Chapter 5
Minato was excited, but at the same time extremely nervous. His stomach was doing flip flops and his legs felt a little wobbly as he stood with all the other new Academy first years as the Hokage began his speech. For all that he knew that he should be paying attention to the speech the Hokage was going to give, all that he could focus on was thinking over and over again was something along the lines of this is it. Ever since he had first heard about being a ninja Minato knew that was the only thing he would ever want to be. Now he was finally here, at the Academy, and all that he could feel was anxiety that he might somehow end up messing this up.
"- of course, in these trying times, we must all come together for the sake our community and our glorious Village, who is equally both our mother and our father -"
Minato had a fantastic attention span for a six year old, but even he quickly lost interest in the Hokage's speech. Instead he began subtly looking around at all the other first year students standing all around him. As an orphan Minato knew that his knowledge was not all that much compared to the kids that came from one of the Clans or from ninja families. So in preparation he had done all he could to learn about ninjas and how they worked in the weeks leading up to his first day of school. Looking around it was easy to tell the ninja raised kids from the civilian ones. It wasn't just the Clan markings on their clothes or their unusual coloring or hair styles. It was the confidence in their stances, the way that even pre-academy they all already habitually stood in a way that left them balanced and ready to act in a split second if need be. There was a presence, a heightened awareness of their surroundings that marked them apart from their civilian counterparts who by comparison seemed sloppy and inattentive. Minato took one of the cooler looking boys – an Uchiha going by his clothes – and subtly tried to imitate his stance and mannerisms without being obvious about it.
"- expect many things from this class. All of you have many things that you will be expected to cultivate. Dedication. Duty. Respect. Diligence. Strength. Loyalty. And that's only the beginning. You must also cultivate your attention, your accountability, you sense of responsibility towards your fellow students and shinobi alike -"
A few of the other first years stood out as he looked around. There were two identical looking boys that seemed to be the center of attention in a small group, who going by their clothes and white eyes seemed to be twins from the Hyuuga clan. There was a girl with long fiery red hair who was fidgeting in place and seemed to naturally draw the eye with all of her moving around and her eye-catching head of hair. There was also a large boy with two jet black puppies, one dozing at his feet and another sitting on top of his head.
Then there was that girl. Pale as a ghost with chin length hair and very traditional looking clothes who was subtly looking around just as much as he was. That girl definitely gave off that vibe that she was someone who had been raised in a ninja family. What really caught his attention was how the other ninja kids seemed to react to her. Minato was good at reading people and situations, and to him it seemed clear that all the other ninja kids were keeping a respectful distance and occasionally shot a wary gaze at her out of the corner of their eyes. To Minato's eyes the girl either didn't realize or didn't care that a lot of the other kids were keeping their distance from her.
"- importance of the will of fire is paramount. To better help you understand the will of fire, I will give you an anecdote from my own youth. Why, there I was, on my second trip out of the village near the Kusa border. My teammates at the time were rather unhappy after a poor breakfast, and due to tainted rations some of us were experiencing some intestinal problems -"
Minato let his mind wander a bit while he stared at the girl, wondering what the deal was with her, which is why he didn't look away in time and got caught staring when she turned her head to look in his direction. He froze in shock as he got a good look at her eyes. They were a ghostly pale blue color and were slitted like a snake which made her look even more otherworldly with her alabaster white skin. He flushed in embarrassment at her flat look and mouthed and apology before quickly turning to face the front. However even as he tried to re-focus on what the Hokage was saying he could feel her eyes lingering on him like an uncomfortable itch on the back of his neck.
"- so you see, the fact that the client messed up the meter of the poem on that fateful mission tipped us off that he wasn't really a professional poet. Thus, it became clear to us that he had lied about the origin of the Jade Falcon. If it hadn't been for the will of fire, then we would never have been able to overcome our personal dislike for each other to come together and realize that the matron of the hotel had been trying to poison her neighbor's livestock all along -"
Almost immediately Minato's eyes turned glassy as his attention wandered again. Sitting up on the stage behind the Hokage were the various Chuunin who taught all of the kids at the academy. It was with some relief that Minato noted that even some of them had a glassy, distant look in their eyes even as they remained sitting rigid and upright.
He looked at them and his mind wandered. Was that something that he would like to do? Become an academy teacher? It didn't feel quite right but he didn't want to rule it out. He knew that once he made it to Chuunin he would probably have to choose some sort of specialty to focus on. Academy teacher didn't feel quite right for him, but he didn't want to rule it out. He was only just starting out, and there were many possibilities. Minato could feel excitement bubbling up just thinking about it. The future seemed so bright, so full of opportunities and infinite possibilities!
So long as he did his best and was able to get good grades, the optimistic Minato felt that everything would turn out great for him no matter what.
"- and thus, remember, as soldiers of Konoha even something as simple-sounding as proper foot care can mean the difference between coming home with all of your comrades alive and well or not being able to return home at all. Thus, the will of fire burns on in our hearts. I'm sure all of you will make me and all of Konoha proud. Thank you."
There were a few long seconds of awkward silence before one of the Chuunin behind the Hokage seemed to snap awake with a start. Then he quickly stood up and began to clap enthusiastically. The other Chuunin teachers on stage stood and quickly followed suit, followed more slowly and reluctantly by the assembled crowd of first year students before them. The Hokage smiled, seemingly very pleased with his speech and everyone's reaction.
"Thank you Hokage-sama for a rousing and inspirational speech, as always," said the lead Chuunin enthusiastically without a single trace of irony in his voice. Then he turned to address the students, "That's it for the opening ceremony. Go to your homerooms. Your first classes will start in ten minutes. Dismissed!"
All of the students began to slowly shuffle to their assigned classrooms and Minato quickly followed the crowd. Still, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that someone was still staring at him. When he looked around to find the snake-eyed girl though, she was nowhere to be found.
Ignoring a shiver and an unexpected feeling of dread, Minato went inside the building to his first class in the academy.
000
It felt lonely on the first day of classes. The problem was that there was no one that he knew on the very first day. A few of the other boys in the orphanage were in his class but he wasn't close to any of them and he hesitated to automatically associate with them. Minato didn't know the details but he knew that civilians were kind of looked down upon and that no one expected much from them. He didn't think his plan to become the best ninja possible would really be helped is he started to hang out with civilians instead of trying to hang out with the other boys who were already part of the whole ninja lifestyle.
At first the day went quickly and it was frankly entirely mundane. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but it definitely wasn't spending the whole morning going over all the rules of the school which there were a surprising number of. Minato diligently took notes but couldn't help feeling disappointed on his first day. Where was the fighting and the ninja stars and the cool abilities?
Taking notes on autopilot Minato scanned the room from his place near the back of the class. All the other students looked bored but were at least sitting up and at least pretending to take notes. Except for one. It was the pale girl from before. Minato frowned as she was clearly not taking notes on what the teacher was saying. Instead she had a notebook out and was furiously scribbling something on the pages, a manic energy about her as she alternated between chewing on her pencil and writing enthusiastically enough that Minato was surprised that the paper she was writing on didn't rip. Or catch on fire. Neither one would have surprised him to be honest. Just who was that girl and what was she doing?
It was close to lunch time when their new sensei, Osamu-san, finally stopped.
"Okay class," he said, his expression sour for some reason. "Normally the first day would simply be a half day and you would all be able to go home now. However due to a special request from the order of the Hokage's office, you are all going to have to take a preliminary test before you're allowed to leave today."
"What, a test already?!" someone cried out in despair. It was the boy with the two black dogs. "How is that fair?!"
Sensei's face grew dark. "No yelling in class! And this test won't affect your grade at all. It's just an aptitude test that some members of the village insisted on."
Minato was nothing if not observant, which is why he didn't miss the way Osamu-sensei's eyes flickered to the pale girl when he said the last sentence. Minato frowned. What did that mean? Did that girl have something to do why they were taking this test?
There was some rumbling in the crowd that their sensei quieted by loudly clapping his hands. "No more complaining! The quicker we do this the quicker you can go home. I'm going pass the test out now. Take my word for it, even though it's not grated it might be beneficial for your careers if you do well in this test. You can turn it in on the way out after you are finished. And remember, I'm keeping my eye on you lot so no cheating!"
Soon enough the tests were handed out and Minato began to look through it. He read through the whole thing one time and blinked. The test was a bunch of logic problems, trying to figure out how complex geometric shapes were supposed to go together, and even a few riddles you were supposed to figure out. He had never taken a test like that before. With a shrug Minato picked up his pencil and set out to do his very best. Sensei had been vague but he had definitely said doing well on this test could help their future careers. Minato didn't know how, but he definitely was going to do all he could to do his best so that he could soar as high as possible as a ninja!
Days later if Minato had known where doing well on that test would lead, he might have gone out of his way to bomb it as badly as possible.
000
It was the third day of the academy and Minato was hungry. The day was almost over and he hadn't had any lunch and only a tiny amount of food for breakfast. The orphanage was unfortunately inconsistent when it came to food. Especially during the war you never knew if there was going to be a lot of the simple but filling food they served there every day or if there was going to be scarcity because of the war. Unfortunately today there hadn't been much for breakfast and on top of that he had no choice but to skip lunch. Normally Minato only ate breakfast and dinner at the orphanage because he couldn't make it there and back in time to eat on the days he was at the academy.
Minato sighed as he tried to ignore his gurgling stomach. When he was a famous ninja he was going to have enough money to eat as much as he wanted three or even four times a day. Even from those meat stands that he walked by every day and smelled so delicious that they always made his mouth water. Minato was caught up in his daydream about endless food when his teacher's loud voice drew his attention.
"Well, we'll stop there for today class. All of you are dismissed! Namikaze-kun, come see me before you leave."
A lot of the students looked around the room questioningly at the proclamation and Minato realized that none of them knew his name. It was only the third day, but it still kind of hurt that no one even knew that much about him. He didn't answer Osamu-sensei since he didn't seem to expect a response, and soon enough the other students started filing out. Minato trailed at the very back of the group and soon enough he was the only student left in the classroom.
Well, actually no. One other student stayed in the room. It was that pale girl again with the snake shaped pupils. She was standing a little off to the side and was just blatantly staring at him, looking a little twitchy and with a big smile on her face. Minato didn't know what that was about and frankly it left him feeling a little bit freaked out and feeling out of his depth.
"Namikaze-kun," said Osamu-sensei, drawing his attention.
"Yes sensei?" asked Minato cautiously.
"You have been selected for… a special assignment," said Osamu-sensei. Though he tried to hide it it didn't escape Minato's notice that his sensei seemed to be uncomfortable with this. Really uncomfortable. Alarm bells started going off in the back of his head.
"Special assignment, sir?" asked Minato, not quite able to hide the trepidation in his voice.
Osamu-sensei gave him a pitying look, almost like he was a dead man walking, and those alarm bells started to blare even louder in his head. "Yes, Namizake-kun. Do you remember those tests you took the first day of classes?"
"Yes?"
"Well, congratulations," Osamu-sensei said in a voice that reminded Minato of someone reading a solemn eulogy. "Yours was the highest score by a narrow margin Namikaze-kun. As a result you have come to the attention of a very… influential ninja within our village."
Minato's eyes widened. This was huge! A lowly orphan like him, come to the attention of a famous ninja? That was amazing!
But why was sensei looking at him with such a solemn and mournful look on his face?
"I… I have?"
Osamu-sensei hesitated before nodding reluctantly. "Yes," he said heavily. "You are to meet with this individual today. Unfortunately you can't really refuse. I just want you to remember this, Namikaze-kun: learning quickly how to appease the dragon is sometimes the only way to survive."
"O… Okay?"
Osamu-sensei gave him one last long, mournful look before shaking his head. "In any case, you'll need to head there immediately. The person who will guide you there is-"
"Me!" yelled the pale girl in the corner. Then she half-ran, half-skipped to Minato's side and latched herself onto his arm, smiling up at him broadly. All that Minato could do was gape. Who was this girl? Why was she glomping his arm?!
Osamu-sensei sighed. "Namikaze-kun, in case you didn't know this is Kiyohime-chan. She'll be the one guiding you to your final desti-, I mean to your destination."
"Come on!" the girl said before Minato could reply. She grabbed him by the hand and began to drag him towards the door. "I gotta introduce you to papa, and then we can get started!"
"Wait, get started with what?" Minato managed to get out, bewildered. The girl ignored him and dragged him out of the classroom with surprising strength. Minato got one last glimpse of his teacher who was clapping his hands together and lowering his head as if he were honoring the dead. What was going on?!
The girl was a bit shorter than him, but even so she had no trouble dragging him along behind her. He tried to ask her questions but she was running so fast that he was soon too out of breath to do so. Once, he even tried to yank his hand out of her grip only for her lithe pale fingers to clamp down like a bear trap. There was nothing he could do as she dragged him across town like an oversized teddy bear, all the while gradually becoming more and more panicked on the inside.
Eventually they came to a dilapidated two story building close to the hospital. Kiyohime dragged him like an oversized doll around the back and opened up a large storm cellar with a flight of stairs leading down into the darkness. Minato's alarm grew even more as he was dragged, panting and out of breath, down into the bowels of a shady and super creepy underground complex.
The girl dragged him through enough twists and turns that soon Minato found himself completely lost and disoriented. Eventually, when his lungs were burning and Minato was seriously starting to worry his legs were going to give out on him, Kiyohime threw open a nondescript door and dragged him through. Quick as a snake she closed the door behind them with an ominous clang and pushed Minato in front of her like she was showing off a prized puppy.
"Look daddy!" Kiyohime said excitedly, not sounding the least bit out of breath. "This is him! My first Minion!"
Wait, her first what?He was still too out of breath to complain however. Which might have been a moot point, since the second he caught sight of the person in front of him any thought of protest flew out of his mind.
A man stopped dissecting what Minato hoped wasn't a human brain on a lab table before standing up and taking off his bloodied latex gloves. The man was very tall, was the first thing that Minato noticed, and had a slim lithe build that no one would ever mistake for being weak. He was as pale as Kiyohime and moved with the sinuous grace of a predator. But what most alarmed Minato were his eyes. Yellow instead of blue like Kiyohime's were, but it was more than just the change in color. It was the danger he felt when looking in those eyes, like the man looking down at him was weighing him like a piece of meat in the market and deciding if it would be worth it to buy him and chop him up or not. As an orphan Minato had learned what dangerous men looked like and avoided them like the plague. This man? This man took the worst thug Minato had ever met and seemed to amplify that sense of danger they exuded by about a billion. The man took a few steps closer to them and it was all Minato could do not to lose control of his bodily functions.
"Are you sure about this one, Kiyohime-chan?" the man asked, bending down to examine Minato like he was looking at a head of cattle in the market. Minato instinctively leaned away from him and it was all he could do not to whimper. "He doesn't seem to come from a ninja family. Neither the name Namikaze nor his looks indicate that he has a drop of ninja blood in him, and his orphanage records of his parentage confirm this. Are you sure this one is worth your time?"
Minato felt Kiyohime step around from behind him and move to stand next to him. Risking a look at her, Minato looked at her incredulously as she was positively beaming up at that incredibly terrifying man.
"Absolutely daddy!" she chirped up at him. "He did the best in the IQ test which surprised me because I was pretty sure Nara Shikaku would beat him. But since I can't Minionize him, I thought I'd have to settle for second best. But I don't! Minato-kun here is really smart! Plus," she said, tapping her nose with an impish grin. "I have a really good feeling about him!"
"Hmm. Well, if you're sure. And well, I suppose if he doesn't work out it won't be a big deal," the tall man said with a careless shrug. "When they're this young and weak it wouldn't be too difficult to scramble his memories of anything important if it came to that."
Wait, you're gonna do what now?!
"Yay!" Kiyohime said, throwing herself at the man's side with a big hug. He might as well have been a tree for all that he seemed to move or notice. "Thanks daddy! This is going to be great!"
Minato, for the sake of his life if not his sanity, decided he desperately needed to say something. Hopefully without offending anyone because he didn't need to be a genius to figure out that would probably be a really bad idea. Swallowing hard Minato had to try a couple of times before he was actually able to speak.
"S-sir?" Minato managed to squeak out. "I'm sorry, but… what is going on here? Respectfully. Sir."
The man looked at him for a long moment before sighing, like this was all just one big inconvenience. The sight was made all the more surreal by theplease don't be human brain on the bench behind him and the girl still happily latched on to his side like a limpet.
"I suppose an explanation is in order since apparently my scatterbrained daughter failed to explain things," the man said, sounding grievously put upon and just a touch… fond? Surely not.
"My name is Orochimaru and this is my daughter and heir, Kiyohime," he said, absently putting one of his slender hands on top of her head which just caused her to latch on more tightly to his side with a happy squeal. "I am Konoha's foremost scientist and researcher, and my daughter is going to follow in my footsteps. However research is often faster and more effective if you have trained subordinates to handle a lot of the more tedious work. Therefore you will henceforth be my daughter's subordinate and be trained by her."
"In SCIENCE!" Kiyohime practically yelled, turning to look at him with a huge smile on her face and a wildly manic look in her eye. Minato gulped.
"In return," Orochimaru continued in a bored voice, "You'll get sponsorship from me. That means receiving training that would never otherwise be available to an orphan like you. Career advancement. Preferable postings. The better you do at your job the more benefits you'll get from me. If you prove you're useless though I'll boot you out and make sure you don't remember anything you learned while working under us." Orochimaru gave him a cold, cruel smile. "I'd do my best to avoid that at all costs, if I were you."
"He'll be fine!" Kiyohime declared, finally detaching herself from her father before skipping back to Minato's side and glomping his arm again. This was not an improvement in Minato's book. "Minato here will make an awesome Minion!"
"Research assistant," Orochimaru corrected with a small, amused smile. "People tend to get all bent out of shape if you use language like that, Kiyo-chan."
"Po-tay-to po-ta-to," Kiyohime said with an impatient flailing of her hand. Then she turned to look at him, her face way too close for comfort. "You're fine with this right? Because there really is no turning back. I don't want to force you if you don't want to."
Minato just looked down at her, with her wide eyes and earnest face. Maybe there was even a hint of vulnerability to her expression. Then he turned to look at Orochimaru. The man was smiling blandly down at him, but his eyes gave away the lie. There was nothing there but the promise of pain and death if he dared to disappoint his daughter.
Whatever faults he might have, Minato had always had a well developed survival instinct.
Minato did his best to smile down at Kiyohime, even though it felt completely shaky and fake and he thought that he might cry. "Sure I want to!" He said in a cheery, too loud voice. "I'm sure it'll be… it'll be… uh, fun! Yes! It'll be fun. Loads of fun!"
For once Kiyohime's expression actually turned serious, which was actually rather shocking, as she narrowed her eyes and scrutinized his face for several long seconds. Then she blinked, and her wide smile and cheery attitude returned dialed up to ten.
"Yeeeesssss!" she yelled, high pitched and close enough to his ear that it made him wince.
"Come on!" she said, that manic look back in her eye as she began to drag him deeper into the lab. "Let me show you my set up, and I can show you what I've been working on, and I can begin teaching you how to help me! YES! FOR SCIENCE!"
Well, Minato thought morosely as the girl dragged him away, if I manage to live through all this then at least my career is probably set. So that's something at least. Right?
Thus began Minato's life as Kiyohime's first Research Assistant (Minion) (Friend).