Obligatory Disclaimer: The series Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own the OCs, picture, and this story.

Chapter 4: Of Ghosts and Legends

As with most of my series based realizations, I have a mini panic attack.

I couldn't focus on studying and dinner was a quiet affair. I would've assured Mei of my wellbeing but I was too absorbed with my thoughts to quell her worried looks from across the kitchen table. I thanked her for the meal and quickly made my way to my room to have my freak out in private. Well, as private as you can get in the Hyūga compound. There was a rule against using the byakugan frivolously within the walls and in the village in general, but one could never be too careful.

It was safer to assume someone was potentially watching me at all times; sure, it didn't do anything good for my mental health but I was developing a good sense of ninja paranoia.

I was starting to get a better idea of where I was in the timeline but at the cost of my sanity. Should I do something about Obito? I shook my head as I changed into my night clothes. That was a terrible thought to have. He was a living person now, and despite the fact I knew so much about him, his hopes, dreams, and feelings were his own. I couldn't just mess up or change his life because of my foreknowledge.

But his life was also one of suffering and tragedy, for himself and others; that was where I was stuck.

Stick with the timeline and know what was going to happen in the future?

Or change it.

It would be a coin toss on whether the future that comes from my meddling would be a good one. For all I knew it could come out ten times more horrible than it was in the series. And that was saying something.

I wasn't God; I couldn't, shouldn't play with the lives of others just because I knew the future. However, not even that was certain. Even something as simple as my existence in this world could have changed something big. I wasn't sure if there even was a Junko Hyūga in the main series, though I was certain she was never a clan head, as I think there would be some mention of it. Damn it Kishimoto!

Maybe in the past timeline she died during the war and that was why she never appeared in the main series.

I let out a shuddering breath before shaking my head again to clear my thoughts. Thinking about could-have-beens and parallel realities wouldn't help me now. I had to think more positively. More proactively. I grabbed a small bag from my desk before moving to my bed, sitting in the lotus position on top of the sheets. Before I had my run in with Obito, Aunt Mei and I had stopped by this little stall with a bunch of small trinkets and other knick-knacks where my child self reared her tiny head again. I had caught sight of a small pile of marbles in a variety of sizes, designs, and colors. They had glittered in the sunlight, instantly grabbing my attention.

I had tried to quell my excitement but Mei caught me. I had tried to play it cool and denied my interest; Hyūga were all about practicality and things like marbles were not practical. But when we had returned home from our outing, she had handed me the small bag of marbles as we took off our sandals on the genkan.

I had tried to give it back but she would have none of that. I had never been the type of person to take presents easily. Especially since she cooked and cleaned for me every day; I didn't want her to spend anything else on me. I didn't deserve it. All she did was smile and walk into the kitchen to get lunch started.

I pulled out some at random, rolling them around on my palm. Cat's eyes. Classic. I closed my eyes and centered on my core, following the chakra flows throughout my body. Focusing, I expelled a small amount of chakra where the smooth glass of one of the marbles rolled across my hand, causing it to stop mid roll.

Once I had gotten the theory down, chakra control wasn't all that difficult. I think it was partially genetic; Father was a Hyūga after all and with the use of the byakugan, a considerable amount of control was needed to use the clans' fighting style, the Jūken or Gentle Fist style. Mother had been proficient as well because of her background. The other part was my almost obsessive practicing; chakra was just so interesting and it wasn't as though I was busy with anything else.

It was intrinsic and yet foreign at the same time. It was natural to this body, but my mind and spirit were so aware of it that sometimes it would keep me up at night. The chakra hummed underneath my skin, flowing through every tenketsu and gate and I would trace every twist and turn until I eventually fell asleep. It helped with the nightmares. I began to move the marble up and down the flows of my arm, stopping briefly at every point, and my mind finally came to rest.

There wasn't much I could do at this point; I was young and lacking in practical training. I definitely wouldn't be fighting any Madaras or Danzōs anytime soon. Realistically, I didn't have to do anything. I could just do what was expected of me from the clan, possibly become a clan head, and worry about everything else as they came.

I let the marble join its partner in the center of my palm. I was adaptable, always had been Before. I just had to take things as they came.

It wasn't until a couple weeks after that day did Hideyoshi make his presence known. I was in my usual spot on the porch, a cup of cherry and cinnamon tea at my side as I read through my books. The weather was nice and warm; Konoha usually didn't get cold until the later months of the year and for the most part it was rather temperate. I was enjoying myself when Aunt Mei let him in, ruining the good mood I had.

The door to the porch slid open and she peeked out to wave me inside, a strained look on her face. A familiar one that screamed 'someone unpleasant is here, and you need to go entertain them'. It was one that she used whenever one of the Hyūga elders would come by to check on my progress. I was an investment after all.

I was surprised to see Hideyoshi sitting at the low table of the common room, sipping on a cup of tea while scanning over some papers laid out front of him. I quickly lowered myself into a bow to school my face into something presentable.

"Sit, child." I took a breath and held onto my mask as I straightened and walked across the room to sit seiza on the cushion across from him. He continued to sip his tea and read through the documents while I sat waiting for him to speak. I hadn't seen him since my parents left seven months ago. Seven months, three weeks, and five days without a word from them. I heard little things about the war here and there whenever Mei and I would go to the market, but it was mostly speculation on the part of clueless civilians.

Still, it seemed as though Konoha was on the upswing of things, at least for the moment. Maybe they would be able to recall some of their troops soon. If only.

Hideyoshi placed his cup down with a barely noticeable tap against the table, bringing my attention back to him. He took his precious time as he shuffled through the papers once again before regarding me with those cold pale eyes of his.

"I have heard of your progress from the other elders," he began, eyes not once leaving mine. "You have exceeded many of our expectations."

Which weren't very high in the first, I suspect.

"Yes, sir," I responded as he went quiet to observe me further. I had hit a slight growth spurt after my third birthday but I was still pretty tiny. I came up to most adults' mid-thigh now. I was a menace to kneecaps everywhere.

"We have come to the decision to enroll you into the Academy for next term."

My throat went dry. Already? I thought they only let students into the academy around five, even during wartime. I was still three crying out loud! Maybe they really did expect me to take out people's kneecaps…

"Mei-san will have you prepared to take the entrance exams in the next few weeks and by the end of the month, you will start classes."

There was a shift in the atmosphere and that frightening cold aura from what seemed to be a lifetime appeared once more.

"Is that understood?" I swallowed thickly, my hands clammy as I clasped them together and bowed my head.

It wasn't as if I had a choice.

"Yes, sir."

Having thoroughly meddled in my life once more, he rose to his feet and exited the room. I barely paid attention to the muffled words being exchanged in the hallway as let my head drop onto the wooden table before me.

Go with the flow, huh…

There wasn't really much for me to do to prepare for the entrance exams as that was what I did daily. Life didn't change much for me, though Aunt Mei stayed with me more often during my study times and training. She didn't need to tell me she disapproved of this, but she could do even less than I could about it. Disobedience was greatly looked down upon in the Hyūga clan, especially from Branch members. It was her job to get me ready and I would do my best to not be a burden.

We were walking through the markets again today, having taken a break from reviewing all morning. My muscles were a bit sore from practicing kata, but it felt nice to walk around in the warm summer air. It wasn't as busy as it usually was at this time of day but there was still a subtle buzzing of activity in the atmosphere.

Mei was buying things for dinner as I wandered around not too far away. There wasn't much I could look at without standing on my tiptoes, so I casually maneuvered my way through legs while practicing with my marbles. I had improved a lot under Aunt Mei's guidance. Hyūga had the unique trait of being able to release chakra from any of the 361 tenketsu of the body unlike most shinobi who could only activate the ones on their hands and feet. I could now move three marbles up and down my body while simultaneously holding one still on my nose with chakra alone. Chakra was simply amazing.

There was a shout and before I could turn to look, a body slammed into mine, throwing me onto the ground. The bag of marbles that had been attached to my obi came loose, clacking together as they too fell and spilt everywhere. I groaned, trying to push myself up when another shout came and a weight fell down on me, causing all the air in my lungs to come out in a gush.

I couldn't breathe.

"Obito!" A female called out alarmed and the weight was quickly replaced with a worried hand on my back as I coughed. "You have to be more careful!"

A pair of hands pulled me into a sitting position, one hand holding me steady and the other rubbing my back as I continued to cough. I couldn't catch a break, could I? Once my breathing returned to normal, my surroundings caught up to me.

Obito? Again!?

I opened my eyes to a pair of concerned brown ones, which widened as they locked with mine. Rin Nohara. There was an air of professionalism when she got over her shock and spoke.

"Are you alright Hyūga-san?" she asked pulling me to my feet. My muscles groaned in protest but I gave a weak smile in response. She was as nice as the anime had portrayed her. However, before I could answer her verbally, another voice interrupted.

"She looks fine to me. Just leave her and let's go."

I turned to the voice and was met with the masked face of one Kakashi Hatake.

What is my life right now?

His words registered and I frowned. I had forgotten that baby Kakashi wasn't the friendliest prior to the start of the series. Narrowing my eyes at him, which he returned, I turned back to Rin.

"I am fine, kunoichi-san." She gave me a smile.

"Please forgive my teammate; he can be a bit clumsy at times."

"Oh come on Rin," he quickly rebutted, standing up where he had been crumpled on the ground not far away. "I'm not that bad- wait it's you!"

He pointed at me dramatically. I gave a deadpan look in response.

"I do hope you don't make a habit of running over small children, Uchiha-san." Obito went red as Rin gave him a look.

"Have you two met before?"

"It was an accident, I swear!" Kakashi made some insulting remark I couldn't hear under his breath, and soon he and Obito were going at it. Rin gave me an apologetic look as she went to sort them out and I took that as my chance to leave. As I turned, brushing the dust from my yukata, my sandal hit something and I looked down. My marbles.

A sigh rumbled deep in my chest as I swept down to collect them. I had to get out of here; though I had made a vow to take things as they came, I had also made a point not to actively participate in the lives of main characters. Less of a chance for me to mess something up.

As I continued my hunt for my lost marbles, I ran into a pair of legs clad in dark blue jōnin pants. For a split second, the barest of moments, I thought it was my father. But that couldn't be. I would've felt his chakra.

I looked up.

I'm being surrounded by dead people!

The startling blue eyes of Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, gazed down at me.

"Ah, looking for these Hyūga-san?" His voice was kind as he leaned down, opening his palm to show me my missing marbles. I stared at him and back to his hand. I really have lost my mind. I slowly took them, letting them join the others I had collected. They clicked and clacked as they tumbled into my satchel, along with my sanity.

"Thank you shinobi-san." My mouth moved on autopilot. "And I apologize for running into you."

He chuckled. "It was no problem. I'm Namikaze Minato."

Oh no, he's so cute.

"Hyūga Junko," I offered as he smiled at me. I don't know how much of this I can take.

We were interrupted when his students realized his presence.

"Sensei!" They crowded around us, Rin giving a nudge to Obito when they noticed I was still here.

He shuffled over to me, head bowed.

"I'm sorry for running you over." He paused for a second. "Again."

You should be; you're ruining my act of a peaceful life. I simply stared at him for a moment and he fidgeted, looking way from my eyes.

"You are forgiven." He looked up. "But if you run into me for a third time, I'm going to let my oba-san deal with you."

The Uchiha paled and began to viciously nod his head.

"Of course, never again!" Kakashi snorted at him and Obito turned to glare at him.

What a troubling duo. Still, something in my chest tightened watching the two bicker. So animated. So alive. But I was just one person and a child at that. There wasn't anything I could do about their fates.

Was there?

"Junko-hime!"

All of us turned to a very worried and irate Aunt Mei as she rushed over to our little ragtag group. She quickly grabbed me and turned my body around with her hands.

"What happened to you? You're filthy!" From my peripheral, Obito creeped behind Minato, trying to make himself invisible. But nothing ever escaped the sight of a Hyūga.

"Uchiha!" Obito didn't stand a chance as my aunt darted around his sensei barrier to grab him by the ear. "You had something to do with this didn't you?"

I was starting to think Aunt Mei had something against the Uchiha. Wasn't sure though.

The rest of Team Seven stared on in various degrees of worry and amusement as their teammate was harassed by the older woman.

"Mei-obasan!" I interrupted and she turned to me with a frown. "I just tripped is all."

If I had been in my old body and in my old world, tripping was a common occurrence. But in a world made of ninja, awareness was valued at all times; awareness of one's body and awareness of one's surrounding. A ninja, even one in training, does not simply trip. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

I lifted my satchel, showing her the strap that had snapped in the fall.

"My marbles spilled all over the place and these nice shinobi were helping me find them."

I gave an innocent smile and looked at Minato who smiled back. It wasn't a complete lie; just a manipulation of the truth. I could tell she didn't completely believe me but she reluctantly released Obito's ear to return to my side. Brushing off some stray dirt from my back, she turned to regard the group over her shoulder.

"Well, thank you for your assistance," she said. "But we must be going now."

I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but she gave me a look that suggested I keep quiet.

"It was nice meeting you Junko-chan." I could barely hear Minato say his goodbye as Aunt Mei led me away from them by the hand. I turned my head to give him a nod in response before I was dragged around a corner, the team disappearing from my sight.

Back home, Aunt Mei immediately dumped me in the bath. However, she didn't scrub me down like usual, leaving me to my own devices for once.

What a strange day.

I let myself sink into the warm water, letting my mind wander. Today had definitely been the weirdest day I've had in a while. It had also brought up things I didn't want to think about. The future of this world wasn't something I wanted to mess with. Who knows what I could mess up if I dared to change something; I could end up causing the fourth shinobi war to happen decades before it should.

Although, a tiny voice whispered in the back of my mind, there's always the possibility of changing things for the better.

I wasn't an optimist though.

Thoughts of changing things bounced around my head as I got dressed and resumed my position on the porch with a book on chakra theory. It wasn't as though I had anyone to talk to about this stuff; I definitely couldn't tell Mei and even if my parents were here, and even if I did trust them completely, telling anyone about the possible future could only mean bad things for me.

As if my clan status didn't already paint a target on me already.

I buried myself in theory and before I knew it, Mei was calling me for dinner. It had been slightly awkward when we returned home but when I stepped into the kitchen, the table was laid with an array of foods.

"Happy birthday, Junko-hime." Mei's voice was soft as she stepped in behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Oh.

"I know it has been hard for you without your parents," she said leading me to the table. "But I hope that I've done an adequate job of taking care of you in their absence."

My throat closed and I nodded, unable to speak.

I was one of the lucky ones. I at least had someone to care about me. There were probably a lot of other children in the village who were all alone now that so many ninja had been deployed. Especially civilians. And yet here I was, with family no matter how small, being taken cared of. To live comfortably even in times of war.

Conversation was kept light as we ate. We even had slices of watermelon as a treat afterwards, a sign of summer. I had hugged Mei tightly and had given her a wide smile as I thanked her for the meal. She stiffened but returned it, giving me a small earnest smile in response before pushing me in the direction of bed so she could clean up.

And as I laid in bed, I came to a decision.

I had to do something. Although there were many reasons for me not to, the positives outweighed the negative, if only by a fraction.

Though it may seem narcissistic, I was placed in this world for a reason. I didn't believe in coincidences and my being reborn here had to mean something. To change something.

If not for my happiness, but for theirs.

Obito. Rin. Minato. Even Kakashi and all the others yet to be born in Konoha.

There had to be something I could do.

Author's Note

Posted/Edited: August 27th, 2016

Minor sentence edits, and error fixes: January 28th, 2017

Thanks to all those who added this to their favorites and followed this story thus far. I appreciate it!

Reviews:

Thanks to Mina Luriya, k123, Rigoudon3, and xxOchibixx for your reviews on the last chapter.

Junko doesn't seem to have the most luck when it comes to Uchiha; I hope it doesn't become a trend. Anyways, the story is going to start picking up a bit from here, so I hope you guys are ready.

Next time on For a Chance at Happiness:

Chapter 5: Of Family and Patriotism

{in which our protagonist realizes that changing the future is more emotionally taxing than it's worth and being a child sucks}