Rewritten from the posted fic from my 'The Cat's Paw' profile.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Naruto in any way, shape, or form.

Second Life

Prologue

Sarutobi Hakuku watched as the child before him carefully and skilfully wrote out his kanji, hand flowing as he transferred ink to the delicate paper before him. The characters were perfect, right down to the smallest inflections. A look of concentration was upon the child's face as he worked, wholly engrossed in his task. The boy was a prodigy, there was no doubt, but then, he'd known that back when he'd adopted him.

"I don't understand," Hakuku said to his uncle, who was also the Hokage.

"It's simple enough," Sarutobi Hiruzen said as he took a long puff of his pipe. "I would like you to adopt a particular child as your ward."

"…But I'm not…" Hakuku paused, then formed his words carefully. "I have no experience with children."

"No parent ever does," Hiruzen said. "Regardless, you won't be doing it alone. After all, there is a whole clan at your disposal. I, too, shall keep a keen eye on the boy."

Hakuku was silent a moment, then he resigned himself to his task. "When shall I meet the child?" he asked.

Hiruzen strode over to the door, opening it to reveal one of Hakuku's distant cousins, holding a small, blond, child in her arms. "Hakuku, meet your new ward, Minato."

Hakuku's brow quirked in surprise.

"Hakuku-oji?"

Minato's voice cut through his thoughts. "Hmm? Yes, what is it Minato-kun?"

The boy held up his paper. "I'm finished, oji-san," he said.

Hakuku took the paper from him and looked it over. "Perfectly done," he praised the boy, ruffling his hair affectionately, earning a small blush and a quirked smile.

"Thank you, oji-san," the boy said, then he asked. "Are the lessons over now?"

Hakuku smiled. "Eager to get out to go play with your cousin, Toru-kun?" he asked with a grin, and the boy before him flushed further.

"I-I just wanted to…" Minato stuttered through his excuse, and Hakuku laughed heartily.

"It's alright, Minato-kun," he told him, ruffling his hair again, this time earning an embarrassed look from the boy. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to play with your friends. In any case, Toru-kun should be home soon. The Academy lets its students out around about now, so you can head over to his house and wait for him."

At the mention of the Academy, a brief shadow fell over the boy's face, and Hakuku resisted the pang that hit him at that look. Minato had been looking forward to going to the Academy, especially once Hakuku's nephew, Toru, who was actually a year older than him, had started going, and came back with all sorts of fantastic tales. But going to the Academy had never been an option for Minato.

"What?!" Minato cried, shocked. "Why can't I go to the Academy? I want to be a ninja!"

Hakuku sighed. "You will still be a ninja," he said. "But you will be privately tutored from home. The Hokage decided this when you were younger, Minato-kun."

"But why?" the distraught child wanted to know. "Why won't Hokage-ojiisan let me go to the Academy?"

"…It's for your own good, I promise," Hakuku said. "Now come on, we still have our katas to go over today."

Minato looked like he wanted to protest, but then a 'look' flashed in his eyes, and he sighed in defeat. "Okay, oji-san," he reluctantly agreed.

His spirit looked crushed, and it broke Hakuku's heart to see the boy he'd come to love as his own look so defeated. But what he'd said was true, it really was for his own good…

Hakuku watched as Minato ran off then, eager to catch his cousin coming home from the Academy. A fond look graced his face, as he thought about what had happened. It had been a shock to him when his uncle had brought the boy to him nine years ago, just a few weeks after the kyuubi's assault on the village. The revelation that the boy was a de-aged Yondaime shocked him, obviously, but he'd been determined to take this responsibility seriously, raising him up to be a great leader again one day.

That is, if he ever wanted to take the Hokage Hat again.

Of course, with his guardianship of Minato, also came knowledge of what had happened that night, right down to the last known detail. From Kushina's pregnancy, to the shiki fujin, to the identity of the Yondaime's son. Also a full working knowledge of the seal that held the kyuubi at bay, mirrored on Minato's belly, though his was merely a faded echo of the jutsu that had been cast.

A year or so had passed, then the secret of Uzumaki Naruto's identity had been leaked to the general public. Hakuku had a pretty good idea who it had been, too, if his uncle's rantings after the fact in the privacy of their compound had been anything to go by. But naturally, Hiruzen had done nothing to punish his long time friend, Shimura Danzou. A fact that grated with Hakuku, especially after what the old councillor had tried to do when Minato was four…

Hakuku was visiting his uncle at the Hokage tower, talking with him about Minato's progress. The boy was four now, and had been showing signs of his prodigy status for some time. There had been a knock at the door, and after Hiruzen had called out to come in, it had opened to reveal Danzou.

"I'll take my leave," Hakuku said, but before he could do so, Danzou spoke.

"Stay, Sarutobi," he said. "What I have to say affects you as well."

Hakuku nodded and stood there as the elder councillor came further into the room. "Now," he said. "It has come to my attention that you have been keeping a great secret from me, Hiruzen."

"And what secret might that be, old friend?" Hiruzen asked.

"The fact that the Yondaime isn't dead, and is in fact regressed in age," Danzou said, and Hakuku silently cursed. "What do you have to say to that, old friend?"

Hiruzen stared at him a moment, then he spoke, "I would have to wonder just where it was that you got this information."

"You forget, the secrets of this village were entrusted to me," Danzou almost spat. "Something like this… The boy should have been brought to me straight away, so that he could be…!"

"So that he could be what?" Hiruzen asked quietly, and Hakuku recognised the dangerous tone. "Chose your next words carefully, Danzou."

The elder huffed, taking a moment to metaphorically step back and examine Hiruzen's posture. "You refused me guardianship of the vessel," he said, giving Hakuku the feeling he meant Minato's son, Naruto. "Understandable, perhaps, if not irritating. But the boy's sire…"

"Minato is under the legal guardianship of the Sarutobi clan," Hiruzen interrupted. "Forgive me, but that is all there is to it."

Danzou pursed his lips, then nodded, gave a short bow, and left.

Hiruzen sighed. "I had hoped he wouldn't learn of Minato's existence for a few years yet," he said.

"Oji-san," Hakuku said. "What we were discussing about Minato-kun joining the Academy…"

Hiruzen sighed. "Perhaps it would be in the boys interest to be trained privately, away from prying eyes…"

Hakuku sighed. Minato knew nothing of his 'past life', that was a decision that Hiruzen had made once it became obvious that he didn't actually remember anything about it in the first place. As far as Minato knew, he really was just a nine year old boy, whose parents had died the night of the kyuubi attack. Perhaps it was a good thing he didn't remember, and a part of Hakuku hoped that he never would, if only to spare him the grief that would inevitably come.

Casting one last glance out to where his ward had run off to, Hakuku turned his attention to the more mundane matters of managing his household.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated.