DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to be the creator of the Naruto manga or anime series. I had absolutely no part in any creation of the series, and I'm just a dedicated fan of this series who has taken my time to create this fanfiction.

Author Notes: This is a semi-self-insert fiction of what I think would happen if Minato had two teammates who would not only challenge him to do better but could keep up. I hope you enjoy it. This is rated M, because of possible language, and violence. At no time will there be a pairing between any of the three teammates. Not that there won't be pairings outside their team, just not inside it.

I am trying to pull most of my resources on timeline from the manga, but I am only human so if any of my readers have any insight that I have missed on the timeline do drop me a message.

"Speech"

"Inner thoughts and speech"

"INNER YELLING"

I will add more if/when they become needed

Chapter 3 - Hard Lessons

Thoughts of ninja and my clan inspired me so much that I was itching to try techniques out, but at four years old, my parents insisted I was still too young. So, I worked on physically training myself. I thought this might look odd to my parents, so I tried to do it when they were not paying attention. This usually meant after dinner, when I was out in the backyard "playing." I ran laps while it was still light out, practiced stances and quick hand movements, and always did some sit-ups in my room until mommy came to tuck me in. As much as I wanted to push harder, I knew it wouldn't do me any good. Stupid, weak four-year-old body. Grow up already! Well, I thought I was being sneaky, anyway. I really should have expected that I, with my four-year-old brain, wouldn't be able to outsmart two adult shinobi parents, whether or not I remembered being twenty-one.

One day at the park, I spotted a girl about my age who lingered at the outskirts, staring at our ongoing game of Ninja. She had pure white hair like freshly fallen snow, and was accompanied by a teenager who looked like an older version of her. Most of the kids who came to this park were Uchiha, so these two stood out among the sea of black-haired, black-eyed children. During one of the breaks between games I walked over to them.

"Hey, you want to join us in playing Ninja?" I asked, trying to be polite while eyeing her up and down. She had these eyes that were a disturbing purplish-white all over, with no pupils that I could see, and hair, which looked pure white at a distance, turned out to be white with a slight tinge of very light blue running through it.

The girl looked up at her caretaker with an eagerness in her eyes and her body buzzed with anxious energy as she practically pleaded, "May I join them, Hanabi?"

The teen eyed me with a look that seemed to go right through me, then gazed out at the rest of the kids I was playing with. With a firm nod she said, "Yes, but do try not to get too messy. You know how your father is about messes in the house."

If she's that worried about messes, maybe she shouldn't have her wear so much white, I thought. I mean, come on, we are kids. Putting those thoughts aside, I turned to the girl. "Hi," I said, grinning at her, "my name's Kamiko. What's yours?"

"I-Iroha..." she mumbled, looking down and tapping her pointer fingers together nervously. "Hyūga Iroha."

"Pleased to meet ya, Iroha-chan! Come on, let's play!" I grabbed her free hand and dragged her over to the group. "Hey guys," I yelled, "I got another one to play with us!" I smiled at her as I said, "She can be on my team."

She played Ninja with us for the next hour or so. She hesitated a lot at first, clearly not used to this kind of game, but smiling and laughing all the same as she got the hang of it. In what seemed like no time at all, Hanabi approached us as the latest game was winding up. "Iroha-chan, we need to go. I have to get started on dinner soon."

"Dinner, already?," I asked, confused. "The sun's not even halfway down yet!"

Hanabi wore a resigned smile on her face as she replied, "Hioshi-sama is very particular about these things. Say good-night to your friend, Iroha-chan."

"Good night, Kamiko-chan," she said, looking a bit deflated.

"Good night, Iroha-chan!" I replied. "See you again tomorrow?"

Iroha turned to her guardian with a heartbreakingly eager look. "May I?"

A ghost of a frown flitted over Hanabi's face before it was replaced by a patient smile. "I'll have to ask Hioshi-sama, but I don't see why not."

Iroha's face lit up as she turned back to me. "See you tomorrow!"

I smirked wider in reply. "Yeah, tomorrow!" The two turned and left, Iroha skipping along and Hanabi following patiently in her wake.

-Time Skip to 6 years old-

While Iroha didn't come back every day, she was there often. She quickly became one of my best friends; she was odd, but I think I liked her style of odd. She was very polite, always careful to ask Hanabi for permission to do just about anything. At the same time, though, I got the feeling she was going to do whatever she wanted, whether she got permission or not. Hanabi seemed to realize this, and okayed anything that didn't seem immediately dangerous. I also discovered what her being a Hyūga meant, and about the bitter rivalry between our clans. I didn't let this stop me, of course, or even slow me down. Nobody told me who I could be friends with in my previous life, and I wasn't about to let that happen this time, either. Iroha seemed to always be a little down when she arrived, but as soon as we started playing Ninja, a smile would appear, which always brought a smile to my face. Making my friend smile was wonderful.

One day, I was running a little later than normal to go play in the park. By this point, I had proved I was responsible enough to go to the park by myself. Earlier, I had made a bit of a mess in my room and my mom said I had to clean it up before I could go out to play. Two do-overs, what a pain! I was running to the park so that I would not miss out on the second game; I knew for a fact that I missed at least the first one, what with all that cleaning I had to do. As I turned the corner I got a good view of the park. The kids were all in a circle and oddly there were no parents in sight; I couldn't even see Hanabi. I looked quickly around searching for Iroha, she said she would be there that day, but I couldn't see her anywhere. So, feeling a little sad, I jogged over to the group. As I approached, I noticed they were huddled close, blocking my view of whatever it was they were kicking. I shouted towards them, "Hey, what's up?"

Some of them paused briefly at this, glancing over their shoulders at me, but a few of the older kids continued to kick. I've got a bad feeling about this. As I got even closer I was able to recognize the white hair in the center of the group. What the hell? That's Iroha! I began to run as fast as I could, heart pounding as a high-pitched sound filled my ears. How could they attack anyone like this? She has done nothing to deserve this! I charged at the group, fury burning in my eyes. I screamed, "Get away from her! Stop kicking her!"

As I closed the distance I threw a straight left jab at one of the older kids' jaw and tackled him to the ground. Thankfully, even with the limited amount of physical training I had done, I was deceptively strong, which caught him off-guard — that's what I told myself, anyway... As we hit the ground I rolled off him, and quickly dove over Iroha's body, shielding her. I glared up at the group in a show of bravado, hoping my nerves didn't show. This is ridiculous, I'm the smallest kid here! There's no way they're going to back off! Still, I dug my fingers into the dirt, determined to keep shielding her, no matter what they might do to me. They would have to pry my dead body off of her. I even threw in a snarl for good measure.

For some reason, though, they all paused and took a step back in fear. I snarled at them again, and they continued to back away as one group. My breaths shuddered in my lungs, still glaring at them. Suddenly, one of them screamed, "She has the Sharingan!"

Sharingan? What's that? Is that what's scaring them?

At that point, it was like a dam breaking; they all scattered, stumbling in their haste to leave the park as quickly as possible. I stared at them, blinking rapidly as my anger eased out of my muscles. I got up off of Iroha, shaking my head in confusion, and offered a hand to help her up. She smacked it away, "Don't bother," she said coldly, "I don't need the pity of an Uchiha."

I was flabbergasted by this. "Pity? What are you talking about? I helped you because you're my friend! It's got nothing to do with us being Uchiha and Hyūga!"

She turned her head to stare at me then, and I almost took a step back as she pinned me with that same soul-penetrating gaze that I had seen from Hanabi that first day, only stronger. Her suspicious glare softened to confusion as I stood there, meeting her eyes, and then her face melted in disbelief. "You...actually mean that, don't you? You actually fought your own kin, and seriously enough to turn on your bloodline ability."

I blinked, confused by the sudden turn. "My what?"

"Your eyes," she said, gesturing to my face with one hand. "I'm not an Uchiha, so I don't know much, but I do know that the Sharingan only awakens in the heat of battle. Like, serious, life-or-death stuff, not some stupid kid fight," she continued, her eyes and voice going watery with emotion. "Some part of you thought you might seriously get hurt bad enough to d-die, but you..." she swallowed, gulping back tears. "You stayed, and fought them anyway. F-For me..." she stopped, scrubbing at her eyes with the back of a muddy hand. "Nobody cares that much about me."

"I do," I said. I said it without thinking, but I realized it was the truth. "You're my friend, Iroha-chan, and I stand by my friends."

She lunged for me, and I flinched before I realized that it wasn't an attack, but a hug. She held onto me hard enough to hurt, letting all her pain out in desperate sobs. I tried to comfort her as best I could, but saying things like "It's alright," and "I'm here for you," only seemed to make her cry harder. Eventually, I just settled for returning the hug, letting her soak my shoulder with tears and snot. I got pretty watery-eyed myself, but managed to keep it under control.

I don't know how long we stayed like that. It felt like about a hundred years, but probably wasn't more than few minutes. Hanabi came into view then, and rushed over to us so fast I would have sworn she teleported. It wasn't that, obviously; I could see her moving, but it was impressive all the same.

She didn't tense up or anything, but something about the way she was looking at me said ready for violence in a way I couldn't quite pin down. "Iroha-chan? What happened? Are you hurt?"

Iroha hiccuped, sniffed, and turned to look at her. "N-no, I'm f-f-fine. N-not hurt, just up-" Sniff, snort, cough. "-upset," she finished, glancing at me sheepishly as she relaxed her death grip and sat down next to me.

Something in Hanabi relaxed at that, and she turned to regard me directly. "Kamiko-chan? Would you mind telling me what happened?"

I flinched a little at the intensity of her gaze. Somehow, I don't think it would be smart to say "no". "S-sure, no problem." I sat back, wincing as one of the bruises on my upper thigh reminded me of its presence. "I was a little late getting here today, Mommy made me stay and clean up the mess I made. When I got here, I didn't see you or Iroha-chan at first, just a bunch of kids all huddled in one corner of the park, right about here." I gestured to the ground around us, which was filled with scuff marks and sandal prints. "When I got closer, I saw they had Iroha-chan in the middle, and were punching and kicking her. She was fighting back pretty hard, I think, I saw bruises and busted noses on at least half of the kids. But, there were, like, a dozen of them, and bigger than us too." I shrugged, then continued. "I wasn't really thinking, I just got mad when I saw them doing that to her, so I ran in and tried to protect her. One of the kids yelled something about a Sha-ring-dan or something, and then they all got scared, and ran away."

"Sharingan," Hanabi corrected mildly, giving me a look I didn't know how to interpret. "It's the name of your clan's Bloodline Limit ability. It's similar to our Byakugan in some ways; it gives you sharper eyesight, and some ability to read your opponent's micro-expressions to gauge intent. Supposedly it has other properties as well, but that information is a closely guarded clan secret, of course," As she was saying this, she pulled out a makeup compact, flipped it open, and handed it to me. "Here, have a look."

I stared at my reflection. My eyes, which were normally a brown so dark it looked black, had turned completely blood red. There was a thin black ring in the iris, about halfway between the pupil and the white, and on that line was a black, comma-shaped spot, one in each eye.

"Whoa!" I stared in shock, and as I did the red faded to black. I turned to look at her again. "Do your eyes turn red like that too?"

"No," she said. As she spoke, the veins around her eyes bulged, and her irises seemed to contract, but her eyes stayed that same purplish-white. "Our ability shows itself somewhat less obviously." She relaxed, and the bulges faded. "For now, though, I think we should focus on getting the two of you cleaned up."

I glanced at my left shoulder, which was crusted with dried snot and tears. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." I handed her back the compact. "We have bandages and stuff at my house," I proffered as I got up and gingerly reached out again with my off hand to Iroha, "if you want. I think it's closer than the Hyūga compound?" I said, uncertainly.

"It is. Your mother won't mind?" Hanabi asked pointedly.

I nodded. Clearly I was still on probation with the Hyūga teen. "Mommy says I should ask before inviting people over, but I don't think she'll mind this time." I stood up, helping Iroha to her feet. "Come on, it's this way."

We were quiet for the few minutes it took to walk to my house. Once there, I quickly ran up the few steps and through the door. I kicked off my shoes as I yelled, "Mommy, I am home, and I brought Iroha-chan and Hanabi-san. We need some help."

My mom came into view and her face fell as she looked at us. "My goodness, what happened to you?" She motioned to Iroha and Hanabi, "Hyūga-san, please, come in and sit down. Kami-chan, go dump that shirt in the laundry basket and fetch the first aid kit."

I nodded and ran off to do that. I came back less than a minute later with a fresh shirt on and a large white box marked with a red cross in my hands. Iroha was seated quietly at the kitchen table, a juice cup and plate of manjuu next to her. Hanabi knelt down in front of her, peering at her closely, one hand tilting Iroha's face this way and that as she examined different bruises and cuts. I set the box on the table near her, and the Hyūga teen nodded, opening it up and pulling out the bandages and ointment. As Hanabi worked, Iroha explained what had happened to my mother. Her face went from upset to angry to complete shock, then finally to fury and tears as she heard what had happened. Mommy's always so expressive. During this, I went around the table and sat next to Iroha. As I sat down, my vision dimmed as I spaced out for a moment, feeling so tired I nearly fainted. When I came to, I saw that another juice cup and manjuu plate had appeared in front of me. My stomach growled at the smell, and I fell on the sweets like a starving wolf. Once Hanabi had finished bandaging her up, Iroha attacked her plate with equal vigor.

"Well," my mother said, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. "I won't say you were wrong to stand up for your friend, but next time something like this happens, you grab your friend and run, do you understand?"

Oh come on, we were surrounded! I was doing good just to hold my ground! I was opening my mouth to voice my protest, but the steel in her eyes made me change my mind. "Yes, mommy," I tried my best to look meek and obedient. Her level look told me I wasn't very successful.

Hanabi turned to my mother and dipped her head in respect. "Thank you, Uchiha-san, for your assistance. I apologize for the rudeness, but we must be going. We are expected at the family compound."

"Of course, I understand," Mom nodded, and moved to lead them to the front entrance. I got up too and followed. For a moment, the two white-haired girls stood side by side. Iroha bowed politely and said, "Thank you, Uchiha-san, for your hospitality."

Mom beamed at that, and said "Of course, Iroha-chan, you're welcome to come over any time! I do hope we won't need the first aid kit on your next visit though." Iroha nodded, and giggled a bit at that.

She turned to me then, and hopped over to give me a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks, Kami-chan, for everything." Before I could respond, she pulled back, and in an eyeblink she was the proper Hyūga lady again. She and Hanabi bowed in sync once more, and left.

That night my parents sat me down at the family table and asked me some rather pointed questions. At first I thought I was in trouble, but they explained that the kids I had fought off had complained to their parents, claiming I was the bully and that I had punched one of them.

"I'm not saying I believe them," my father explained, "but I would like to hear the whole story from you." After I gave him a full explanation, he smiled and said, "You did the right thing, honey. Don't you worry, I'll talk to the clan elders and smooth this whole thing out.". His expression changed then, becoming more serious. "Do you think you could show me your Sharingan?"

I frowned in consternation. "I...how do I do that? It just kind of happened on its own."

He responded, "Focus on your eyes, think about trying to see every detail of what's in front of you."

I sat there a few seconds trying to do just that, and after what seemed like an eternity the world suddenly went all crystal clear and I could see colors and things I normally ignored or didn't notice. I saw him smile and mom tear up as they moved to hug me from both sides.

I didn't see Iroha for about a week after that, which had me moping around the house in truly dramatic style, so much so I refused to go play in the park when my mommy proffered the idea. What finally brought me out of my funk was receiving a letter from her. It said she wasn't allowed back to that park, but she could play with me either at her place or mine. I literally jumped for joy on hearing that, whooping and cheering and startling the neighborhood cats that were lounging in our back yard.

Dad folded the letter, smiling tolerantly at my display. "So, does that mean I can call off the funeral march?"

"Daa~d!" I grumbled at him, too happy at the news to be more than a little grumpy at him.

"I'll let Hyūga-san know that Iroha-chan can come over to play tomorrow," Mom said, also smiling. "But only if you finish cleaning your room tonight!"

I practically left a vapor trail dashing upstairs, and I swear that room was never cleaned so fast, before or since.

-Time skip to 7 years old-

Over the next year Iroha and I did some light training with either Hanabi or my mother, usually in our good sized back yard. They agreed that we should learn to be able to defend ourselves properly but hesitated when we talked about entering the academy early. "Seven years old is early enough, I think," my dad said, when I asked him about it over dinner one evening. "Things have been peaceful of late, so there's no need to rush." I groaned, but I knew better than to complain; nothing I said would change their minds at this point..

Dad spent more time with me in the evenings after he got home from work, teaching me about the Sharingan. What I had unlocked that day at the park was apparently only the first stage, which granted me sharper focus and improved peripheral vision. The second stage would help me to perceive more details, and enable the copying of another person's movements. The third stage would supposedly let me see chakra directly, which got me really excited.

"I have to say, Kamiko, you really surprised me that day when you unlocked the Sharingan. Not many women in our clan manage to do that, though most of the men do."

I frowned, "Is this another of those 'women are weaker' things?"

"No, honey." He ruffled my hair with one hand, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead. "We honestly don't know why it ends up that way; it has nothing to do with your strength as a ninja." He sat back and sighed a little. "We do tend to encourage our girls to pick up med-nin training, which puts them in a back-line role more often than not. Maybe that has some influence on it. Regardless, you do have it unlocked, and your mother and I are both very proud of you." I beamed at that. "We're also very proud of you for standing up for your friend like you did, that day at the park. It takes courage to do what's right, especially when everybody around you is doing wrong." His forehead wrinkled a bit as he said that last part, like he was thinking of something unpleasant. After a moment, his expression cleared, and he looked at me directly. "I have no doubt that you'll grow up to be a fine shinobi, one that we can all be proud of."

I grinned cockily at that. "Just you wait, Dad, I'll be the best ninja in the whole clan! No, the whole village!"

"I'm sure you will," he said, smiling as he ruffled my hair again. "I'm sure you will."

-Scene Change-

My previous life had been very peaceful, and with more and more of the heavy lifting being done by machines, the ability gap between men and women had seemed almost entirely irrelevant. No such luck in this life. People still did most things by hand, and a large portion of the village was made up of trained soldiers.

I'm not sure if it was an actual difference in this world, or if I was just more aware of it as a girl, but either way, it was a fact of life that wasn't going away anytime soon. I wasn't going to let that stop me, though, or even really slow me down. So what if they said girls couldn't be as strong? That's just one more thing I'd prove them wrong about.

This year was jam packed with physical training with Iroha and Sharingan training from my dad. He also began to train me in the basics of fire jutsu: not any of the techniques just yet, but he taught me how to channel my fire chakra. He said that if I got into the academy, he would begin to teach me the Great Fireball technique.

One evening, Dad surprised me by saying that we had been summoned to see the clan elders. "Do you know what they want to talk to us about?" I asked.

He looked pensive. "I have an idea, but I'm not certain. I don't want to fill your head with maybes and mights, so I won't say. Just get your formal kimono out, and be ready to come with me tomorrow evening when I get home from work."

"O-kay..." I replied, hesitantly.

Mom smiled, and tried to reassure me. "Don't worry, honey, I'm sure it's fine. Just be polite to the elders and it'll be over before you know it!" I smiled back, but inside I wasn't sure how much I believed her.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also wish to give thanks to frodoschick and Halbyrd on co-writing specifically with the grammar and conversation writing.

Author's note: Kamiko had the Sharingan unlocked since birth due to the circumstances of her death in her previous life. The park incident was just the first time that she had triggered it, due to the righteous anger. If anyone wants more info on this PM me about it. Also of note, Hanabi is an OC that was created for this story.