Adventure 11: An unexpected Encounter!

Minato turned off the faucet after few minutes. He'd been deep in thought about destiny and fate. Minato didn't know what he particularly wanted for himself. He knew he had a mystery about himself to unravel and while he wanted to be useful to those he cared about and use his ninja abilities to assist them, he didn't know what he wanted to do with himself personally.

Naruto wasn't upset with him but Minato knew if things had turned out differently, then Naruto may have been more angry. Minato looked at his reflection in the mirror. He fiddled with asmall strand of his long blonde side bang and furrowed his brow, a small thin line on his face that represented his lips. Gripping the edge of the sink, he leaned towards the mirror, watching as his reflection got closer. How come he remembered nothing about himself? Minato was troubled. He knew that the Hokage would be starting the next match and would be expecting to talk to him.

He blinked his eyes,blearily. He rubbed his eyes, and turned to see the same masked man that had been with Hinata and Kaiba standing in the doorway, idly leaning against the frame. "Oh, um," Minato blinked. "Sorry, I was just leaving," but before Minato could take a step forward he found himself fly backwards and hit the opposite wall which was made of cement. With a pained grunt, Minato slid to the ground. He saw stars and his neck and back and head throbbed. With a startled voice hitching groan, he found a hand at his throat. He flailed, his eyes opened but squinting as he grit his teeth. The man had a needle and with a jolt, Minato instinctively swung a kick at the man's stomach. The man was forced to move away but Minato was in too much pain to really move. His voice seemed to have left him but he found it again.

"Oh? You're feisty," the masked man said calmly, gazing at Minato. Minato's eyes widened. This guy, what was his deal? Minato struggled to get to his feet, the small crater in the wall crumbling a little as he painfully shifted his body. The masked man merely watched as Minato painfully staggered to his feet, leaning on the wall for support.

"Wh-what the hell…who…" Minato panted, "…are…you?"

"It is not who I am that should concern you," the masked man said coolly. "My master has taken a keen interest in you…he believes you're…a worthy specimen," and Minato shivered at the cool indifference in the ninja's voice. Who was this guy? What the heck was up with him? Minato wanted Usagi to be there, or at least someone other than just him and this creepy guy.

Minato shakily reached a hand into his ninja pouch, pulling out a kunai. He only carried a few around because Miku insisted that he should have more than just physical strength to assist him. For once, Minato was glad that he had listened to her about this. The masked man moved quickly again in and Minato tried to block him. He found himself flipped onto his back onto the ground and a foot was upon his stomach in seconds. With a gasp and a bit of gakking, Minato rolled over on his side, coughing up a little blood and panting hard. His knees were shaky, he'd never been in an actual fight nor one of this level of intensity. The fact that no one else was coming made Minato panic. Surely the others would notice his absence?

"Hmm, it'd be easier to kill you as you are," the man said, "…but my master wants you alive. Rare," he said snidely. Minato's hair on his neck rose. Minato's eyes kept darting to the door as his danger instincts warned him that this man was definently bad news. "Well, let's make this quick," the masked said, stepping towards Minato who only had the sinks and the toilets on either side and the crater wall behind him. Minato gulped. There was no way anyone would notice him…unless. Minato's eyes darted around trying to think of something, anything to help him. He knew that this guy's chakra level was strong. Minato gripped another Kunai, the other having fallen to the floor with a clatter when he'd been attacked once again. He stood, gripping it, and glaring at the masked man.

"I- I don't want a fight!" Minato said, trying not to let his voice waver.

"Oh? Well, neither do I," the man said coolly, "Since we are of the same mindset, why not come quietly? I can promise you will not be as painfully harmed…at least not with me," and the masked man sauntered closer. Minato backed up until he was next to one of the sinks. His eyes glanced to the door again.

"I- I don't feel comfortable with that idea," Minato said, his voice shaking slightly despite his attempts to put on a brave face.

"Haha, I suppose you wouldn't," the masked man said lazily, "Well, no matter, after this next match, you can expect things to get interesting," he said walking even closer.

Minato flattened himself against the wall, "W-why…is Uchiha against that Gaara kid?" He hoped this odd conversation would help him think of a battle plan or better yet, an escape plan sooner.

"As a matter of fact, he will be," the masked man said with a nod. "He was supposed to be next, but ah…it appears he hasn't arrived yet." He only continued to get closer to where Minato was pressed against the wall.

Minato gulped. " Don't…don't come any closer!" and he was aware of just how much his body was trembling.

The masked man extended an arm out to Minato's forehead and Minato sliced upwards. The masked man easily intercepted the attack and Minato found an arm against his throat, and he coughed a little, as he saw the masked man lean his face in close to his own until they were practically touching noses. "Ah, but my master will be dissapointed if you don't accept his …invitation," and Minato let the kunai fall of his hand, his wrist throbbing from the amount of force that the man was using to grip his wrist. With a pained grunt, Minato's other hand was busy scratching at the guy's arm. Minato tried to summon his chakra but his panic was roaring in his ears. He wanted to be strong. Strong enough to beat this guy. His heart beat wildly in his chest, as though trying to take flight without the rest of him. Minato's breath hitched as he felt the masked man fiddle with a small piece of Minato's right side bang. "You…who are you really?" the masked man asked silkily. "My master would like to run some…tests, if you are who we think you are, then this is …fruitful," he leaned in close to Minato's face. "So, tell me, how did you manage to pull it off?"

"P-pull what off," Minato stammered, hating how terrified he must've sounded. His throat felt constricted. He wanted to lock away his emotions, to play it cool. But Minato didn't feel any of those things. He willed himself to not start to cry.

"Oh? Could it be…you are unaware?" The masked man seemed almost humored.

"U-unaware of what? Le-let me go," Minato panted, flaring a little from anger.

"…No point in spoiling the fun," the man said silkily, "you sure know how to act, Namikaze Minato," and he idly but with all the intent of a vehement reptile, continued to pull on Minato' hair until a few strands came out painfully. Minato's eyes widened but closed quickly as he quietly bit his lip, to deal with the pain. It wasn't unbearable but having your hair pulled is never fun.

"Th-that…hurts," Minato mumbled, sagging.

"…You're not going to fight anymore?" The masked man said bored. Minato's eyes snapped open and he glared at the ground. He wanted to fight. He did, but he was weaker. He never thought he'd have to deal with this problem…but he realized that had been wishful thinking on his part. You can will for the night or morning to not come but they will still be there regardless of your existence…the same went for being a ninja.

"My…my name is…just Minato," Minato said quietly.

"Everyone has a last name," the man said casually, "and this little DNA test will indeed prove that who you are…is not who you think you are, but then again, an amnesiatic poor fool such as yourself…wouldn't particularly understand the value in this…level of interest," and Minato flared, angry at the fact that he felt like the enemy knew more about him than he himself did, but feeling scared to find out who he was and not wanting to …and his mixture of confusion fueled him into swinging a kick at the man's groin. The man moved back and Minato pulled out some shuriken, tossing them at the masked man. In seconds, Minato swirled, feeling the rush of wind indicating the prescence of the enemy but he saw stars once more as his speed was slower than this other ninja's evidently. The other ninja had Minato pressed against the wall, an arm against his throat, forcibly restricting Minato's air flow.

"Gah- no…" Minato groaned, his eyes widening as he felt his breath being more constricted. It was getting hard to breathe. Minato's knees buckled. As he faded out of conciousness, he was only faintly aware of someone else entering the bathroom and a slight scuffle. Who's there? …What… Minato felt like heard someone calling his name in a panic. …Usa…gi? By then, Minato blacked out.

A/N: The next chapters are kinda short because I'm writing what I'm drawing per manga chapter. It didn't occur to me to do this earlier so the chappis before now are very long but that's ok. Most of it was description, with drawing, facial expresions and scenery will replace a lot of the description from my chapters. It doesn't look like a lot but when you do cartoon paneling, it really can take up a lot of space and 8 pages goes fast. Technically 16 since it's double sided. Anyhow, enjoy! Chapter length will vary at this point but the least it will be is 2 pages and maximum may be 12.