VOLUME 4: Adventure 25: Importance of Being…

Minato trekked with his fellow ninjas for the next couple days. They camped out one night but other than Alu's fear of bugs and then Usagi's fake bear attack which left him with a black eye and staying in the isolation tent, Minato found the trek to be rather…fun. He hadn't realy done much camping that he could recall and this was just nice. It was a full moon on the second night before they would supposedly reach destination. Minato had let his mind wander and found himself dozing off finally after a few hours after midnight.

The next day, they kept walking until they came to a small village that was still within the land of fire. Minato had been lost in thought, thinking about various subjects –especially concerning Miku's future—and now he was curious to know how the fight with Gaara had went. He was still a bit upset that she'd put herself in harms way but there was no point in telling her off now. He looked at her bandages on her face and arm and at least knew that she had had Alu and Usagi to look out for her. Minato still wanted to know the story. He also still had to apologize to Alu for his old man rant back in the den of the Kyuubi. He realized that he must've possibly known the fourth if the fourth entrusted him with the Yin half. Maybe…did the Fourth even have brothers? Minato wished he'd thought of this sooner.

"Welcome to a small seclusive hot spring in this wonderful little forest village," Usagi said, his cheerful voice drawing Minato back from whatever it was he'd been thinking. Blinking, he realized that he'd zoned out and Usagi had draped his arm over his shoulder while he'd been speaking. It explained why it sounded so close up.

"Man, after all that just happened, we all need a vacation!" Alu said, rubbing her hands together eagerly. Minato didn't want to be the one moping cloud since the other three really did look like they needed something happy to happen since four days ago had taken a toll on them all. Minato no longer felt responsible for the old man's death, but a part of him did make the sole promise to never hold back again …no matter what, if it meant protecting those important to him.

Minato unpacked in the small Inn they were staying at. It was a nice little village. Much smaller than the Hidden Leaf or even Miku's village. It was nestled within a rock formation –three rocky mountains seemed to surround it, with the path leading into the forest where the village was nestled at the entrance of the forest. Minato wondered what was past those mountains. He also wondered how Jiraiya and Kakashi would help clear the suspicions of him being the Yondaime Hokage…Minato wished that whoever he had been picked to look like, hadn't had to have been such an important figure.

"Eh, Mina-chan, you've zoned out again," Usagi's voice returned, poking Minato in the cheek. Minato blinked, shaking his head.

"Oh- sorry..I was um…just thinking," Minato said, with a small sheepish smile. Alu meanwhile was talking animatedly with Miku about all the kinds of berries this village had.

"No problem. You look like you're thinking about a lot. Care to share?" Usagi took out his ninja tools and sat at the table, casually beginning to polish his kunai. Minato sat crosslegged across from him at the small round, oak table.

"Ah…I was just….I was just thinking about….well…things…" Minato looked at the oak table. Usagi nodded.

"I understand…want to expand? It does good to sometimes let things out…" Usagi said, resting his chin in his hands, and his elbows on the table. He shot Minato a carefree smirk.

"…I don't know what to do with myself now," Minato confessed, " …seems some ninjas still think I'm Yondaime…and I was just thinking about Miku…I don't know how her family is…or … "

"Hmmm…that is troubling…on the upside, you can be recruited as a ninja of my village if you'd like," Usagi said with a shrug. "…As for Miku's family…Miku says that she doesn't want to face her mom just yet…dunno how her mom stayed away this past month but Miku wouldn't say anything at all…don't worry too much about it. Me and Alu know Miku well. We'll look after her," and Usagi went back to polishing one of his kunai. Minato listened quietly, gazing at the oak table all the while. As Usagi spoke, Minato felt a little relief but also a little bit of doubt.

"...What if your village also...thinks I'm ...the Yondaime?" Minato couldn't help but point out. Usagi shrugged.

"You say you aren't and you seem pretty passionate in that belief, the question isn't whether anyone else thinks your him...the question is whether you do. You say you're not...so yeah, whatever others think...you can't help that," Usagi replied. "Don't worry too much on them though. I have taken into account the possibility that there are those who will attack us with the impression you're him...but oddly...unless Konohagakure starts blaring their horns about their Yondaime hokage running around with a small band of misfits -us- then... I'm pretty sure that you're mostly safe..." Usagi said with a small reassuring grin. Minato wanted to feel relieved. He knew he had nothing to hide but it was wierd. The fox's question from that time loomed.

"What Makes you think you aren't?"

Minato didn't have an answer for that. He just felt strongly he wasn't the Fourth. He did have amnesia but Minato was confident that given some time, his memories would come back. He knew he must've known the fourth, since the fourth sealed half the fox in him. How had he known that Naruto was the Fourth's kid though earlier? Minato figured it was the hair. Yeah, definently. Plus, Jiraiya had acted very skittish when he'd slipped up. Naruto hadn't caught it but Minato had. Minato was certain that the Fourth didn't have a brother though...so maybe..close friend? That could be it... Minato figured.

"Well…I don't know how I'd become a ninja of your village without arousing suspicion," Minato sighed. "I-I also haven't been able to remember anything about myself…not a thing…it's worrying…What if I'm already part of a village?" Minato bit his lower lip. Usagi paused his cleaning and looked at Minato.

"Hey, don't stress too much," Usagi finally replied, "… If you don't want to be affiliated with my village, then it's totally fine. I just thought maybe you wanted some …I don't know…comfort in knowing you have a place to stay. It's possible to be born in one village but end up moving to another one to offer your services… it's not common but it does happen…"

"…Hey…Usagi…" Minato said after a moment of silence, "…What happened with Miku … I …I heard from Alu that…she had a tough time with Gaara…" Minato noted how Usagi continued to clean without pausing.

"…Mah, she just broke off a bit more than she could chew, is all," he said with a carefree shrug, "…She managed to talk to him a little but I intervened as the Uzamaki kid got there…Gaara went for the pink-haired girl and so his attention wasn't on Miku anymore…" he responded.

"So… she tried to fight him as well?" Minato asked, with a small sigh.

Usagi shook his head and responded, "She tried to settle things with words…and nearly died because of it…."

Minato looked at the table. "…Why…she didn't have chakra…I thought…I thought she went with you to safety…"

"She actually snuck away from me," Usagi coughed, "…I don't know how she managed it. She really pulled one on me…I'm half proud and half furious still…to tell you the truth…" Usagi sighed for the first time, and Minato could tell that Usagi had been worried as well. "Anyways…I already gave her the lecture of a lifetime…so don't worry about it…" He continued to clean and he now he took out some scrolls of various colors. Minato watched him quietly. "…She did say something…that struck home with me though…" Usagi murmured as he checked the condition of his small five-inch long scrolls. They weren't thick scrolls but Minato wondered what sort of jutsus were in them for a moment before he allowed his mind to flit back to the topic at hand.

"Hmmm? What'd she say?" Minato inquired quietly.

"It was after…after I intervened. Gaara had already managed to use his sand to…to strike her down. She was leaning against a tree trunk, having managed to somehow stay on the branch -you can thank the bit of Alu's chakra—just barely and…well…she had spent the last of it. I got there to see her yell something to Gaara about family…but then he trapped her in his sand… and…the kid…the kid…" Usagi's face seemed to cloud over. Minato watched him quietly. "The kid…he wasn't even..it felt like he wasn't human anymore…the chakra seemed to shape around him…like he was some…some half-beast…that's when I knew…" Usagi let out a long sigh. Minato frowned.

"Knew? Knew what?" he pressed.

"…That Gaara was the Ichibi…he had the one-tailed Bijou…of the sand …within him…" Usagi replied serious. Minato blinked in confusion. "Bijou?"

"Ah, perhaps your amnesia doesn't cover that…" Usagi sighed, "The Bijou –supposedly 9 in total, are animals but they are huge and pack tons of chakra. Humans have been capturing them for their power for centuries…human vessels are reffered to as…Jinkuuriki."

"But…but he's just a kid!" Minato said, feeling his insides turn a bit cold. Minato found himself resenting the fourth a little for sealing the yang half of the fox in Naruto.

"So is the Uzamaki kid," Usagi pointed out, "…To think….to have something like that inside you from a young age…the village isolation…the pain…I could see it reflected in those eyes…I heard a bit of the conversation…" Usagi sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"To be born but refused the right to exist…no one deserves that fate," Miku said quietly from the doorway. Both Minato and Usagi whirled their heads in surprise. Miku stood, in her light white jacket with blue sleeve stripes, light blue shorts, and sandals….her hair was tied back into a small ponytail and her gaze was full of unexplainable emotion. Alu leaned against the wall of the doorway, wearing her usual outfit, arms crossed, quietly looking at the ground. Usagi blinked.

"Miku…how long were you two standing around?" Usagi put his scrolls away.

"Long enough…" Miku said, walking over and sitting crosslegged at the oak table, her back facing Alu but able to look at both Minato and Usagi who were respectfully gazing back at her. "I … I wanted to help that kid…it was evident that he was sent to destroy the Leaf…and I was trying to help him understand that destruction wasn't the only way…I don't think I got through to him…" she sat with her hands in her lap, looking at the oak table as she spoke.

Miku used the last bit of her borrowed chakra to make it to the tree. Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura were also with her. Gaara began to get more ferocious and Miku found herself frozen for the first time. Gaara had the look of a crazy person –and a scared little boy. Miku found it all to be a blur. She watched as Gaara attacked Sasuke and then pinned Sakura to a tree with sand. Naruto was about to summon his clones when Miku grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing, lady?!" Naruto exclaimed angrily. Miku gave him a serious look.

"Naruto! He's obviously as scared as we are, fighting is all he knows. We need to try to talk to him!" Miku hissed.

"…Look, I know how to handle guys like this!" Naruto growled, "If talking worked, we wouldn't be out here, would we?" and Miku couldn't stop Naruto from continuing with his attack. Exhasperatedly she tried to join in with her kunai. Gaara narrowed his eyes at them yelling how weak they all were. Miku didn't even realize the sand attack until it hit her. Finding herself trapped within Gaara's sandcoffin, Miku screamed.

"Don't feel too down Miku, I think Uzamaki was able to get through to him," Alu said calmly, "You can't help everyone…no matter how much you want to. The important thing is to try—which you did."

Suddenly, she found herself freed from it. She didn't know how but she found herself instead in big gentle arms and she looked up to see Usagi, jaw set firmly, gaze narrowed right at Gaara, as he landed with Miku a tree branch away. Miku didn't even care that she had some cuts on her face…or the fact that her arm was bleeding from Gaara's sand attacking her.

"Usa-"

"Miku, how could you," Usagi said levelly for the first time. "…We're leaving this fight…it isn't ours to begin with." They teleported back to the village but Miku struggled in Usagi's arms.

"Stop! I-I can still fight!" Miku protested, pushing against Usagi's chest. She was startled to find herself in such a firm hold. Usagi finally let her sit on a rock, at a pass between the village and the forest where they'd just come from. Usagi straightened up, turning his back on Miku.

"I felt weak…" Miku admitted, "I …I also…felt selfish…" she looked at Usagi. "Usagi…I worried Alu and Minato…but I know I worried you the most…I haven't…I haven't forgotten…the look on your face…said more than a thousand letters ever could…at that time…" Miku looked away. "You asked my why…why I would try something so stupid…why I would put myself in harms way…"

"I remember, you responded…" Usagi said quietly…

"Miku…you're not strong enough," Usagi said with a tense calm, "…You of all people should know the danger you had put yourself in. If I hadn't intervened…" His voice didn't shake. It didn't waver. It was clear and cold and sharp.

"…I …I had to help! My village needed my ass-" Miku began but Usagi began to chuckle. Then he broke into laughter and Miku was startled into quieting herself, wondering if Usagi had gone crazy.

"…Miku, the village needed..it needed their ninjas…you're not a ninja!" Usagi snapped.

The silence was deafening. Miku blinked once. Twice. three times. The tears began to fall and she stood up, shakily, ignoring the fact that her arm throbbed or that she hadn't cleaned and dried her various small cuts.

"…Then why!" Miku's voice trembled, "…Why tell me how strong I am…how supportive you are of me…if you're just going to fill my head with empty words!" She glared at him angrily, hurt and lost.

Usagi glared back evenly, hurt also. "I do support you, and you are strong…" Usagi said curtly, " Instead of ditching me…and running off to play hero…keeping yourself safe should've been important! I get you want to be a ninja…but….Minato's concerns are correct…you are not a ninja…this even has made it evidently clear that you are in way too much danger to- where are you going?!" Usagi snapped in surprise as Miku turned her back on him, hugging her arm and standing up straight and with purpose.

"To be a ninja…means more than just having chakra…" she said calmly and without wavering, "…To be a ninja means to make sacrifices. It means to put others before yourself. It means to fuel the Will of Fire and protect what's dear to your heart and your village. My grandpa believed in that….Even my father…I believe in that too…you want to stop me…" she slowly turned around, her jaw set, her eyes wet with tears, but her eyes were fierce and alight with an inextinguishable flame, she slid her two Wakizashis from her boots and held them in front of her in a battle pose that was determined and fiercely calm, "Go ahead…and try."The breeze picked up a little as the tensity between the two was evidently clear. Emotions clashed in midair and in their hearts!

A/N: I may make these chapters between 6-8 pages. It is alot to draw LMAO. OOOH I like this chapter. Usagi and Miku and THE TALK. ...about Ninjas.

R &R. I will be straying from the Manga chapters for about...6 chapters. HEADSUP. This is from Minato's POV (mostly) so I will be having some stuff happen. Anyhow, Minato will be back for the Rasengan training and Tsunade/Orochimaru/Jiraiya arc after these next 6 chapters ISH. I was going to use Naruto, Ninja clash in the Land of Snow since that takes place before Sasuke goes all darkside but I just realized...I think that takes place right after CHuunin exams? Either way, this is FANFICTION...so I'm goin to plop Minato into that movie. YAY. Also, there will be a warning for a few slight guyxguy jokes. VERY LIGHT. possibly either implied or just a really funny awk. situation. This isn't a YAOI though. Minato will end up with Kushina (DUH) but Minato is just so huggy wuggy. Also he's fun to put into awk. situations. If Sasuke and Naruto can kiss, then why can't Minato and Usagi!

Minato; O-o

Usagi: 0.0 um. well. welllllll.

Minato: *runs for the hills.

Kushina: *has a mothereffing chainsaw xD GO ahead and try to touch him. He's mine, dattebyo!

Me: yes, you and minato need to make wonderful babies. adorable wonderful babies.

Usagi: ...*zips and hides behind Miku

Miku: ...

ALu: shipping you and Usagi.

Miku: T_T...=/=