I allowed myself to slump comfortably against Tou-san, Hitoshi leaning his head heavily into my lap.
At once point, Dad started purring again…which naturally set the rest of us off.
….
Seriously this time…I honestly wasn't prepared for this.
I was 7 now (wayhay!) with nothing to show for it but a silver panther necklace (from Noko) which I never took off (as annoying as Hitoshi's smug face was) and a panther honour guard. I'd always been around Hitoshi, from our explosive first meeting to our babysitting days, but ever since I found out about the contract, he'd stuck to me like glue.
Kami knows why, as I'm not actually that nice to him.
It was a Sunday morning at the market and mum had rushed over early to the seamstresses (she'd run out the house yelling about bridal emergencies to the equal bewilderment of Dad and me) so I was left to run out for dinner (with Hitoshi, of course, so I was adequately protected).
Hitoshi was stalking along behind me like the drama queen he was and I had my nose stuck in the stupidly long list Kaa-san had left behind. I mean, who needs three different types of onions? (if this was dessert, I'd probably understand.)
So I was justifiably distracted when I bumped into someone.
We didn't collide hard, so no one was dropping anything or falling over or anything as silly. The guy looked pretty unimpressed with me, however, even if he was the one standing in the middle of the street like people weren't trying to walk? (I'd already said this was a peeve of mine)
Even the sight of his bandana and senbon wasn't enough to stop me in my tracks. Genma was awesome but his careless glance made me want to stomp his instep.
Shhhhh, I was still a small cherub, I could definitely come out as the victim…
"Sorry, kid. Watch where you're walking next time, eh?" he sounded pretty cool for a teenage brat, even if he was already one of the Yondaime's Guards. But making it sound like it was my fault and he was doing me a favour? Dick move.
Ah well, I'm nothing if not adaptable.
"Sorry nee-san," I blinked innocently, twisting the hem of my dress in small hands. With another smile (I'd practised without shame and knew it looked impressively angelic), I skipped off, thankful that Hitoshi had managed to contain his laughter this long.
A casual glance behind me showed Genma gawking after me, one hand rubbing self-consciously through his shoulder-length hair. The two ninja behind him – yeah, I'm pretty sure one was Raidou – were almost choking with laughter.
And who said civilians were harmless in the face of ninja?
I worried for half a second I was forming a habit of embarrassing ninja via their perceived masculinity but then realised I didn't care.
Later, I was almost done with the shopping (which was trailing along in the toy cart behind me; I felt very Disney) when the scent of salty goodness set my tummy a-rumbling.
It was the infamous ramen stand, Ichiraku Ramen! Well, I had to go in right? It was like going to the Harry Potter Studios and not trying the butterbeer; Obligatory.
The shop looked just like in the anime only, well, real. It was so steamy and warm and golden. Mmmmmh! Thankfully, there wasn't any sign of Kushina as I didn't think I could survive an encounter without asking to see her hair split into tails- and wouldn't that bring up some awkward questions. But I'd always wanted to know if that was Kyuubi or a special technique or if she was just that awesome?
Teuchi (what a good man) was cooking and I was beaming as I dumped my trolley beside Hitoshi (ha! He doesn't have thumbs- that's what you got for complaining without doing any work) and slid myself into a stool.
"Hello there, little Hime," he greeted me happily. Aww, I bet he's an amazing dad to Ayame… "What would you like? This your first time here?"
I was on my best behaviour at this point so nodded eagerly, "Mmhmm! Kaa-san sent us shopping but it smelled so good, I wanted to try it," flattery gets you anywhere. "I'll have miso, please!" I continued. May as well see what Naruto was always barking on about.
Teuchi was an absolute sweetheart, just as I'd figured. As he whipped up my batch, he effortlessly chatted with me, asking what my favourite thing was about the market and harmless things like that.
When he asked if I liked cooking myself (I must've looked a tad too interested in what he was doing), I went off on one about all the desserts I'd been making. He seemed excited for me, which melted my already liquified heart, so much so I promised to bring him something soon – if I had his cooking, he had to have mine!
The bowl was slid in front of me and it looked and smelled divine. Food in manga and anime always looked otherworldly good but I can confirm that that's actually how good it was.
I had a pretty cultivated sweet tooth but still appreciated salty flavours.
This was delicious. Even Mr I-only-want-expensive-meat-because-I'm-a-queen Hitoshi was resting his head on my lap, licking his chops at the smell.
Either that or my blissed-out expression had sparked his jealousy/curiosity. I knew he wouldn't like it and told him as much (in between showering praise on the embarrassed ramen chef in front of me). He didn't look happy but that's not my fault.
(five minutes later, I let him lick some off my finger.)
(He agreed with my reasoning.)
By the time I'd finished, it was just after noon and I knew I had to be getting back soon. With a cheerful wave at Teuchi and a final promise to bring him a dessert within the next few days, I dragged both the cart (physically) and the cat (not quite so literally) back out to the marketplace.
A bag of spinach, some ginger and a carton of eggs later and we were homeward bound.
The walk was insignificant, except for when I caught Genma's eye (stood responsibly now, out of the flow of people – good boy) and tossed him a cheeky wink. The rueful smirk he graced me with in return left me satisfied. Ahhh, there's nothing like trolling people and then making friends with them anyway.
…..
On the one year anniversary of his inauguration, I somehow ended up sharing an egg custard with the Yondaime.
The pure ridiculous 'headcanon-ness' of the entire situation made me want to roll my eyes so hard they'd fall back into my skull.
Well, it went like this.
Three days after my first visit to Ichiraku, I returned once more, this time mercifully without the baggage of an apex predator and a shopping wagon. I literally walked all the way from my house to the stand with nothing but the egg custards in my hands. It was around 10 in the morning on a Wednesday, so I wasn't exactly worried about being murdered. I'd stopped for nothing, except to glare at the punk who almost hit me with his football, before marching up to the empty counter and plonking the plate down. (It was covered, don't worry. I'm fully aware of how dusty Konoha was.)
Teuchi, whilst initially dubious, had been delighted with the creation, particularly the creamy filling. So ever since then, I'd made it my mission to deliver six fist-sized little tartlets to the man every week, in return for two bowls of ramen. (I didn't take him up on it every time, so now I had a nice little tally saved up behind the till.)
Of course, because there hadn't been a word for it here before and I didn't know Japanese in my previous life, there wasn't an official title for the thing.
Teuchi just called it 'sun tart', which was pretty cool so I went with it.
Now, I knew I was asking for trouble by cultivating a contact in the most notorious food stand in Narutoverse but…Teuchi was so cute, I couldn't help myself. I thrive on the adorableness of others apparently. And mum had been so happy, babbling on about her little dessert chef and how this was my first big step in making a name for myself.
I got where she was coming from but I was hesitant to point out I was only just 7.
Dad, of course, just cried with happiness. I cannot stress both the abnormality of that man and his likeness to anime Hashirama (it wasn't even biological!).
Apparently, at some point, Minato (a regular alongside Kushina) had managed to wrangle a slice from the ramen chef (who could be surprisingly tricksy, probably how he'd managed to keep hold of his recipes). And, when asked what he wanted in celebration for his first anniversary as Leader, he'd requested an entire tart (the size of a dinner plate) to himself.
I sensed the presence of a fellow glutton after my own heart.
So here I was, seated at 6 am (Hokage obviously worked early and it was either now or late at night) with a sleeping Hitoshi at my feet, making myself sick with dessert too early in the morning.
With Panty-dropper Minato Namikazi.
Not that I was like that! I was 7, for crying out loud! (hypocrite, I know.)
Minato was gushing about the tart, face sparkling like he was in Ouran Host Club and wiggling in happiness in a way that was scarily similar to my dad on Kustudon night.
How did my life get this way? I moaned internally.
I didn't even have the heart to troll him like I would my dad right about now.
As morbid as it was, he was gonna die in a few months, along with Kushina, and leave his newborn baby the village reject. Urgh, Canon was an asshole and a major mood killer.
"-it's just so yellow and happy-" and here I'd thought Minato was supposed to be all cool and collected.
Apparently, he's a massive nerd.
"Is that why you like it? 'cause it's the same colour as your head?" ahh, screw it. Who said I couldn't be a little shit. Live in the present and all that Tumblr stuff.
The legendary Yondaime melted in his seat like a deflating balloon before Teuchi's roaring laugh stopped him before he made it to the floor. When Hitoshi chuckled as well (ay, since when were you awake?), Minato sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with an eye-smile.
Holy shit, I didn't think that was physically possible.
Then again, my dad grows mushrooms all the time and he did just turn into liquid for a moment or two.
"No, Kiharu-chan," and suddenly he was all cool and mysterious again. "it just makes me happy!" he gently reached over and patted my head.
"Good food can do that for people." I felt strangely touched. When he wasn't being a bit of a weirdo, there was something strangely charismatic about him.
He was on a roll now and continued earnestly.
"-and I'm sure you're gonna go really far with this, Kiharu-chan! You don't have to be some ninja warrior to make a change in peoples lives." He turned away from me now, still smiling softly and picked up his fork again. My face was surely just a bit awestruck. "Sometimes, just a special little thing, like this tart, can do something. I mean, you've really made my day with this!"
I can't believe he just said that, to the little girl whose pie he liked. This didn't feel like a plot cliché for once. I felt like an actual Konoha citizen, amazed to be noticed by our actual dictator (even if he was a nice one).
"Teuchi," I glanced at the man who looked just as surprised and proud as I did. A smile tugged at my lips and I knew what change I could do today.
"as cute a name as 'Sun Tart' is, maybe we should call the little ones that. This one.." I pointed at the scene of Minato digging into what was left of his large egg custard, "…looks more like a Yondaime's Sun."
Teuchi and Minato, grinning, both shook my hand.
"I'd be honoured."
….
Noko had joined the academy in a time of war, which was just before she turned five.
However, she'd not gotten very far before the war had officially ended and so, once the peacetime curriculum was back in place, she was therefore still dying of boredom just two years later. She was particularly irritable now as the new students were her own age.
Hana wouldn't be joining for another two years, being only five. (her lisp was still the highlight of my week.)
Nowadays (especially in the sticky July heat – which was, of course, unbearable in the classroom), the only things that could cheer the poor thing up were my food or Sora-oba-san, who was now really quite pregnant. Or both.
Both was always best.
Sora-oba-san, who'd insisted I call her that after introducing her to my fresh strawberry cheesecake during one of her worse pregnancy cravings, was usually a very composed and genteel woman. A lady.
When pregnant, she was just as entertaining as my mum. And just as violent towards Inoichi-Oji.
I know, I know. I was in fangirl heaven and my own plot-hell. 'Oji'? I was definitely screwed.
In the front room of the Yamanaka Clan Head's house, Sora-oba was having a bad day. She had dressed in loose pants and a simple shirt with her usually impeccable hair thrown into a high pony when Noko and I (and Hitoshi) found her.
This wouldn't work.
Immediately sending Hitoshi to function as a heated teddy bear, Noko ran outside to gather fresh flowers whilst I opened the curtains and got the tea going. On second thoughts, I also set out the chilled peach juice. It was so hot out.
Now, Noko and I weren't being presumptuous brats. We'd had to help Sora-oba out a few times with her pregnancy already when we visited. Ino was really making her uncomfortable; I briefly wondered if she was also a deeply spiteful victim of botched reincarnation before cutting myself off.
That was a horrible thought, urgh.
Noko came rushing back in as I was unpacking the cakes I'd bought, suddenly never more grateful I'd turned as fussy as a Grandmother when it came to pressing food into my 'relative's hands. Bringing in all our supplies, we found our auntie curled up on her side on the sofa, Hitoshi squeezed on in front of her, purring loudly.
I had to force myself not to respond with my own. That would've been embarrassing.
I laid out the treats as Sora-oba raised her head. She looked awfully grey but her eyes immediately brightened at the picture the two of us made, cakes and drinks spread out with a vibrant bouquet of her favourite flowers.
By the time we'd left, we'd woven them into her hair, eaten a good bit of cake and felt Ino kick at least six times.