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.

Sorry for the delays but I was having a brain fart and could not seem to write this chapter how I wanted, even though I had this chapter planned out for a long time. Also my editors have been real busy so even when it was ready for editing it took a while as I did the editing solo.

"Speech"

-Sign Language-

"Technique Casting"

"YELLING"

"Inner thoughts and speech"

"INNER YELLING"

I will add more if/when they become needed

Chapter 9 - D-Ranks?

I awoke the next day, and as I automatically stretched as I was getting out of bed, I felt it before I heard it. POP. I cringed and grabbed at my shoulder, screaming "OWWW!" I massaged it, cringing at the sharp, rolling pain under my fingers. I pressed my fingers against the tight muscles, thinking back to last night's conversation with Mom and Dad.

I am glad they were so understanding that I couldn't possibly leave Kushina being in trouble. They were, understandably, a little mad that I recklessly charged into a fight that not only could have killed me, but that could have very well killed us all. Wow, those nin were strong. I've got a long way to go before I am in that league, properly anyway. I really should have told Dad about that technique I used. What was holding me back, fear? At that thought, I rolled my shoulder with no more sharp pains, and heaved myself out of bed.

I made my way over to the dresser and let my mood decide my outfit for the day. I pulled out some clothes that I rarely wore due to my constant nin-training. It was a colorful sundress my mother had helped me choose several months ago. Damn, I look cute, I thought as I watched myself twirl about in the mirror. I was so glad that Sensei had listened to the doctor when he said that the entire team should rest, especially me. The doctor had said something about causing my system too much stress too early in my nin-training. I hadn't listened as well as I should have. I smiled at my reflection, then flounced out of my room.

I wandered out to the kitchen, and saw Mom cooking up some food for Obito and myself. "Did I miss Dad? Did he leave already?" I asked as I sat down.

"Yes, dear. He left early, he'd gotten a summons to the Hokage's office. Do you want miso soup, or just rice this morning?" Mom responded as she cut up some carrots for Obito.

"Miso would be great," I answered as I played a bit with Obito at the table. Dammit, guess I'll pick his brain later. "So little Obi, how tall have you been able to stack the blocks now?"

"This talls," he responded enthusiastically as he put his tiny hand about a foot off the table.

"That is really good, soon you will be able to stack them all without them falling over," I said smiling at him as Mom placed a plate in front of him and a bowl for me. God, for being little over a year old, he's progressing faster than was even possible in my old life.

"Eat up, you two, and no playing at the table," Mom ordered with a fond smile, then added, looking at me, "Any plans for today?"

Finishing swallowing, I responded, "Yeah, I am meeting my teammates and Kushina around nine, and we're probably going to either hang out here, or go to one of the training fields."

"Well, dear, please be careful. You did just get out of the hospital for chakra exhaustion and 'other injuries'. Didn't you say that Jiraiya-sama gave you three the day off?"

"No, he gave us a week off, because the doctor told him I was to do no ninja work for a week, and only very light chakra use. So, he thought it would be better if we had the time off," then I added under my breath, "slacker," then continued, "anyway, we are mostly going to be chatting about what happened."

We continued to eat breakfast chatting idly and trying to stop Obito from making a complete mess of his breakfast, he was getting better at that. Wow, he has grown fast! Next thing I know, he will be old enough to join the academy. We finished up, I helped Mom with the dishes, then ran to Dad's office to grab the huge text on chakra theory that he'd shown me. I tucked it under an arm and hurried to the front of the house.

"Well, I am off to go meet them, be back later!" I shouted to the back rooms as I exited my home. It was a warm day, but not too bad, great for relaxing or light workouts.

As I slowly walked through the village, looking at everything, I felt my sins crawling up my back. I could have DIED. I slowly went into a slow breathing exercise that I had learned a long time ago. It's okay, it all turned out okay in the end ~ BUUUUT it could have turned way nastier. Also, you idiot, you passed out due to chakra exhaustion. They could have just walked up to you, and murdered you, and you would have been able to do nothing about it. I really do need to polish up at that chakra sensing thing so I don't get screwed like that again. What happened to me? I used to be able to sense chakra everywhere, now I barely recognize that it's there. Have I gotten complacent? I can't even sense how much is running through me. As I rounded a corner to enter an alleyway shortcut, I got a sudden image of the older teen as my Jutsu hit him. I sliced the top of his head off. Ugh! I tried to keep myself from yakking up my breakfast there in the alley. That look in his eyes… but why don't I feel sorry for killing him? Aren't you supposed to...empathize? What's WRONG with me?! Wait, breathe, breathe. I am not a monster. He...deserved it. OKAY, stop dwelling on this, bad thoughts, bad thoughts.

Several minutes later, I showed up at the training field. I saw my two other teammates, Kushina, and Jetti all sitting around under one of the trees by the edge of the clearing. As I approached, their conversation floated to me on the breeze.

"So, that fight was tough, but thankfully we got out mostly unscathed." Minato stated with his back to me, then added, "I was surprised that Kamiko could do a jutsu like that. It not only pierced through a Earth jutsu, but also sliced into that nin's head." Was that admiration in his voice?

"Hi, Kami," Kushina interjected, perhaps a little too loudly, upon seeing me coming up behind him. "Glad you made it!"

"Yeah, sorry for running late. Mom made a big breakfast for me and Obi," I said back to her, ignoring the elephant in the room as it were. I just hope that they don't see me as a monster, hell we all killed that night. I just did so in the most brutal way possible… Hell, with these guys, they're probably more interested in the Jutsu anyway... "I wish I could join you all for some light training, but the doctors said 'no taijutsu or chakra use for at least a week.'" I huffed, crossing my arms moodily. "Party poopers."

"You will heal and be back to your usual unstoppable self soon," Iroha smirked. "By the way, that jutsu you used, why haven't you shown it to us before?"

"She was probably holding it back to make a dramatic reveal," Jetti interjected, grinning at me expectantly.

Now it was my turn to be the awkward one, Yip they were more interested in the Jutsu, "Ummm, well, I sorta came up with it in the heat of the moment..." I stated lamely, then tried to switch the topic, "Soooooo Kushina, Jetti, what are your teams like?"

"I am not on a 'team'. I am being mentored by a Jonin." Kushina grumbled out with a bit of bitterness in her voice.

"At least you will get more personalized training, with a lot of one on one time," Iroha pointed out, and at that, Kushina seemed to brighten up a bit.

"Orochimaru-sensei is a bit weird, but he is very knowledgeable. He had us do this crazy endurance test or he would fail us," Jetti said proudly, yet still shuddering at the memory, "I, of course, passed."

The conversation wore on for several more minutes, with laughs and gentle teasing. It was weird how normal it was turning out.

"So, we going to kick each other's butt or just sit around like a frog on a log? Dattebane!" Kushina chimed bouncing up from her sitting position.

"Of course, I believe it's time for me to solidly show you why the Hyūga clan is to be feared." Iroha responded with a teasing smirk, "Now that we are true ninja, I won't hold back."

"Nuh-uh," Jetti bantered back grinning, "Uchiha are better."

"We really shouldn't aim to maim, but I agree if we are to get stronger. So that none of us will be…" Minato pauses looking cautiously towards Kushina.

"Yeah, I agree. I was careless that night. I am not going to drop my guard like that again, DATTEBANE!"

They all went to the middle of the field to spar as I opened "Advanced Chakra Theory". If I am going to get better, I need to understand my own chakra pathways better than I do now. Chakra theory has always been one of my weakest, and reading isn't 'training' as long as I don't use too much chakra, right?

That long week was the most boring I'd had in a long time. I have always listened to doctors. I mean, they know their stuff so I should, right? I'm sure I'll always listen to them, but DAMN, it is boring not being able to use chakra. I thought, smiling to myself while watching Obi as he tried to stack my old blocks with his tongue stuck out in concentration. He is getting rather good at those, even at his super young age. Then a thought popped up in my head, "Hey, Obi, wanna learn something cool?"

As the blocks fell down he turned to stare at me with both betrayal at making him lose focus on the stacking and eagerness to learn something 'cool', "Sis ganna teach cool stuff?"

I tried not to giggle at the amazing cuteness coming from my younger brother, "Yeah, but don't feel bad if you don't get it for a long while. It is real hard to learn." I smile warmly, "Now, there is something called chakra that flows through our bodies…."

Monday couldn't come quickly enough, but thankfully it came. I stayed in bed after I woke up, letting my thoughts slowly come together. Yesterday I got cleared for full duty, thank god. Sensei, why did you leave a message with my mom about the meeting instead of me? Hesitantly, I stretched my arms again and was happy to feel no pain. I bounced out of bed and quickly got dressed. I've got two hours before I need to be there, that's plenty of time. Strapping my kunai pouch to my left thigh, and a larger equipment pouch to my belt, I slung it around to the back. I looked in the mirror and saw a box poking out of the closet that contained all my old childhood toys including many chewed-on toy kunai, and a rather nice wooden child sword.

"I should give those to Obito when he is old enough," I mumbled out as I closed my bedroom door.

I quickly scarfed down breakfast, not really paying attention to what I was eating. I hugged Mom and Obi goodbye as I nearly sprinted out of our house. As I roof-jumped through the village towards the training field, I silently was impressed at how much I actually learned in that week of 'downtime'. Reading up on advanced chakra theory and quizzing Dad on chakra sensing was both entertaining and enlightening.

I am glad I talked to Dad about what I did in the forest with that 'jutsu'. Even though he had no clue what I did. He's always there for me when I need it. Also, I think I got this personal sensing thing down with those tips he gave me. I still can't believe I've got THIS much chakra. It must have something to do with the fact that my mind is not that of a child. I'm going to have to see how actual jutsu drains it to confirm. I am a bit sad that I wasn't allowed to learn how to sense other's chakra due to the medic's orders, but at least I got the theory down on that. About that time, I reached the edge of the village proper, and had to stop using 'The Ninja Highway'. I hopped down to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully, it was not far to the field.

Of course, today I arrived first. Instead of being annoyed, that gave me time to test out my 'new' sensing skills. I walked over to a large boulder that was in the field. Lightly jumped up on it and sat down in a sorta meditative pose, I bet I look stupid up here but this always relaxed me when I was on those long hikes back in Scouts. I concentrated on my breathing and just let my chakra expand out from me, but unlike a Jutsu I didn't let it form into anything. Instead, I let it wash over everything around me, just like I had read in the books. It was an odd feeling, I could feel the chakra outside me like it was an extension of myself ,but it wasn't physical and I couldn't directly interact with anything. Such a weird feeling. I shuddered and pulled my chakra back quickly as I felt someone come close. The person was hiding in the trees and even though I don't know how my teammates feel using this sense, this was clearly not them. This person's chakra is immense, but I can't tie it to anyone on my team. Iroha... I think would feel was calm but full of energy like a warm summer breeze, Minato would also calm but in a more analytical way like a cool fall breeze, and, well, Jiraiya would be like immovable earth. This was more like mud and was also slimy. I expanded my chakra out again to see if the person was still there and I couldn't feel them, they must have sensed me and went to observe who it was. I am glad they left, they felt off and it made me feel icky.

After several more of these exercises of expanding my chakra and pulling it back in I felt my other teammates show up at the edge of my sensing, which greatly surprised me that I could sense almost the whole field. I stood up and looked towards them smiling, jokingly laughing out, "About time you two showed up. I was beginning to think I was going to be the only one here."

"That is absurd," Minato stated plainly clearly not getting that I was joking, "Why would we not come? This is when we were supposed to meet for our team meeting." Iroha nodded sagely at this but I could tell she was holding back a laugh at the seriousness Minato tried to exude.

I fell forward and tumbled off the boulder when I heard someone boom out behind me, "OKAY, BRATS, GATHER ROUND!"

How the hell did he get behind me? I didn't even sense him before he spoke. I guess Joinin are on a whole different level. Gathering myself, I stood up brushing off some grass as the others came over.

"Today, we are doing missions. So, come with me to the Tower," he said with a small sly smirk that I almost missed as he turned to walk away.

After a few minutes of walking, and some idle chat about what type of mission we would get, we arrived at the Tower. We quickly made our way to the missions' desk. Jiraiya walked up to the desk, bypassing several others that were waiting as if he owned the place, "Team 4 here to pick up our mission for the day."

At that, one of the Chunin looked at a list she had in front of her, then handed him a scroll. He walked back to us, unfurling it to read as he walked, "Hmm, this will be interesting. Sensei hasn't lost his humor," he chuckled to himself just loud enough for us to hear, "well then, follow me."

We fell in behind him as he wandered out of the Tower, and made our way towards the academy. I wonder what we are doing here? Isn't the Academy is on summer break? "There are many different levels to the missions that ninja receive. A-ranks are usually assigned to Jonin or higher, B-ranks are assigned to experienced Chunin, and C-ranks are assigned to Genin or Chunin," he then paused for a few seconds for dramatic effect then boomed out, "BUT today, you are given the glorious level that is D-ranks. Today, you will have the honor of cleaning not one, not two, but THREE of the spare classrooms from top to bottom." He boomed out to us, chuckling heavily. He was enjoying this. God, we did this as punishment while we were in the academy, this is what D-rank missions are? I am going to hate this level of mission. C-ranks can't come soon enough.

We entered the Academy, and were greeted by a Chunin teacher that I had not met before. She was quite friendly and guided us to the first of the classrooms. Looking in, I was floored. "It looks like a storm blew through here." I muttered under my breath. The room had chairs upturned, desks in disrepair or broken, and the chalkboard was nearly destroyed with writing all over it, some of which was not in chalk. And that was just on my first visual sweep of the room, we were bound to find more problems as we cleaned and/or repaired/replaced things.

"Well, here are some buckets and sponges. If you need to replace any of the damaged items, let Jiraiya-sama or myself know and we will get you the items." The Chunin-sensei said right before she bowed to us then leaving swiftly.

Turning to the problem in front of us, I breathed out a long sigh. We started to divvy up the chores. Minato chose to be on cleaning the desks and chairs duty, pulling the broken ones to the side. Iroha grabbed the mop and a bucket and swiftly got to work on walls and floors. I stared at the chalkboard, my monster to tackle.

As we started at each of our tasks, Jiraiya-sensei found a chair and uprighted it. He plopped down and pulled out a notebook then started writing in it with the occasional pause to observe us. Surprisingly, we made quick work of the disaster of a room. It only took us about two hours. This is just the first room, I hope the rest are not as bad.

Thankfully, I was granted my wish. The other two classrooms that we had been assigned to clean were not nearly as bad, and we got both of those done in about the same time as the first room took. Despite it only being three classrooms, my fingers were numb and an exhaustion had settled into my bones. I felt, oddly, very satisfied finishing our first mission, even if it was similar to a punishment we had received before. Also this time we get paid for it. I grinned to myself.

"Well, for being Brats you are efficient. I had expected this to take longer, but you seem to work quite well with each other," Jiraiya boomed as we left the Academy to turn in this D-rank mission report after getting a stamp of approval from the Chunin. "Now, with D-ranks, I will sometimes do the mission reports while you are working on the mission. Other times, you will be filling them out so that you can learn to be efficient and concise. But today you don't have to worry about all that annoying paperwork. Got it?"

"Hai, Sensei." We responded totally exhausted from all the work. At this he chuckled lightly.

After turning in the report he dismissed us saying, "Meet me at the training field tomorrow at 9 and we will be doing some team drills. If we have time, we might take on an easy D-rank." At this we all groaned.

Minato quickly left but Iroha lagged behind waiting for me, but I waved her off as I wanted to talk with Sensei privately. "Sensei, I got a question."

"Yes?" He responded half turning towards me.

"I have...thought a lot about that nin I killed…" I said pausing to organize my thoughts.

His eyebrows drew together as he gazed at me seriously. "There is nothing wrong about feeling bad about killing enemy ninja in battle. I know this is your first kill, and I would like to say it gets easier, but it is something you will have to work through." He softly spoke to me, trying to be comforting.

"That's the thing, Sensei… I don't feel bad about it. Just the opposite... I feel like he deserved it and probably worse ways… does that make me a bad person?" I asked as I looked up and saw his shocked face. He clearly didn't expect this.

Jiraiya was quiet for a good while, but when he spoke next it was calm and firm, "No, that doesn't make you a bad person. But DO NOT dwell for too long, or it can turn inward and destroy you. As ninja we kill, that is the nature of our line of work. I am just surprised that you brought up your kill so quickly. Most Genin don't like to bring it up, and it's sort of an unwritten test of character on how each of them deal with it. I will say you seem to have taken it well."

"Thank you, sensei, this makes me feel a lot better. On a different, but related note, that Jutsu I did…"

At this he held up his hand, effectively silencing me, "We can talk about that tomorrow, for now go home and rest up. That is an order." he stated with a wink.

As I walked home, I felt a lot lighter and more happier that I had the whole week. I almost bounced as I walked. Guess I just needed someone to confide in that wasn't there. I hope that we can work out what I did, but at least I got that off my chest.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also wish to continue to give thanks to frodoschick and Halbyrd on co-writing without them this story wouldn't be as well written as it is. I am enjoying all of your support and if you have questions either msg me or post a review, I read them all.

AN: one of my friends found some edits that needed to be done to Chapter 8 so I will be updating it with the changes soon, I hope you enjoy. It didn't change anything important just made it smoother. Aslo sorry that this chapter was so short I promise the next one will be bigger.