(10 years prior to chapter 1, a week after the Nine Tails Incident)
Hiruzen Sarutobi doubted he'd ever again feel as proud as he was when he saw his successor, Minato Namikaze, inaugurated as the next Hokage.
Now, he doubted he'd ever again feel as broken as he did when he discovered that successor had made the ultimate sacrifice.
Minato and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, had passed away the week before, when a mysterious individual in a mask attacked them while Kushina was giving birth. The child, Naruto, who became the next vessel for the Nine Tails once Minato and Kushina managed to successfully subdue the Nine Tails (albeit at the cost of their own lives), was written off as a random orphan who was a suitable candidate for the sealing. At least until he came of age or happened to become a Chuunin if he so chose, his true heritage was to officially be kept under wraps.
Naruto's parents were also survived by Minako, his older sister by 6 years. The Konoha Council had allowed her a week to collect herself before officially going through with the paperwork needed for Naruto to be "adopted" by the Uzumaki Clan, giving the two a spare room due to the current lack of accommodation. Minako would have been left to it, but she still did not have the proper legal status or age to be able to care for Naruto or herself, at least nominally. The Uzumaki Clan was also determined to be the best-equipped to restrain the Nine-Tails due to their sealing prowess.
—Short timeskip brought to you by Hiruzen taking a puff in his office—
"Minako, let's go. The sun's setting," called a silver-haired shinobi, knocking on the door to a temporary room.
It opened to reveal a dead-eyed little girl with a sleeping infant Naruto in her arms. She clutched him tightly, as if letting go would mean losing him. Losing herself.
"Mm," she mumbled.
A woman came up behind the pair. "Ah, Kakashi, you're just in time." The adults nodded to each other, and each continued on to the next stages of their days.
On the way, Kakashi took a moment to assess Minako's condition.
Now that the initial shock had passed, she was almost looking okay. But he could see it in her eyes. In the tension of her muscles. It was the same look he'd caught himself having so many times before. The same tension with which he had once clutched at his father's headband. Rin's. Obito's-
No. Kakashi took a shaky breath. He had to steel himself. He needed to be strong. For Minato-sensei's legacy.
His thoughts were soon interrupted by their arrival at the office.
—At the Hokage's office—
Hiruzen gestured for Minako to sit, politely dismissing Kakashi. He let out an exhausted sigh, perhaps to momentarily push aside emotional baggage of his own, before fully composing himself.
"I'm sure you know that a large number of people want Naruto to be raised separately from you, Mina-chan." Seeing her grip on her brother tighten, Hiruzen promptly allayed the concern. "I managed to convince them otherwise, you see. It took some extra work for the civilians, but you and Naruto will be able to stay with some of your fellow Uzumaki clansmen here, at least until you can become a chuunin and attain legal adult status. Upon your promotion, you will be given everything your parents owned. For now, though, meet your new guardians."
After a few seconds, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
A group of five red-headed people entered, including two twins who were no older than nine. The boy spoke first.
"Yo jii-chan, we brought everyone who had time to spare."
The Hokage facepalmed. "Don't you find this… rather excessive?"
The girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph! Well excuse us for wanting to give them a warm welcome!"
Minako's face, meanwhile, was stone-cold. She was glaring a little at the girl, a finger to her own lips. "Naruto is sleeping."
The girl had just opened her mouth to shoot back a "How rude!" when the woman behind her covered it and hissed, "Have some tact, Hina!" Hina proceeded to utter a most unbecoming series of words that (quite fortunately) came out as unintelligible noises due to her mother's hand.
Meanwhile, a young woman who looked Kakashi's age was sizing Minako up. "Someone's aged well~" she gushed, a barely noticeable hint of… was that flirtation?... in her voice.
"Anyway," said the man next to the mother, "I suppose we should all introduce ourselves. I'm Sana, the father of these two. She's my wife."
"Sara," said the mother, nodding. "These two are our twins, Ichiro and Hina." Ichiro raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement while Hina did a small wave.
"Kasumi," supplied the young woman, winking. "Pleasure to meet you." The others murmured in assent.
Minako nodded and smiled. "Please take good care of us. I'll do my best to repay this favour," she replied. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes and any decent shinobi could see she was weary, on edge, and overall just stiff. The clanspeople took it all in stride, though, not wanting to trip any proverbial landmines.
"Well then, I suppose we should be on our way. I think settling down at home will do you some good, Minako," suggested the mother. Hiruzen gestured affirmatively, Minako bowed respectfully to him and to the clanspeople, and they set off for the Uzumaki compound.
—Short Timeskip Brought to You by Chibis carrying stuff into the house and Chibi Kasumi waving as she goes home—
"Is that really everything?"
Minako shrugged. "Everything we'd need."
Sara opened her mouth to protest but Sana laid a hand on her shoulder. "No worries. Take things at your own pace, Minako. We're here if you need anything." That satisfied Sara. For now.
Just then, Hina grabbed Minako's hand. "Mina-chan, Mina-chan! Come on, it's time for a tour of the place!"
The parents chuckled at her energy. Minako, meanwhile, gave the adults a questioning glance. "Don't be shy, dear. We are family, after all," said Sara.
A little overwhelmed, the girl allowed Hina to lead her on as she gestured to the different sections of the house.
"So, this is the lounge and kitchen. Feel free to use anything in the kitchen!" The lounge was a relatively large area with sofas and appropriately dimensioned tables. There were some novels and other such books on some shelves, too. The kitchen, meanwhile, had appliances on a counter running along the wall and a larger table in the middle with chairs. "Just keep one thing in mind."
Her expression darkening, Hina warned: "Do NOT touch anything labelled with a name. Especially not mine." Going back to her normal self, she then laughed it off. "Kidding! I mean not really, but if you ever do, just apologise sincerely. It happens, ya know."
"Alright, moving on!" Past the lounge was a short hallway with three rooms and a staircase after the first room from the left.
"In the far left corner is the downstairs bathroom. There are two more upstairs. Next is the home library. You'll find info on pretty much everything an Uzumaki needs to know! Well, at least the basics. Third is the reading room! It's a quiet spot for when you can't get stuff done in the lounge or your room! Check back later though 'cause we're not done yet!"
Going up the stairs, they arrived at a corridor with four doors.
"Okay, this time from the right! Bathroom 1, Ichiro's room, my room, which we'll share, and mom and dad's room! The second bathroom is in there and it's HUGE! Oh, and don't worry, we got you an actual bed! Naruto's crib is in mom and dad's room, by the way. Alright, that's pretty much the major stuff covered. Come on, let's get some dinner and get you to bed!"
Minako did not respond, but she followed Hina.
Sana and Sara had prepared food beforehand and were all set well before the tour was over. They quickly motioned for the girls to sit down, as Ichiro was also already seated.
Everyone was given a sizeable portion of fresh sushi and miso soup. Naruto, meanwhile, continued to sleep, now in a baby seat.
"Mina-chan, I know the past few days have been very taxing for you," Sara began, "so we took care to keep tonight's arrangement fairly low-key. Hopefully, this helps settle your nerves."
Minako looked down. "Mhmm."
The family would normally be rather energetic at the table, but Minako's current state added some melancholic undertones to the mood. The other four tried to act normally but were ultimately too conscious of her. The meal passed without a single word from Minako, who promptly rinsed her dishes, put them in the dishwasher, and sat back down at the table after finishing her food, discreetly eyeing her baby brother from time to time.
Equally discreetly, the family gave each other knowing looks and proceeded to stretch and yawn sleepily.
"Oh my, it's getting late! We should probably head to sleep now," managed Hina between her now-genuine yawns.
"Mina-chan, you must be really tired too. You haven't been sleeping well the past week, have you?"
The answer (How did you-?) flashed across her face for just a split second, but Sara easily spotted it.
"Come now, child," she said, ever so gently. "You don't need to bear all the responsibility of caring for Naruto anymore. Sleep well, that you may be the stronger for him while awake."
Minako's exhaustion was suddenly catching up to her now and she really couldn't muster the strength to protest.
Sara laughed melodically, passing Naruto over to her husband. "Come here, let me carry you to bed." As she got a grip on Minako, Sara could feel the tension in her muscles. Even in this state, she was on edge. Probably out of worry for Naruto. But the moment her feet left the ground, Minako almost went limp, like a kitten being picked up by its mother.
Hina giggled. "Aww, she's out cold."
All Minako would remember of this moment was the déjà vu she felt from Sara's touch. Her motherly warmth. Her laugh that sounded painfully like Kushina's. That same sweet timbre in her voice. She may never get those things from her own mother again, but this was oddly comforting.
Minako jerked awake. It was pitch black. She was sweating. Hyperventilating. She couldn't move.
There in the doorway was an outline of… someone, their features masked by darkness. The outline turned to face her directly, and she could just make out a single glowing red eye with three tomoe. She heard an ominous laugh as it began to slowly approach her.
Pure terror overcame her as she exerted every ounce of strength she had to break free, to open her mouth and screa-
Hina walked in just then, her hair all over the place, with two glasses of water in hand, phasing right through the shadowy figure as it disappeared altogether.
Hina let out a huge yawn. "Oh hey, you're up too? I refilled your glass, just in case. Here."
No response. She finally took note of the shallow, rapid breathing. Rushing to set the glasses down, she kneeled by Minako's bed. "Mina-chan? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."
Minako silently tackled Hina in a desperate hug. She was… taken aback, to say the least.
"What's wrong?"
Minako remained unresponsive.
"Do you want to lie down with me?"
She felt a nod against her head and shoulder.
"Well let me go for a sec then," she whispered, giggling very softly.
This time, Minako shook her head.
"Do you seriously think there's a ghost or something out there?"
Minako's grip tightened.
"Well, if it's just a ghost, let your onee-chan handle it!"
Hina got up and dragged a silently protesting Minako through the whole house to prove there was nothing.
"Come on, let's get back to sleep now."
Hina laid Minako down towards the wall and then lay down next to her, tucking the both of them in.
"We're sisters now," she whispered. "You can count on me."
A/N: I know this took me like two months, but I was taking a baby steps kinda approach this time. I just sat down and wrote a line or two whenever I had the inspiration and let it build from there. Hopefully that resulted in a better-written chapter this time lol.
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