Uh. Here is the new chapter. I was supposed to post it yesterday but my youngest brother decided to 'keep me company'. Since I am immobile at the moment, I have to stay at my parents place (they still insist I call it home, even if I haven't lived here since I was sixteen). My youngest brother hasn't moved from home yet. He is only in his first year at college and has always been babied by three older siblings and our parents, and that is why I currently have to endure him. I swear I haven't spent this much time with him since he was a baby, and at that time I considered selling the wailing thing. Now I just hope he goes mute so I can lock him in a closet wihtout anyone noticing.
Anyway, I am trying to introduce some of the characters from the manga, though they will be more important in this story then in the manga. The next chapter will be the Academy, and will be titled Genius Child. It should be out this evening or tomorrow, pending on my brother and his current brother complex. I am starting to understand why Itachi didn't hang around to take care of his little brother, or bring him with him....
"I bet I'll be a better ninja then you!" Kushina gushed, and Minato almost saw a ghost of his former self over her. Oh good gods, it was going to be some long, long months until he could graduate.
3.
Their first day at the hospital past in a blur when someone finally decided they had waited long enough. They were first washed, and Minato had never appreciated warm water more, fed, prodded, studied and then declared healthy enough to sleep. A nurse was left with them to make sure they did, and Minato did so without hesitation. The needle she wielded was intimidating enough to quell any protests he might have had.
That had been yesterday, this day they had been herded from one person to the next, asked a multitude of questions in different wording but which basically meant the same, done a list of tasks Minato found utterly pointless, their reading and writing skills had been tested, and they had finally been allowed out in the park. Under supervision of course.
Kana, the little girl he had found out was three years old, wasn't with them. According to the nurse she had contracted meningitis. It was dangerous for such a young child, still according to the nurse they had talked to. It had damped their mood for about as long as it took them to reach the park but it was hard to feel worried when they could feel relaxed and play for the first time in weeks. Minato, however, didn't play in the sand with the rest. He settled for a swing and watched them thoughtfully.
Kushina had kept him occupied for most of the day, proclaiming their impending greatness for anyone who bothered to listen, but he had a more realistic view. He was five years old. He knew there were people who had graduated only a few years older. Kakashi and Itachi came first to his mind, and he had tried to figure out how they had done it. The answer he came up with didn't suffice to reassure him.
Firstly, his body was small. He could train it, but not too hard. It needed to grow after all, and it was far from developed. His reach wasn't anything to be proud of, so close combat was out of question, unless he wanted to head butt someone. He was also far from strong enough to take on grown opponents, even if he used chakra to strengthen his muscles. No, close combat was not something he could do at the moment, and not for another few years in the least. The solution to his problem was something that left a sour taste in his mouth.
Ever since his encounters with Itachi he had disliked genjutsu. He didn't like how it messed with someone mind, and while he felt mind games were fair game, genjutsu was something else entirely. It invaded a person's being in a way he felt was wrong on a fundamental level. You could make people believe anything, and you could break them without even drawing blood. It wasn't a fair fight, but he needed it now.
He also had to be good at marksmanship, since when and if he got into a combat situation, he had to make his hits count. Since taijutsu was out, he only had chakra and weapons to rely on. Kenjutus was out as well. He didn't think he'd do better with a sword than he would with his fists. His reach would still be too short. He didn't have the sharingan and the speed to use it in a fight, and even if he did get the speed up, he would still not be able to foresee the moves of his enemies, so it could only help him so much.
Ninjutsu was equally difficult to use practically. While he could do it, his chakra reserves were currently too small to be used like that. The ninjutsu attacks which would make enough damage to kill or permanently disable an enemy were too chakra consuming. It left him with low level ninjutsu, throwing weapons and genjutsu. He didn't have to like it, but it if he wanted to graduate and not spend years uselessly in the Academy he had to put up with it and ignore his aversion for genjutsu.
He kicked the ground the swing moved accordingly, swaying gently despite his gloomy conclusion. He would have to live with it, and swallow whatever guilt he felt over it. It couldn't be that hard, seeing as he had gotten used to the less than honorable tactics they used in the civil war. It had given him a whole new appreciation of the old saying 'all's legal in love and war'.
"Minato! What are you doing?"
That sentence had become Kushina's catchphrase when speaking to him. She used it every time he tried to think, and every time he didn't give her his undivided attention.
"Swinging," he deadpanned, and she frowned at him. He noted that she had green eyes, while her cousins were both blue eyed. It didn't have to mean anything, but he was curious about the people who would have been his family if they had lived long enough. He supposed it was an ingrained part of who a human being was.
"You know, you don't have to be alone all the time," Kushina said, and climbed onto the swing beside him.
"I am used be alone. The other children are boring," he answered sullenly. Her hurt expression made him rethink the wisdom of telling her that.
"You aren't boring, really. I'm, uhm, mama always said I am different, and I often think too much. That is why I think they are boring, because they don't think," he said, stumbling over his explanation and feeling relieved when she nodded slowly.
"You are weird, Minato, but I'll be your friend anyway. Everyone needs a friend, and we'll still be the best ninja ever when we are big enough."
'Big enough', wasn't that the problem to begin with? He knew he'd go stir crazy if he had to endure lesson after lesson on the theory of kawarimi again. The only thing he could think of as a reprieve was the lesser amount of history to go through. One war hadn't been fought yet, and one was still pending. They couldn't possible have enough history to fill out all the history lessons he remembered from his last time at the Academy.
"Hehe, thanks, I guess. You are a bit weird too, you know. I have never met a girl as loud as you before."
It was technically true. While Sakura had been violent on occasion when they were young, she had never been loud in the way Kushina was. Kushina acted like a boy; boisterous and challenging. She glared at him.
"I'm not loud. It is you who are silent. There is a difference."
They kept swinging, and Minato had nearly managed to relax when Kushina let out a loud squeal of delight and jumped from the swing while it was high in the air. He watched her fly through the air and fall to the ground with shifting expressions. At first she looked thrilled, and then she realized she had to land. With realization came fear and he saw her eyes widen as she headed for the ground.
She would have hit it hard too, if she hadn't been caught. When Minato saw who had caught her, his eyes went first wide in recognition, then moist from sadness, and then he smiled happily. He had been told once that the third Hokage was only thirteen years old when he became Hokage, but he had always thought of him as old. Now he stood in front of him with Kushina in his arms, with black hair and goatee, unwrinkled skin and a merry glint in his eyes.
Kushina wriggled and landed softly when he let her go, and whirled around to see who had saved her from an unpleasant experience. Minato silently walked up beside her and bowed to the Hokage.
"Good afternoon, Hokage – sama," he greeted to make sure Kushina understood who the man in the white robes were. Not that it would matter to her if she was anything like he used to be. She would be awed, alright, but only until she got over it. The Hokage smiled gently at the children.
"Good afternoon, child. How are you?" he asked, and even his voice was young. Not that of an old man, as Minato remembered from a past life. He wondered how old the Sandaime Hokage was now, and studied his face for a moment. He would say mid thirties, and didn't think he was too far off with that guess. It meant Asuma would be born around this time. That thought made him laugh in his mind. He was older than Asuma. Crazy, crazy world.
"I am fine, Hokage – sama. Thank you for saving Kushina. She is reckless sometimes."
"I am so not! I would have been just fine!"
Minato eyed her skeptically, but didn't pursue the issue. Instead he looked at their new companion. He wasn't sure how he should approach the Hokage in this body. They didn't know each other, and while he was sure the Hokage would still help him he wondered how to ask him.
"I am sure you would," the Hokage assured her, but his eyes were on the blond child. From what he had heard, the young boy was a genius. He had scored fully on each test he'd been given and was more advanced than other children his age. The medic he had spoken with said he understood what was going on around him like an adult would, and he didn't like to be treated like a child his own age.
"I heard you had a strenuous journey here," he said, wanting to test the child. The girl looked nonplussed at him, but the blond boy huffed. Minato wasn't sure what answer he should give, but decided to give him the most honest answer he could muster.
"It was hard, and we were tired, but Kinuto took good care of us and we weren't attacked or anything. He said we were lucky not to be," he said blandly. The Hokage smiled a small smile.
"Yes, there are a lot of bandits on the roads. The war has destroyed the life of many people and some chose to become thieves. It is sad, but that is how life is."
Minato bit his lip and gazed at the man with thoughtful eyes.
"Hokage – sama, how can we be ninja? We want to be ninja so we can take care of our friends, but I was told we had to graduate from the Academy."
At this, Kushina lit up as well. She hadn't entirely followed the conversation up to this point, not understanding all the words, but that she understood.
The Hokage looked at the two eager faces and chuckled.
"It is true you'll have to graduate from the Academy, but don't worry about it. If you want to I will make sure your names are added to the classes. I understand you," he looked at Kushina, "have had training from your clan?"
Kushina puffed her chest out and nodded proudly. Minato frowned. It wouldn't be too easy for her to adapt to not having adults to run to when she was stuck on something. He would have to help her out when he could. Kaero too, if he wanted to be a ninja.
"Don't worry! I'll tell Minato everything I know, so he won't have any trouble at all!" she promised, and it was cute, in its own way. Minato decided against letting her down right away by telling her he didn't need her help. She would understand him in due time. Right now he just wanted a friend.
"That is good, we wouldn't want him to drop out, would we?" the Hokage joked with a twinkle in his eyes. Minato raised an eyebrow and shook his head, reminding himself to let them have their fun. He didn't want to come over as a stuck up brat after all. He'd make fun of them back when he got the opportunity.
The Hokage straightened and looked at the other children playing in the sand and frowned. Of the six children from Whilrpool, three of them wanted to become ninja of Konoha, not including Kinuto. The youngest was too young and ill and the black haired twins said they didn't want anything more to do with bloodshed. They were nine, and he presumed they remembered and understood more than the younger children. Maybe not the blond boy, but he had his own reasons. The children entering the Academy would be under the martial law and considered wards of the village. The others would be put in the orphanage, and hopefully someone would adopt them in time.
Minato had taken to look around while the Hokage pondered his new charges. More children had arrived and now he could see people he vaguely recognized. Not because he recognized them personally, but because he knew how their children had looked when they were small. He saw Inoichi, which was particularly weird, because he had worked with the man in the future and to see him without the steely and jaded eyes he remembered felt wrong. Now he looked more like an innocent girl, the poor guy, and Minato associated him with Haku. He certainly could pass for a girl if he dressed up for it.
He saw another Yamanaka with him, a few years older, and since they didn't look like brothers he assumed it was a cousin. Babysitter and playmate in one. How convenient. They were talking to a girl with wild brown hair and red markings on her cheeks. That would be Kiba's mother, Tsume, as a six year old girl. Minato smirked. He had a feeling she and Kushina would get along wonderfully, or crash equally hard against each other. Either way would provide plenty of entertainment. She wasn't accompanied by a puppy, so he guessed she hadn't gotten her dog yet. The large beast of a dog had made Akamaru look like your everyday poodle. The hairs all over the place…. The drool….
He tilted his head when he heard barking, and a large grey dog came bouncing towards the girl before skidding to a halt beside her. The tongue lolled out of its mouth, and it was staring accusingly at the girl. Tsume just smiled proudly, and if what he knew of her was correct, she had just successfully escaped the Inuzuka compound and been found by the dog of a relative.
At the other side of the playground Minato could see something he was sure Neji would have appreciated. His uncle was currently unsuccessfully trying to free himself from one of the nets used to climb in, and his brother stood by and watched him curiously. A woman with long dark hair observed him with a bemused smile on her face. She had to be their mother, because she did nothing to help the Hyuuga clan heir, and there were two other members of the clan sitting down at a bench close by. They were playing a game of shogi, and didn't seem to give a damn what their heir was up to.
He could see other children as well, but didn't recognize them like he did the parents of his friends in the future. It was rather anticlimactic to see them as children and not the powerful and wise ninja he knew. They behaved like children, and that…. Was unsettling. Maybe he shouldn't hope for Inoichi to gain the eyes of someone who had done one too many interrogations, or for Hiashi to gain that emotionless face, but it didn't make it better that he knew they could get those looks.
Shaking himself to get rid of the thoughts, he tuned back on the Hokage. He too had gotten from wherever his thoughts had been wandering, and focused on the not so happy little girl in front of him. She had been trying to get his attention, and since he was used to deal with his advisors, he was used to ignore unimportant sounds. Not everything they wanted to talk about was important after all, but they were his teammates, and he didn't have the heart to tell them no when they came by to relate the latest happenings in their lives. Most of it was completely useless to him as Hokage, even if it was interesting to him as their friend. He only hoped they one day managed to differ between the roles.
"Yes, you will be living with your cousins. In fact, that is why I came here today. I wanted to let you know of your living arrangements. As I said, you will be living with your cousins, and Minato will live in the apartment beside yours. Kinuto agreed to check in on him from time to time and to help him with anything he could. Minato is also allowed to stay with you whenever he wants to," the Hokage informed them, and Minato quickly nodded.
He understood, perhaps better than anyone, how the law worked for orphans in the military system of Konoha. They were mostly left on their own, in the belief that they were old enough to be trained as soldiers and thus old enough to take care of themselves, but someone would make sure just to be safe. It was simple and it produced lots of slightly disturbed ninjas. Just look at how Kakashi and Gai turned out. Though, considering their lifestyle and work, they would have ended up disturbed either way. Might as well start them early: It built character.
"Kinuto will pick you up later, but he had some things he had to do before he could do that. In the meantime, you should try to make some friends, hm?" the Hokage continued mildly, and Minato sighed. Yes, make friends indeed. It wasn't enough that he had to endure one babbling six years old, he was expected to thrive among them. He couldn't wait till he hit puberty. Even so, he thanked the Hokage politely, and kicked Kushina in the shin to make sure she did too. Honestly, to have been raised by parents she was awfully dense when it came to certain things, or she didn't care. The latter was possible the most likely reasoning.
The Hokage continued on the talk to the other children, and Minato was in half a mind to follow him, but let it drop. He wouldn't be able to get to know what he wanted to know from him now anyway. He would have to check at laws of graduation on his own. He wondered just how young he could be, if there even was a lower age limit for graduating, and what the requirements were.
Kushina had gotten tired of the swings, and dragged him with her to the girl with the dog. Minato could say a lot about the wisdom of approaching an unknown dog to pet it, but kept his silence and let her break the ice. He watched as she announced their arrival and asked if it was alright if she petted the dog. Tsume gave her consent, and the girls soon rolled around in the grass with the dog. Minato wrinkled his nose at the unhygienic behavior. True, he had done the same as a child, but that was before he knew better.
"It is hard to tell who the dog is," a voice muttered beside him, and Minato looked from the giggling girls to the blond Yamanaka looking on with the same wrinkled nose as he currently sported. Who would have thought Inoichi was such a cleanly child.
"I wonder if they know what is in the drool," Minato responded and felt a shiver down his spine when he saw Kushina being licked over her mouth and nose. Some things were simply disgusting, and dog sliver was one of them. Dogs put their noses everywhere, sniffed each other in unmentionable places and where their nose went, their tongue followed. He did not want to have a tongue that had been any of those places all over his face unless it was a cute girl's, and for that he would have wait at least ten years to fully appreciate it.
"They wouldn't care. If that girl is the same as Tsume she'll like it," Inoichi informed dully, and Minato grimaced.
"Her name is Kushina, and if the girl, Tsume, likes to be loud and noisy they are most likely the same. I am Namikaze Minato, by the way, it is nice to meet you," he said and tilted his head in a greeting.
"My name is Yamanaka Inoichi. I am not a girl," the other boy said sternly while he cast a glare at Tsume, and Minato stiffened a smile. He was sure there was a story behind this, but he wouldn't pry for the moment.
The two blonds looked at each other and like all small boys they decided the girls could take care of themselves and went to find other small boys to play with. Minato smiled as they neared the Hyuuga twins. He had subtly steered Inoichi towards them, because he was curious. They certainly didn't act like the noblest clan in Konoha at the moment, and to see Hiashi try to figure out how the net was supposed to work was entertaining. They might give him some hints and get to know Hizashi as well. It was strange, but the people he knew as parents were now his potential friends and classmates.
Finally finished with this one. I am looking forward to be able to actually write more of the plot.... though, screwing with my brother's head is almost as much fun. I can't convince him he was found in the forest anymore, or came with the car as an extra bonus (he sadly grew out of believing that), but I can still twist his head pretty good. Cruel, me? Nono, never heard of it. Entertainment I say, entertainment.