A New Hope
Sorry I'm late, RL sucks! Please read the Author's Note at the bottom, after the chapter.
OooO- Line cut
OooO- Flashback line cut
disclaimer; I don't own Naruto
Minato stared down at the unconscious pinkette in his arms. She's had a rough few months and it's all thanks to Orochimaru. After he had invaded with Sand, he nearly managed to kill the third, but escaped with a severely damaged arm thanks to Minato. He was able to catch the snake by surprise with a rasengan.
OooO
Orochimaru hissed loudly in displeasure as he felt the rasengan tear through his flesh and split parts of his bones. Minato jumped back to avoid the blow from the Shodaime.
" It would appear you don't just look like your father." bit out Orochimaru as he glared at Minato, who held his gaze. Orochimaru knew he could not continue fighting, with his arm barely attached to him, not to mention all the blood he was losing." Lower the barrier and retreat!" he called out to the sound four and they did as requested.
" Oh no you don't! Water Style; Water Prison Jutsu!" called out Zabuza, catching a girl with long red hair in a water sphere. Zabuza made the water so dense, she passed out from the pressure.
" Tayuya!" shouted a boy with several arms
" Leave her, we must go!" ordered Orochimaru.
Haku launched several poison covered senbon at the snake, catching his good arm, here and there.
' Heh. That foolish boy doesn't know that all common poisons won't work on me. Although, it's a shame I can't mark this as the day I killed my dear old sensei. Oh well, there's always next time.' mused Orochimaru, as he and his followers disappeared.
Sarutobi had just finished sealing away the Kages, with a modified version of the Death Reaper seal. Though it did not take away his life, it most definitely took off a few years, it was similar to Tsunade's creation rebirth in that way. Hiruzen ended up gasping for air, as he fell to his knees. Enma and Minato were there in a second.
" Old man, are you alright?"
" It would appear, I'm not as battle ready as I believed." he wheezed out." Thank you both for your aid." he turned to Zabuza and Haku." Thank you as well, know we might be able to get some information from someone obviously close in this matter."
" You need to get to the hospital first, Hiruzen. You can't help the village, if you can't even stand on your own two feet." stated Enma as he helped the man stand and began leading him away.
ANBU appeared and retrived Tayuya from Zabuza, who along with Haku, went to deal with the rest of the invaders around the village. Minato, took off to try and find his team, who should have caught up to the Sand siblings by now.
'Please be alright.'
OooO
Due to the nature of the injury, Orochimaru retreated and Konoha's forces were able to handle the rest. Minato had made it at the conclusion of Naruto's battle with Gaara and although he was proud of his son for defeating a jinchuriki, he made sure to give him a scolding for being so reckless.
It was late at night that day, when Minato found out what happened to Sakura after she dropped Sasuke off at the hospital.
OooO
It was nearly midnight and Minato couldn't sleep. After all today's events had left chaos in the waking, several buildings and homes were destroyed, some left orphans thanks to the summoning, and many civilians were injured, causing the hospitals to be crowded. It was a mess.
Minato sighed in frustration. He wanted to be at the Hokage tower helping the Sandaime straighten out this problem, but it would bring too much attention to himself with the council being there, especially Danzo. They needed to discuss who would take on the title of Hokage, because Hiruzen was too old and proven to not be able to deal with multiple threats. Sure he was a powerful shinobi, but the new generation always surpassed the old and it was proven, when he nearly died by his own student's hand.
He was pulled out of his thought by a soft knock at the door.
' Who could that be? Kakashi and Jiraiya-sensei are out pursuing Sound ninja and ANBU would have poofed in.' he wondered to himself as he went to get it. He checked the chakra signature and raised an eyebrow, as he opened the door.
" Saku-" but he cut himself off after seeing her appearance. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were a bit rumpled, her eyes were puffy and red, and she had tears welling up in them. She whispered something, but he couldn't hear.
" What?"
" ...Dead." was all he could pick up.
" Just a little louder, Sakura."
" M- my father is...dead." the tears spilled over and Minato quickly lead her inside, towards the couch.
" What happened?" he asked gently.
" When I went home after dropping Sasuke off at the hospital, I saw that the house was half destroyed. My parents were no where in sight or in the house, so I went looking for them. It wasn't until an ANBU appeared in front of me saying he found my parents near a summon, who had just destroyed a building. My father was killed in the backlash and my mother..."
" Go on."
" She's in an indefinite coma. They're not sure when she'll wake of or even if." she began sobbing into her hands.
Minato pulled her into his arms. That seemed to be her breaking point as her sobs got louder till she was flat out crying into his neck. Minato looked up at the sound of light footsteps and saw Naruto standing there, half asleep. Minato shook his head and his 'brother' got the message and left.
OooO
They had stayed like that for an hour, before Sakura tired herself out from crying. She had to go through her fathers burial without her mother at her side,but the team was there for her, she didn't want others around. With her house in ruins, the Sandaime got her and affordable two bedroom apartment that was near their house, far from others. She had dug through the mess of her old home, eyes glassy the whole time and her struggling not to cry, and was able to recover half her clothes, some of her mom's, some books, photos, and personal items. But the things brought little comfort to her. The only three places she could be found were her new home, the hospital, and the training field.
She would spend several hours at the hospital just watching her mother, who was hooked up to several machines keeping her alive. She'd asked that the boys didn't come with her, because it was too personal and they all understood. They knew that when she went there, she would cry next to her mother's bed. More than once she would be seen leaving the hospital with puffy red eyes and sad demeanor. When she went to practice, she would talk little and just do whatever lesson Kakashi has planned for the day or perform the D-rank missions silently. Other than that, she rarely left the house and Naruto and Minato would bring her to their place half the time, just to get her out of the house and get her mind off things.
After the meeting, it was decided that Tsunade would become the next Hokage, so Naruto and Jiraiya had set out to retrieve her. Minato had stayed behind to help out the Sandaime and keep Sakura company. However, he did not plan on meeting with the Akatsuki so soon, or more specifically Uchiha Itachi.
OooO
Minato had just left the Hokage's office, when he sensed two powerful foreign chakras not too far from him. The fact that the Leaf was just attacked, immediately put him on high alert. He masked his chakra and took off, via trees, to the location of the chakras. Upon getting closer, he sensed Kakashi's, Asuma's, and Kurenai's chakra as well. He landed in the trees and observed the scene.
Asuma was battling with a very tall, blue-skinned, man who resembled a shark. Kurenai had a teen pinned to a tree, she was coming out of, but when he opened his eyes and revealed the sharingan, Minato knew that could only be Itachi. He was able to trick Kurenai and sent her flying into the water.
Kakashi copied Kisame's, as Kakashi stated, attack and created a clone, that was directly behind Itachi.
Itachi pulled out four shuriken and Kakashi created a water barrier to protect himself. However, Itachi never launched them and before Kakashi could speak a clone of Itachi pierced him in the back. But, Kakashi just melted into water, surprising Kisame by his swift moves and ability to copy water attacks. Itachi made the water rise greatly, cause Kakashi to try and get Kurenai out-of-the-way of the attack and Asuma to jump onto the water next to them.
Itachi closed his eyes, but once he began to open them Kakashi told Asuma and Kurenai to close theirs or else they would fall under Itachi's genjutsu, while Kakashi only kept his sharingan eye open.
" You seemed to think that if you have the sharingan, you will not fall prey to mine." spoke Itachi." But, your wrong." Minato appeared next to Kakashi, just as Itachi muttered." Tsukiyomi." The world around Kakashi and Minato was replaced by a black, white, and red version. Both males were separated from the other and found themselves tied up and in front of multiple Itachis'. In Kakashi's world Itachi talked little and began stabbing him. However, in Minato's world he contemplated the boy in front of him before speaking.
" That was foolish of you to jump out like that. I might have let you remain in the trees, while I took care of the adults."
' So he knew I was there, well Sarutobi did say he was a prodigy since birth.' thought Minato.
" I needed to talk to you."
" Talk to me, an S-rank criminal? You are more foolish than I first thought."
" Itachi-san," Minato took a deep breath. He was not well prepared for a confrontation, but he was also sure he would not get a chance like this so soon again." I know the truth about the massacre -!" as soon as the words left his mouth, Itachi was in front of him, with a sword piercing his gut, and causing blood to slip from his mouth.
Itachi stared at him. It was not an angry stare per se, but it was intense and his eyes were spinning wildly.
" Tell me, just what do you think you know?" he asked in a calm voice, that carried steel.
" I know that you were ordered to kill your family, because they were planning a coup. The Hokage is the one who told me, if your wondering." Minato knew that would be Itachi's next question. He also knew this would be the follow up.
" Why would he discuss something of this nature with you?" asked Itachi. He made no move to stab him again, but he also didn't make a move to to remove the sword already in his gut.
" I can't tell you." Itachi's eyes narrowed." For now anyway. But I will tell you this, I'm Naruto's older brother and I'm on the same team as Sasuke. I will be watching over both of them, however I'm worried about Sasuke." Minato caught a flash of interest in Itachi's eyes, but not a second later it was gone." Orochimaru has given Sasuke the curse mark and has offered him power to defeat you." Itachi stiffened ever so slightly.
" Itachi-san, I approached you because I know your still loyal to Konoha. I know your a spy and get in contact with Jiraiya-san every so often. I don't want to see another shinobi from Konoha lost, due to the ambitions of an enemy. You don't have to do everything on your own, because you can't, no matter how powerful you are. You're not alone."
OooO
Itachi did not verbally respond, but something did seem to change about his demeanor. It was odd for Minato to see him so much older and passive, compared to hen he was a kid. But with what has happened to him, it's no surprise. Kakashi ended up in the hospital, due to the effects of the sharingan, but it was noted that he was not in critical condition.
Later when Tsunade was brought back to the village, Minato had learned that Naruto had a run-in with Itachi and Sasuke left to try and confront his older brother. Guy had brought Sasuke back, after his brother knocked him out, by striking his neck. Not only that, but they later had a run in with Orochimaru and Kabuto, though Minato was not surprised about the latter being there. It turned out that Haku's poison was more lethal than Orochimaru imagined, seeing as his right arm was paralyzed and they were looking for Tsunade to remove the poison and heal him. In the end though, things worked out and Tsunade had become the fifth Hokage.
Of course knowing the fact that she would get suspicious, Hiruzen suggested telling her after her inauguration. Minato agreed and had seeked her out the afternoon of her acceptance. It took a while for her to believe them, but after answering questions and explaining in full detail about what happened, Tsunade finally relented.
However it would seem that Itachi's appearance had effected Sasuke more than he let on, because not long after he had left late into the night to try and join Orochimaru. Sakura had tried to reason with him, saying the whole team could help him and that it wouldn't be the same with him gone, but in her already emotional state there was not much she could do to stop him.
The next day a team was put together to retrieve him, with Minato staying behind to help Sakura, but he did secretly slip Naruto his kunai before they left. It was hard to get Sakura to calm down and finally snap out of her weakened state.
OooO
" What are we gonna do?" she sobbed into her hands, as she sat on the couch in Minato's home.
" Sakura a team was just sent out to bring back Sasuke and I will be joining them soon."
" But -" Minato cut her off.
" Sakura." the way he said her name made her freeze. It was not cold per se, but it was definitely commanding. She met his eyes and flinched at he scrutiny in them." Sakura, I have been patient with you, because you suffered a great loss and don't know if you will ever gain back your mother." he took a deep breath." However, this is reality. Ninja kill and are killed. Sometimes innocent people get caught in the cross fire and there is nothing we can do for them. If you can't move past this then maybe...you should quite now."
He watched as her eyes widened in shock, disbelief, and hurt. He sat next to her and looked her in the eyes.
" I'm not suggesting this because you have no capability as a ninja. You have what it takes to become an amazing one, but if you let your emotions rule you and hold you back, then in the end you may be the cause of someone's death. I know it's hard." his voice sounded so far away, even to his own ears. He knew what it was like to lose your parents young. He had lost his mother to a disease, when he was a toddler, then later his dad, by the time he was 13. His sensei had really been there for him and became like a second father figure and someone to look up to.
However, Sakura didn't know his true past and thought he was talking about how he and Naruto were orphans.
" Oh, Minato I'm so sorry!" She apologized." Here I am acting like my life is over, when you and Naruto have been without parents all your life. Oh no wonder you were angry at me! I am so sorry, if I hurt you and -" Minato placed his hand over her mouth.
" Sakura, I'm not angry with you. I was disappointed that it seemed like you would never recover from your loss, since it has been a little over a month and you were still grieving as if it were only yesterday. I'm not hurt that you miss your parents, if anything I'm hurt you have to go through the same thing Naruto and I do, but much worse seeing as you knew your parents."
He removed his hand and ran it through her pink locks, soothing her and himself.
" I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused and thank you." she said softly with her eyes closed.
Minato smiled. " If I can deal with Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, I can deal with you." his face turned serious." Speaking of which, Sakura I need to go."
Said girl opened her eyes and smiled." Ah, bring them back Minato, if not so I can hit Sasuke upside the head for knocking me out."
Minato ginned and got up and left the house. The second he was outside, he honed in on the kunai he gave Naruto and felt the familiar tug at his navel and was gone.
OooO
When Minato arrived at the scene he was shocked by the location. They were at the Valley of Ends, where Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara once battled.
'How fitting.' he mused, before turned to try and spot Naruto and Sasuke. However when he spotted them, his eyes couldn't believe it.
Naruto was covered in the Kyuubi's chakra cloak, eyes red with slits in the middle, and long fangs and claws. Sasuke was even more surprising. His skin was now grey with a black cross on his face, his eyes were yellow, his hair was down to his lower back, he had fangs and claws, and even wings in the shape of hands on his back. They looked demonic.
They were slashing, clawing, and moving at great speed. Each one trying to subdue the other, but never fully gaining the upper hand. Minato was about to run forward to try and trap them and calm them down, but was stopped by a strong pulse
Ba-thump
He grabbed his stomach in pain. It burned. This was a lot stronger than in the stadium. The more Naruto attacked and clashed with Sasuke, the more something within him pulsed.
' Kill.'
Minato's eyes widened. ' What was that?'
' Kill.'
It's just a faint whisper, but when he turns around, there's no one there.
' Destroy.'
" Who are you?" he rasped out. He was still in pain and was now panting with exertion. He needed to get to the boys, but he could barely move. His legs felt strained and his body was on fire. It felt like something was trying to burst from within him, but was holding it back.
' Kill them.'
" Why? Who are you?" he asked again. He then looked up as he heard a crash.
Naruto and Sasuke were on the other side of the waterfall, both of them preparing their final attacks. Sasuke was charging up his chidori, except instead of blue sparks it was black. Naruto was charging up, much to Minato's surprise, the rasengan, however instead of blue it was a neon purple. They both leaped in the air and flew at each other, Minato wanted to rush forward, to scream at them to stop, to do something, but he could not move. The pain would not let up and as their jutsus clashed, he felt such a strong pulse it cause him to scream and fall to his knees.
There was a bright flash, then silence.
It began to rain.
Minato was slowly gaining his vision back, now that the pain was receding. But he could not help the cold sweat at the parting words he received.
' We will speak again.'
After taking several deep breaths, Minato steeled himself into getting up and seeing what happened. Through the edge of the forest, he could see Sasuke on his knees staring down at an unconscious Naruto. He got up and unknowingly began making his way towards Minato.
Minato let him pass a few feet before speaking up, startling the raven haired boy.
" Sasuke." Sasuke didn't face him, but he did stop walking." Do you wish to defeat Itachi-san that badly?"
Faster than Minato though possible in his current state, Sasuke spun around, eyes blazing, teeth clenched, and grounded out." Don't say his name. I already told both Naruto and Sakura, I'm an avenger and that man will pay for what he did to my clan."
" Sasuke, your going about this all wrong." Minato stated.
" What would you know, you never had a family for the beginning of your life, only to have it ripped away from the last person you ever expected to be betrayed by?!"
" Sasuke, you think you know everything, but you don't. I want you to listen to me, before you go off doing something that can't be undone." Sasuke remained silent, so Minato continued." You said Itachi-san was the last person you ever expected to betray you. Do you know why he did it?"
" He said, he wanted to test his capabilities." relied Sasuke slowly. He did not have the energy to keep his anger going, nor could he fight back. Sasuke was not stupid, he knew that Minato was better than him, he clenched his fist, no matter how much he hated admitting it. Minato was on another level, much like his older brother was. It might have been the reason why he even became close to Naruto. They both had a more capable brother, but still worked hard to be seen as equals.
" Now have you ever questioned that answer?"
Sasuke looked confused, so Minato elaborated.
" Your brother tested his strength on his clan. A clan that also had civilians and was full of kids. Why ould he test his strength out on those types of people, when he could have tried attacking ANBU or Jounin? Those are the type of people that would really test his abilities, plus why would he ever harm his family for such a mundane reason? But the biggest question you don't seem to be asking, why did he leave you alive?" thunder roared above their heads, the wind was whipping around them, carrying there conversation throughout the area.
Sasuke stayed silent, no, he could not speak. He never truly thought about Itachi's words, never really tried to fully comprehend them. All he saw was his once loving brother, turn bad and kill his family. Itachi told him why and he never thought beyond it, too busy trying to get rid of the nightmares of seeing his whole clan slaughtered. Minato decided to continue, after the long pause.
" Now let me ask you a different question. Why is Orochimaru-san interested in you?" Sasuke's head snapped up and he met Minato's eyes. Not realizing, that he had looked away earlier." Why would Orochimaru-san want your sharingan, that has just been awakened not too long ago, when your brother's eyes are more advanced and powerful?"
Sasuke's eyes flashed with anger.
" Calm down and listen to me Sasuke." ordered Minato. He needed to get through to him here and now, but Sasuke's anger issues could cause a problem." You know I'm right. Itachi-san's eyes are superior to yours, so if Orochimaru-san wanted the sharingan, why not go for the most powerful one? The answer is simple. He could not get it."
Sasuke blinked and his anger was replaced with curiosity.
" Orochimaru-san was part of the same organization your brother is currently in, he had the perfect opportunity to get to your brother and he would not waste it. But there was something he didn't count on and that was Itachi out maneuvering him." Sasuke's eyes widen." Orochimaru-san was not able to defeat your brother, so he came after you. You're the perfect target, Sasuke, with you wanting to obtain power to defeat Itachi-san, your naivety to the ninja world, and the fact that your easily influenced." Minato took a breath and let everything sink into Sasuke." Orochimaru-san was not able to defeat your brother, so how do you expect him to give you the power so you can? Are you really ready to throw everything away, because you don't feel like your strong enough? Is the only thing that matters to you revenge? Can you really not find strength in the village, that is willing to help you?"
Sasuke took in everything said to him. He had never thought these things through, he had never known Orochimaru failed at getting his brother and was after him since he was an easier target, and he had never known that his peers would go so far for him, that they put their lives in jeopardy.
" Sasuke, I'm only going to tell you this once, come back to the Leaf village."
OooO
There had been a long silence after that, but eventually, Sasuke agreed. Even if he had not, Minato would have just knock him out and brought him back. Sure Sasuke would hate him, but Minato refused to allow another Leaf shinobi leave, especially when he could prevent it. When they had reached Naruto, Kakashi and Pakkun appeared, looking surprised at the scene, but he did not ask any questions as they made their way back to Konoha.
When they arrived, Sakura was there to greet them and true to her word, she punched Sasuke, knocking him down and hugged him welcoming him back. She then yelled at Kakashi to get Naruto and Sasuke to the hospital, then proceeded to hug Minato.
It has been two weeks since then and as punishment for trying to leave, Tsunade put Sasuke on house arrest. Tomorrow would be the day Naruto and Minato would leave with Jiraiya for three years of training, Sasuke's sentence would end, thanks to his good behavior, and he would leave with Kakashi. While Sakura stayed at the village and trained with Tsunade as well as Hiruzen. They will all be training hard to accomplish there dreams and though they're sad to be apart, they know when they're back they will be stronger than ever.
Today was the last day they would be together and Sakura had ended up getting emotional, not that her team was surprised, and stayed over, along with Sasuke, who was sleeping in Naruto's room.
Throughout Minato's musing, he didn't realize that he was slowly drifting off to sleep.
OooO
Minato awoke, when he felt a weight on his chest shift.
' Must be Sakura.' he thought. He could tell that it was still dark out, because he could not feel the sunlight on his face. He was about to open his eyes, but paused when he felt her run her fingers through his hair.
" So it is softer than it looks." she mumbled softly, trying not to wake him. Minato could fall back asleep to this treatment, her fingers were lightly scrapping against his scalp, lulling him into a peaceful state.
" I don't know how you do it Minato. You always seem to have the answers and always try to protect everyone like it's your responsibility."
' It's from years of being a sensei, then becoming Hokage.' he answered in his head.
" But I don't think you realize that you don't need to do everything on your own. We may not be the most skilled, but Team 7 is not made of glass, we bend and stretch, but never break. You always make sure to be there for Naruto, Sasuke, me, and even Kakashi-sensei, but you don't know were here for you as well. You don't need to be perfect, because we will always love you the same."
Minato was very touched and about to open his eyes, but her next words stopped him.
" I will always love you the same." she whispered softly.
As if in slow motion, her hand slid down to his cheek and cupped his face. He felt her slowly lean forward, but pause a few centimeters from his face.
" Thank you for everything." then she planted her lips on his, just as his eyes flew open.
Even with his eyes wide open, he could not comprehend what was happening right now.
Sakura was grateful to him.
Sakura was kissing him.
Sakura loved him.
He was still confused.
But not at this revelation. He was confused because he was not pushing her away. He was not jumping up apologizing, because he could never feel the same way. He was just laying here allowing it to happen and that sickened him.
He felt her begin to pull back and quickly shut his eyes.
" I can't believe I just did that." she breathed out in embarrassment, as she got up. Minato soon heard the door to the bathroom close shut and leaped up, eyes wide.
" Holy shit." he murmured. Minato was not usually one for cursing, but when the situation called for it, it was all he could say. He quickly preformed the seals for a shadow clone to take his place, then honed in on the kunai he gave to Jiraiya and disappeared.
OooO
" Minato what's wrong? You look like someone just told you, you have 24 hours to live." asked Jiraiya, only slight sleepiness could be heard in his voice.
Minato said nothing as he went to the mini bar and fixed himself a drink before downing it. Jiraiya was staying in a hotel and seeing as he is a legendary sannin, he has a large suite, with couches, a fire place, and a mini bar, which Minato was making full use of.
" Minato, I know we leave tomorrow afternoon for three years, but if you want to get drunk can you at least wait for me." Jiraiya said, as he made his way over towards the recliner next to Minato, who was perched on the couch. After no response again Jiraiya sighed." What happened?"
Minato paused mid-sip and set the glass down, before mumbling his answer.
" What?"
Minato jumped up and started pacing." She loves me! She freaking loves me! I don't know how I didn't see the signs, the closeness, the smiles, but now I do and it's too late."
" Whoa, calm down and tell me what happened."
So Minato slumped into the couch and told his teacher about the last ten minutes of his life.
" Wow, I'm surprised it took her this long to make a move." whistled Jiraiya.
" What?" asked Minato as he looked at his sensei.
" Minato you may not have realized it, but the two of you were closer than most friends. I noticed it, sensei noticed it, Kakashi noticed it, Tsunade noticed it, hell even Naruto noticed it and I thought he was oblivious to those things. The point is, we all thought it was only a matter of time before something happened."
" And you didn't think to tell me?! Sensei, she is 12, while I am 22, not even counting the extra 12 years! I just lost Kushina and you expect me to jump at the chance to get into another relationship already?!"
" No." came Jiraiya's stern reply. It had been a while, since the toad sage heard his student raise his voice, but he could see where the boy was coming from." Minato we never expected you to just forget Kushina and we would never ask you that. You had just lost your wife, can't tell your son who you really are, traveled through time, and is expected to save the world. Even if you hid it well, we could see the stress you were under, we could see the haunted look in your eyes, and we could tell that you were hurting. But we also could see that whenever you were around that girl, your shoulders straightened, your eyes cleared, and your smiles were sincere. Whether you noticed it or not, she was helping you coup and heal.
I'm not saying she did it all. Being around Naruto and your team had an impact on you, but her being female seemed to fill the hole in your heart, in a way that your son could not. We didn't expect you to form a relationship with her now, but a few years down the road, we all saw that as a possibility after you had properly grieved Kushina and formed a close relationship with Naruto. We didn't say anything, because we knew you needed this and that it would be hard for the two of you to try and get rid of your growing affections."
" I thought I just saw her as my daughter." Minato grumbled as he buried his face in his hands.
" And I can see why you would think that way, but let me ask you this, how did you feel about the kiss? Ignore the first reactions of shock and horror, because of her age and tell me what you really thought."
Minato thought for a minute, before responding." It was strange, because it felt so...natural. When Sakura kissed me, it didn't feel out of nowhere as I first thought. Pushing past my horror, I didn't feel disgusted at kissing her. I felt...contented, happy even."
" Is that why you were knocking back shots faster than Tsunade? Not because of the fact Sakura kissed you, but because you didn't mind it?"
Minato nodded slowly.
" Look Minato, Sakura obviously didn't intend for you to know what happened, so it's not like you need to respond to her soon. We will be leaving tomorrow and you will have three years to get your head together. She will be older, you will have had time needed to understand everything, and there's a possibility that if you don't return her feelings, she might have begun to move on. It's late into the night, so stay here and get some sleep, just know that you don't need to decide everything right now." spoke Jiraiya as he got up and went back to bed.
Minato stayed up a little while longer, thinking about everything, before sighing and laying down on the couch.
OooO
It was the early afternoon that found Team 7, Hiruzen, and two of the sannins at the village gates saying goodbye to one another.
" I'LL MISS YOU SAKURA-CHAAAAAAN!" wailed Naruto, as he clung to said girl.
"Naruto that's just for now, soon you'll be too busy with training and won't remember me, until it's time to come back." she replied as she pushed the boy off her, gently.
While Naruto and Sasuke began to bicker, Sakura shyly mad her way towards Minato. The two had been distant and never really made eye contact with the other all day. They were so busy in their thoughts, that they didn't notice the adults watching them intently, Jiraiya had made sure to inform them of last nights events.
Sakura was the one who broke the silence. " Have a safe trip Minato, watch out for Naruto, and make sure to get stronger while away. It would be sad, if after three years, there's no noticeable difference from you." Minato looked at her and noticed that she was not meeting his eyes, as she extended her hand.
he took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled her towards him and hugged.
" Take care and I'll be back before you know it, Sakura." came his muffled voice, thanks to her hair.
Sakura smiled and returned the hug." You better be, Minato."
The adults were smiling, Naruto and Sasuke were none the wiser, and Minato and Sakura were glad things between them were good. It was time for them to begin their next step into becoming true ninjas.
They have a long way to go, but Team 7 was willing to do whatever it took to get there. As long as they were together in the end.
Done! This chapter was a lot longer than expected.
Okay, now you guys know how I'm setting up part two. There are things I'm hoping to accomplish and would like your help in.
1) Bringing K12 together and not sidelining them. They won't always be in the story, but I want them to appear now and again and become closer than canon.
2) I want to space out canon events better so that it's not just hopping from one villain to the next, then back. With this in place, it would give me time to do #1 on my list. We already know the major event from canon and know where this story is heading somewhat, but I want to add in twist and turns and spice things up.
3) I want new missions to be taken or a chance to introduce other characters.( Filler characters are fine.) With the fact that most of the Sasuke BS won't take up half the story, this will give chance to other characters and possible other villages. I'm not saying every character will be complex, because I don't have the patience to right that, but characters will get screen time and hopefully have a chance to show off skills.( Tenten! Kishi did you wrong girl.)
4) I want to balance the romance and relationships. Through #1-3, I will be able to create new bonds, friendships, and romances. I want to have it to where sometimes I'm focusing on the relationship( Minasaku) or other times I'm focusing on moving the plot along. But I don't want to completely disregard the other.
5) I'm gonna let you know right now, I have a hard time killing characters I'm fond of. It hurts me to read about a character I like die, so it won't occur often here. That being said I don't want this story to be easy and fluffy for all characters. I'm not planning on Akatsuki turning good, but if someone can present it in a believable way or enough people wish for that character to live, I will try to find a way to keep it so. But the reason why I'm telling you this, is so you can give me challenges/trials for the characters to face.
6) If you have any ideas/ characters you would like to see sooner/alive PM. Do not review, but PM me, so others can keep guessing about what's going on. I have ideas, but others will help me think of things I never thought of or use characters that I would discard. I want to make this a story for many people as well as a story I like, with an outcome that pleases me. But, I can't think of everything and if you have a suggestion I would like to hear it.
Sorry for the long AN, but I wanted to give you a feel for how this story will go and what I'm looking for.
Thanks for reading and please review with a comment, or PM with n idea for the story.