Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything or anybody except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. Any concepts/ideas mentioned in this fanfiction that seem to be borrowed from another media/piece of continuity - note that I don't mean to plagiarize anything or anybody in any way! This fanfic was made for entertainment purposes, not for pissing off others! So yeah!

The theme for this chapter is specifically If by Kana Nishino, the ending song from Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower Movie. This movie was actually one of my first exposures to the Naruto franchise, and its introduction to Minato and young Kakashi was a huge monument in my life back when the first trailer came out. It was just after a difficult time, and seeing something like that just mystified me. Naruto back then was this huge, mainstream franchise that I barely knew anything about aside from the dub that aired on Toonami. Actually getting a taste of the series through that first Lost Tower trailer alone just showed that Naruto was amazing, so this theme choice is in honor of those first roots.

On the other hand, for those looking forward to a piano theme, I recommend Kyle Landry's Missing You ~ Naminé from Kingdom Hearts. Tomoko doesn't actually play the song in this chapter, but it does represent a lot of the uncertainty and emotion going on - hence the song being the chapter title.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 24: Missing You

"…Are you sure you're up for this?"

By the time I had finished tying my hair up in a small, very pitiful looking ponytail with my hair ribbon, I just turned to my best friend and shrugged. "…Not really."

Kakashi just blinked at me, donning his full shinobi gear. "…Why answer then?"

"You had the 'give me an answer' face."

Kakashi was visibly frowning now, even through his mask. I couldn't help the giggle escaping me at the sight, even though all it did was make the frown that more prominent. "I don't have that kind of face," he ground out, crossing his arms.

I ended up laughing enough to the point of holding onto my stomach. "N-Nah, you do."

"…Tomoko," Kakashi said warningly.

Pfft. Looks like I still have the main record aside from Kushina-nee for 'unsettling' the resident Chunin. Nevertheless, I did my best to stop laughing at my best friend's expense to just smile. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, I couldn't help it."

The Hatake sighed before uncrossing his arms. "You really need to stop apologizing so much."

Well, it would be easier if it wasn't such a bad habit passed on from Vy, Hisako added.

I… honestly had nothing to say in response, just shrugging sheepishly (physically and mentally). Hey, some habits are just hard to break.

Anyways. You're probably wondering what's going on here.

Well, remember that whole 'self-defense' thing I asked this guy for? Turns out that he's finally starting the lessons — just the day after my comeback as the civilian pianist. I was honestly curious as to why it took 2 weeks for Kakashi to bring up the idea again, but then again, I wasn't really one to talk either. After that whole conversation with him, it became more of my own personal mind-searching journey to really start moving on.

Start putting that whole 'drunk customer' incident behind me.

I'm guessing Kakashi had a bit of stuff to worry about on his own too - and I don't think my angst helped out much — even if he tried to say otherwise.

I still wonder at times why he's so nice to just me…

And Minato-san and Kushina-nee, of course. Those two were kinda obvious considering their roles in canon. But there were still moments during my recovery period where Obito and Rin still butted heads with my silver-haired best friend — and they were his teammates. Sure, even to the days leading up to my full return to the piano, their relationship was improving, but there were still bits and pieces of the fights that would normally happen in canon.

…I'm just grateful Obito and Kakashi can limit their arguments to at least 'one angry fight' a day.

…Still don't know about the whole love triangle thing though. At least here, it's easier to tell who's out for who.

Obito was still head-over-heels for Rin, and from what I could tell, Rin was still making heart eyes at my best friend behind his back. Luckily this time, Kakashi wasn't as standoffish as his Team 7 counterpart Sasuke and instead made his intentions rather clear via his facial expressions. Judging from how he wasn't pushing Rin away but still making the physical signs showing that he wasn't up for this kind of thing, Rin wasn't as bad as Sakura.

…Not that she was like Sakura in the first place anyway. I guess that's where Kishimoto succeeded with Team Minato in the original canon - the team dynamic was a bit more lax in comparison to Team 7.

"Anyways," Kakashi started, knocking me out of my thoughts. "Like I said before, this kind of training will be difficult, more so since you've never really done this kind of thing before. Are you sure you're up for this, Tomoko?"

I just raised an eyebrow at him, absently tugging at a strap on my tank top. Note that Mom insisted on me wearing different clothes for the occasion, this time being said top and capri shorts very similar to the ones I think Hinata wore in her Pre-Timeskip outfit. "Kakashi, we've been through this. Now that I'm back at the piano, we can't guarantee that a customer or someone else will not try to attack me again. I have to learn how to defend myself, okay?"

Even with my response, he still had that unsure glint in his eye. I didn't like seeing that in my best friend — my confident, amazing best friend, so I just went with my first thought of walking over and hugging him. He needed this — Kakashi needed this at least. "Besides, you're the one teaching me, Kakashi, so it should be fine. I trust you, alright?"

Despite my hug, the Chunin was still somewhat stiff in my arms, barely moving as though he was frozen. A few moments of silence passed before I heard it. "…Are you sure about that?"

Huh? I looked up at him, frowning. "Kakashi?"

"I've… never really taught anyone before, Tomoko." The ninja looked rather hesitant, not meeting my eyes in favor of staring at some trees. Even though we were in one of the many Training Grounds, it was just the two of us in the area, and I doubt that he was looking towards something or someone else. "And I can't guarantee that you will get out of this whole thing unscathed. Obito's already complained more than enough about my methods — I'm just not sure if I can hold back enough to help you."

Oh.

"…So you're afraid of hurting me, is that it?" I finished softly, pulling away to look at him.

The Chunin went silent at that point, still looking away while his fists clenched tightly at his sides. For a moment, it looked like his right hand reached out as if to hold onto something, but decided against it, falling back.

If this didn't scream 'my best friend needing help', then I don't know what else would.

I just huffed a breath and reached over to wrap my arms around his neck to pull him down into another hug. From the nonexistent distance, I could feel Kakashi's shocked breath tickle my ear. "…Tomoko?"

"I told you, didn't I?" A soft smile was on my face as I said the words honestly. "I trust you, Kakashi. You're the only one I thought of when going through with this. And Dad said you were the first one that dove in when saving me 4 months ago, right?"

"…" My best friend went silent again, the only difference from before being his relaxing in the hug and arms slowly returning the gesture by wrapping around my waist.

"Besides, Kakashi," I just tightened the hug around him to the point of being able to bury my face into the crook of his shoulder. "I love you."

It was as though my best friend just turned to stone because I could feel his muscles tensing underneath me, his breathing having stopped almost completely. That reaction wasn't something I was going for, but my thoughts were already being voiced on their own without me even properly thinking of the consequences.

Even if Kakashi didn't fully want to hear it, I wanted him to know of my feelings on this whole thing.

"There's no one else I trust more in teaching me, alright? Even if Sakumo-san, Minato-san, heck, or even Dad might be better candidates in your eyes, I've seen you become a wonderful ninja. I've seen you train with Team Minato, work with Obito and Rin even if every inch of your masked face just says 'no', and fight to get your Chunin jacket all by yourself during those Exams three years ago."

…And you've seen what his future self might do in this world too, Tomoko-chan, Hisako added gently.

I just ignored her and continued on with my little speech, pulling away a bit to look Kakashi in the eye. His shocked, almost big, silver eyes. I had to get this whole spiel out anyway, before I got caught up in past memories again. Sorry, Hisako. "So even if I haven't seen your mission record or fully know what you've been through, I know you can do it, Kakashi. I believe that you can. So hey — don't worry about hurting me, okay? Because I'm ready for this too. I've had four years to get used to seeing you fight — hopefully this time, I can at least help out or defend myself so you don't have to worry so much about me, okay?"

And I meant every word. I know you're all probably looking at me weirdly for talking with so much cheese or ham, but I don't care. Kakashi needed to hear this. Even if I didn't love him like I did Leo back during my time as Vy, I did love him one way or another.

My original purpose as Nagareboshi's pianist was to use my skills and memories to help out others and make the Narutoverse less of a shitty place. Why can't I do the same by learning self-defense?

Besides, back as Vy, I hated seeing the damsel in distress trope in mainstream media, one example being Princess Peach (from my rough memories of Mario anyway).

Being one is not something I'm standing for, especially in another life.

I know I chose to be a civilian, but I want to be one that can be empathetic to other people (unlike some OTHER civilians I knew from Canon — cough — Naruto haters — cough) AND not be baggage when the village gets attacked. I'll let the ninja do all the butt-kicking, but if it comes to it, I would like to have the means to defend myself.

At least then I have a chance of surviving and not dying again!

Kakashi blinked, looking at me as though I had turned invisible, before sighing and facepalming.

…Was I supposed to take that as a good sign or a bad omen?

The sudden 'contemplative silence' didn't help matters any. All it did was accelerate the rate at which worry was traveling through my systems.

Did I say something wrong?!

"…Kakashi?" I found myself squeaking nervously.

The only thing I got as an answer was a silver eye narrowed at me through the cracks in my best friend's hand. The emotion in his only exposed eye seemed to be a mix of what appeared to be exasperated fondness and… something else.

…I'm sorry, but huh?

I tried again. "Kakashi?" I tilted my head while attempting to look beyond the hand covering his masked face.

"You…" Was all I heard before I was squished in another hug. I didn't even see it coming because it was so fast. One moment, I was trying to look behind Kakashi's hand, and then the next, I could only see the horizon past Kakashi's shoulder, the lower half of my face buried in his shoulder and the rest of me just squished into my best friend's figure. It was a rather interesting attempt at a hug since my hands were kind of bound to my sides by how tightly the Chunin was hugging me.

At least I could reach over and hug back — somewhat.

"…Kakashi?" I repeated gently.

"…You're seriously unbelievable, Tomoko." My best friend's long exhale easily tickled the side of my neck as I could feel his hands clench the back of my tank top. "How are you… How are you…" Kakashi trailed off, and it didn't really feel like a good time to interrupt him since his shoulders were starting to shake. I just patted his back as best as I could, hoping he took it as a sign of encouragement to continue. "How are you so different?"

...Well, out of all possibilities, I didn't think he would say that, Hisako remarked dryly.

"Eh?" I said blankly.

"You just recover from a long-lasting emotional trauma WHILE dealing with these nightmares on your own, only to just keep going on and smile." I didn't even notice Kakashi pull away just a little to rest his forehead against mine, eyes tightly shut. "Even at the prospect of danger, you just keep coming back with that optimism. No civilian I've seen is like you in that aspect... so how, Tomoko? Just… How?"

I actually didn't know how to answer that.

…Then again, this was a breakdown on my best friend's part that may have been coming for quite a while since my angst-filled days.

After all the stuff I pulled, Kakashi had every right to vent right now.

Despite my silence, Kakashi continued to ramble on, gripping my shoulders tightly to the point of me feeling his fingernails digging into my skin. "I'm not as great a shinobi as you think I am. I wasn't able to do anything for Dad a year ago and almost abandoned him. Had we not gotten there in time four months ago, I might've not been able to save you." He shook his head, audibly gritting his teeth enough for me to hear it a little. "Fuck, there even have been moments where some part of me tells me to abandon Obito and Rin for the sake of a mission." When he finally opened his eyes, I was shocked to see the beginnings of tears in the familiar silver, close enough to the edge to leak out if I didn't say something. "So how, Tomoko? How can you believe in someone like me?"

I didn't even have to think of an answer. "Because you're my best friend, Kakashi, and I love you."

Kakashi looked like I had just slapped him. "…What?" He deadpanned.

At this point, I was feeling a bit annoyed. Were all boys this dense?

With nothing else in mind, I just decided to slam my forehead into his, ignoring the pain in favor of leaning against my best friend with a shaky smile. Even if I could feel the beginnings of blood starting to trickle down my head. "Oh, Kakashi…" I muttered, smiling anyway. "Silly Kakashi. Get it in your head already. I love you, alright? That's why I can trust you — why I can believe in you. Despite all those mentioned issues, you still did the right thing. For Sakumo-san, you were able to get him help through talking to me. For that whole incident four months ago, you did get there in time to save me. Even during those moments where your mind says otherwise, the fact that the missions came out successful every single time with no 'life-threatening' injuries on your teammates says a lot, doesn't it?"

My best friend blinked disbelievingly, silver eyes wide. "T-Tomoko…"

"So don't insult yourself like that, okay?" I pulled away just to smile as bright as I could, even with the feeling of blood slowly trailing down my forehead. "You're so much greater than what you make yourself out to be."

And every part of me, even the remnants of Vy, knew it. Even in that messed up canon verse, Kakashi was amazing. He was able to survive two great Shinobi World Wars, deal with the emotional burden that came with a majority of his loved ones dying and his Genin team breaking apart, but he didn't fall.

Even if Hoshino Tomoko wasn't there originally, Hatake Kakashi survived to see the epilogue of his sensei's legacy. The Copy Ninja got to see his students work through their problems and retire peacefully.

I was just hoping that my influence would prevent a majority of the tragedies that built up said legacy in the first place.

There was a moment of silence before anything changed. If anything, it became somewhat of a staring contest, since no one really attempted to move.

Then, Kakashi started to laugh. It was a small one at first, a quiet chuckle if anything, but soon enough, he was full out laughing, pulling away to hold his stomach.

I was half happy and half baffled. "…Kakashi?"

"Y-You're amazing, Tomoko," He breathed, and I was surprised to see his silver eyes look up at me with mirth and happiness.

The expression that my best friend had on right now just mirrored someone else I knew.

"You're amazing, Vy. Thank you."

Josh…

Despite my realization, Kakashi didn't notice my mental slip up, still attempting to catch his breath while slowly straightening himself. "Just when I say something, you always have something to counter it. What am I supposed to do with you?" By the time he had finished that sentence, Kakashi was smiling at me, and I swore my heart stopped.

That smile, even with the mask on, reminded me of Leo.

"I love you, Vy. Even if I have to go to hell and back, I'd do it for you."

A shaky breath left me. "Kakashi…"

He just gave me a questioning look. "…You know that you don't have to answer that question, right?"

My mind literally blanked out at the point that was just raised. "Uh…"

Oh dear. Hisako was giggling in the mindscape library anyway.

In the end, I just tackle-hugged him. I really couldn't think of anything else to do — and hey. Kakashi kinda left himself open for that kind of thing. Even with the resounding "Oof" on his end, I didn't mind. Heck, even though we both ended up falling down onto the grass, it didn't matter.

I was just happy to have such a wonderful best friend.

By the time I had found a comfortable position lying on top of him, Kakashi just sighed and resigned himself to patting my head. From his quiet tone though, I could tell that he was smiling. "…I love you, Tomoko."

Doki.

For some reason, heat started to flood my face, and I ended up burying my face into Kakashi's jersey. Strangely, every single part of me did not want my best friend to see me this way — because I felt like a heater — again.

Luckily, it didn't stop me from saying something back, even if it was muffled by my best friend's shirt.

"…I love you too, Kakashi."

There was a moment of silence. Quiet, peaceful, contemplative silence. And then…

"…You have no idea how to start training, do you, Tomoko?"

"…Nope, never did. Still don't."

"..."

"..."

"So… think you could get off me so that we could start?"

"S-Sorry!"

The Third Hokage stopped his calligraphy at the sound of a knock at the door. Without even looking up, he opened his mouth. "You can come in."

Without even a sound, Namikaze Minato carefully walked into the room, closing the door behind him before coming towards the center and kneeling down. Hiruzen didn't look up until the Jounin spoke.

"Hokage-sama, there is something that I wanted to ask you about."

The Third blinked. This was a rare occurrence in itself, and he turned to only see the elite Jounin looking up at him with suspicion and concern. "What is it, Minato?"

A deep frown settled itself upon the blond's face. "Why is it that you have ANBU stationed around Nagareboshi Cafe — specifically around Hoshino Tomoko?"

Hiruzen found himself smiling, even if it was just a little bit. Despite his precautions, Minato noticed the investigation anyway without any prompting of his own. As expected of one of many Fourth Hokage candidates.

The Third put that smile away to look at the Jounin with a neutral expression, sighing for a moment. Now that the issue was already being brought up, the implications behind it just made his heart clench from all the stress. Hiruzen didn't want to say it, considering that the subject in mind was still a nine year old civilian girl, but his subordinate was already asking. If he decided to wait in silence any longer, it may come at the risk of losing Minato's trust.

He couldn't afford that when he was already growing old enough for Danzo to start looking at the Hokage seat.

Hiruzen stood up from his seat to cross his arms behind his back in thought, closing his eyes. "Hoshino Tomoko has been reported to be an anomaly, Minato. The ANBU are there to simply figure out if she is a threat or not."

"Threat? Anomaly?" The Jounin voiced, tone spiked with disbelief. "What are you saying? Hokage-sama, I have been with Tomoko before — I've talked to her and interacted with her before. Hoshino Tomoko is a nine year old girl, and yet you ordered an ANBU operative to watch over her every move. And during this time of war? What threat would she pose to Konoha?"

Hiruzen wasn't surprised at the undertone of anger in the Jounin's voice. Even without Minato saying anything, his ANBU have already reported of the Jounin's close bond with the civilian girl. In the end, the Third sighed again. "Minato, you should have seen it by now. How Tomoko is not a normal girl."

Despite his words, the fire in the man's eyes had yet to go away. Instead, they seemed to just spark an inferno in Minato's blue orbs. "I can understand that Tomoko is not a normal civilian girl, Hokage-sama, but again, she hasn't done anything wrong. All she has done is help my team cooperate with one another and boost the morale of Konoha's shinobi! Why would she be a threat?"

Hiruzen sighed and picked up his pipe, placing it to his mouth to take in a deep breath. He didn't want to say it, but Minato left him no choice. "What if I told you that Tomoko is aware of the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

It was as though a chill ran through the entire room. The flames in the Jounin's eyes seemed to have died almost immediately, replaced with a glint of confusion and horror. "…What?" Minato said breathlessly. Despite still kneeling in the same position as before, Hiruzen didn't miss the sudden tension in the Yellow Flash's broad shoulders.

"You recall that incident with the drunk nin at Nagareboshi, correct?"

Minato forced himself to relax in order to respond. "…Yes, that one from four months ago, where he had targeted Tomoko."

"It was about a few days after the incident that Yamanaka Inoichi was contacted by Judai, Tomoko's father, for a therapy session. Apparently, the girl had been suffering from various nightmares and Judai asked Inoichi to use his Yamanaka Clan Techniques to help with the problem. However, Inoichi encountered quite a bit of disturbing imagery while in her mind." Hiruzen knelt down to pull out the now worn report left by the Yamanaka, dusting it off with a simple breath before passing it to the kneeling Jounin. "Some of said imagery appeared to be scenes of your students specifically at their times of death and of the Nine Tails attacking what looked like Konoha. That paper there is specifically—"

"—Inoichi's report on his observations since that first therapy session?" Minato finished, hands almost shaking while holding the report up to eye level.

The Third sighed. Even with a full head of brown hair, he was feeling old. "…Yes, Minato. Ever since, Inoichi has been observing Tomoko via their therapy, but since she's apparently recovered from the trauma, Danzo thought it be necessary for the ANBU to watch over her."

The air just seemed to get colder as the paper nearly slipped out of Minato's hands. "…Danzo?!" The Jounin gaped, clear shock on his face. "H-Hokage-sama, that may be a bit—"

"I know, Minato!" Hiruzen was starting to get a bit annoyed, puffing out tobacco in an attempt to calm himself. "I thought so as well. These images may as well be fear-induced hallucinations from Tomoko's previous trauma, but once Danzo got a word of it, I couldn't stop him. I am well aware of the risks that the orders pose. Even then, an image of the Kyuubi in a nine year old girl's mind is already questionable enough as is. It doesn't help that Danzo already had his sights set on Tomoko."

Minato took a breath to steel himself like the Jounin he was supposed to be. "…By chance, does this refer to your calling Tomoko an 'anomaly', Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Minato, exactly that." The issue was already irritating enough, so the Third took a seat in front of his subordinate in order to keep a semblance of order and composure. "Apparently some of the sensory ninja, including those from Danzo's Root Division, have noted a strange phenomenon going on while the girl plays piano. Notes of yin chakra leaking out from the piano itself, in very small amounts."

Now the Yellow Flash was confused. "…Yin chakra? Not just chakra?"

"Yes, Minato, yin chakra," The Third answered, tone much quieter than before. "Hair strands of it, connected to every ninja in the vicinity of the cafe. Initially, the ninja who reported to me believed it came from the piano itself, but sensors later confirmed that it came from Tomoko. She channeled it — through her music, to everyone in Nagareboshi Cafe."

Minato was clearly gaping now. "B-But Hokage-sama, Tomoko-chan is a civilian. That kind of chakra control is clearly—"

"Hard to believe, yes," Hiruzen was getting tired of the subject now. "But some of our sensors have confirmed that Tomoko herself isn't aware of this ability. If anything, in her defense, the chakra isn't harmful in any way — all it does is seemingly affect the atmosphere she is in." The Third found himself slumping in his seat. Who would've thought a civilian girl would cause such a large amount of stress? "But Danzo and I have both agreed that she needs to be observed. We don't know how much control she has on this ability, nor on how much she knows about the Kyuubi. I hope that it's just a figment of imagination, but no one can deny that she has a presence. Tomoko is the daughter of Yuki Judai, one of the famed shinobi from the 2nd Shinobi World War, and the person who saved Hatake Sakumo. That alone, even with Judai's influence protecting her, will have already garnered some attention from the surrounding villages."

The dots were connecting easily in the Jounin's head by now, even if the implications weren't as pretty. "…There's concerns of our enemies targeting her as well, Hokage-sama?"

The Third sighed. "Yes Minato, there is. And if Iwa or some other village got ahold of the girl, it may be detrimental to Konoha itself. The fact that Tomoko has memories of the Kyuubi is already bad enough, but her role at Nagareboshi has led her to becoming an icon. An idol instrumental to Konoha's morale in this war. If someone succeeding in taking her away—"

Minato's heart could've stopped. Almost all the regulars at Nagareboshi were ninja either on the front lines or those involved in the war effort. Even his own students would be heading out soon, and— "Since Tomoko is at the center of it all, chaos would break out... Oh kami…"

The Third was frowning, sadness in his brown eyes. "Yes Minato. I understand a lot of your concerns, considering this is a civilian girl, and I wish this wouldn't have happened, but Tomoko is becoming very important in this war as we speak. Consider the ANBU as a way of observing her actions and means of her own protection."

Minato solemnly bowed his head. "... Alright Hokage-sama,"

I may have to enter those two into the Chunin Exams after all…

"Achoo!"

Rin blinked from her position of organizing her medical supplies. "Are you okay, Tomoko-chan?"

I wasn't surprised by the medic asking me that question, and instead opted to grab a tissue from my skirt pocket to wipe my nose. "I-I'm okay, Rin-chan, it's just a sneeze." I attempted to smile at her, but it was a bit forced considering my nose was acting up.

Even with my attempts, Rin didn't buy it and leaned in to look at me closely, eyebrow raised. "Are you sure? I heard from Kakashi how you started learning self-defense."

Well, here was the mother hen that was the medic and emotional center of Team Minato again. I just nervously laughed it off, scratching my cheek while tossing the tissue in a nearby trash bin. "I'm fine, Rin-chan, really. I'm still alive and still working, so don't worry so much!"

…You're really not one to talk about worrying when you were quite a worrywart back as Vy, Tomoko-chan. Hisako muttered.

"…Why do people define 'fine' like that?" Rin muttered, leaning back to her former sitting position on the grass. We were actually on the sidelines of another of the many Training Grounds in Konoha, watching Obito and Kakashi spar. Once again, I was invited to the training session, but strangely, Minato-san was the only one who hadn't showed up yet, leading to the boys starting their katas on their own. Rin had decided to just referee while sitting down to hang out with me, apparently.

I think my trauma and angst-filled days affected her more than I thought.

In the end, I just sighed and reached over to pull Rin into a side-hug. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Rin-chan, but really, I'm fine. Dad and Kakashi have been helping me out, so don't worry so much."

The medic seemed almost sad while leaning her head on my shoulder. "…You sure about that, Tomoko-chan?"

I smiled with as much confidence as I could muster, turning my gaze towards the boys. The fact that they were fully focused in their spar was an accomplishment in itself, since they weren't getting distracted by my issues or something else again. "Yeah, Rin-chan, I'm pretty sure."

I never thought I would regret those words, though.

Soon enough, the sound of a small explosion echoed through my ears, and I looked up only to see the fading whiffs of white smoke and familiar blonde hair. "Him Minato-san!"

The Jounin blinked before looking down at the both of us with a solemn smile. Yet for some reason, the smile seemed a bit… off. Huh? "Hello Tomoko-chan, Rin. What did I miss?"

"Not much, sensei," Rin chirped, looking a little happier at the sight of her teacher. "Kakashi and Obito just started sparring while we waited for you,"

"I see, that's good to hear," Minato-san glanced up to watch the boys for a few moments before turning back to us. For some reason, I felt a shiver go up my spine.

…Please tell me he's not looking specifically at us. Please, Tomoko-chan, Hisako mumbled.

"Though Rin, could I borrow Tomoko-chan for a bit? I need to talk to her," Minato-san looked a bit sheepish, putting on that famous cheerful smile. Even though the smile shouldn't have meant anything, the chill up my neck just wouldn't go away, confirming Hisako's worries.

Yep, he's looking at us. Great, Hisako added mournfully.

"Uh… how long, sensei?" Rin got that worried look again, pulling away to look up at the Jounin with a glint of suspicion in her brown eyes. "We were hoping to help out with her self-defense today while also working on teamwork…"

Minato-san blinked before sighing sheepishly. "I know, Rin, but it's fine. It shouldn't take too long." Unsurprisingly, he only had to look at me once, and I knew I was doomed. By then, I just ended up resigning myself to my weird fate, getting up from my seat to stand tall while praying that I would (hopefully) make it out of this talk with nothing but unnecessary worries. Once I sidestepped enough to be standing next to the Jounin, the smile that he was wearing seemed to just ease the chill on my back, even if it was only a little bit."We'll be back in a bit, Rin! Make sure the boys don't kill each other!"

…At least he sounds happy, Hisako deadpanned.

"I second those words, Rin-chan!" I found myself squeaking unsurely, waving at the medic. "A-And make sure they don't fight too much, okay? Kakashi can be kinda irritable."

For a second, I thought I heard a protesting "Hey!" from my best friend in the distance before Minato-san's hand wound around my shoulders and smoke filled my vision. I found myself coughing, closing my eyes to avoid all the white, billowing smoke (that apparently always comes out whenever someone uses the Body Flicker Technique) and waving a hand in front of my face to clear it all away. At this point, I didn't know which method I preferred more: the Hiraishin, fast but easy to cause stomach aches (in my case), or the Body Flicker, which deals with WAY too much smoke?

I just didn't know. But I didn't really have time to think about it, because the next thing I knew when opening my eyes, we appeared to be in what looked like Minato-san's personal room. From looking around, I could tell that we were at least in his house for that matter, and my ears could pick up the soft humming of Kushina-nee echoing through the hallway. The room itself wasn't that different from my memory of older Kakashi's apartment, the only differences being the queen-sized bed (probably for both Kushina-nee and Minato-san) sitting in the center and the bookshelf of various scrolls and ninja paperwork.

It was when Minato-san had let go and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed that I knew this was going to be serious. Not that the closed curtains and privacy seals didn't say enough already.

I was left standing in front of the Jounin, blinking and feeling unsure. "So… what did you want to talk about, Minato-san?"

It was just a small, curious question, and yet it caused the Jounin to snap his head up to look at me with wide eyes. The amount of emotion rolling in that familiar blue made me nearly jump from how shocking it was.

Minato-san, the future Yellow Flash, looked unsure. Uncertain of something — but what? What would make one of Kishimoto's canonical juggernauts hesitate?

A few seconds of us staring at one another passed. Then, Minato-san sighed, lowering his forehead onto his hands before motioning for me to sit down next to him with a shaky hand.

I gulped, carefully walking over to plop down onto the bed edge, folding my hands in my lap. The tense atmosphere was almost suffocating, and I just wanted to say something — anything to break it. But Minato-san was still slumped in on himself, and I found myself just waiting.

Waiting for him to speak.

When the future Fourth Hokage lifted his face from his hands to look at me, the next words that spilled out just shook me to the core.

"Tomoko-chan, what do you know about the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

Author's Notes: Not much to say here aside from the fact that this chapter was hard to write, both as the original author and creator of Tomoko. The situation that she is in right now is rather complex and complicated to the point where I've been somewhat floundering on my own trying to get something out for you guys to enjoy.

From here on out, Civilian Pianist will really get into the Naruto-verse as a whole. Tomoko may be a civilian, but she's a civilian of a Konoha during the time of the Third Shinobi World War, a period of chaos and change that led up to the events of canon. If Tomoko aims to change things, it's not going to be easy.

Once again, I thank all my readers and followers for keeping up with me for so long. I really have been enjoying all the feedback you guys have been giving me via reviews, and I'm just shocked that we're now at 301 by the time of this chapter's publishing! Thank you so much! Hope you continue to enjoy Tomoko's rocky life!