Minato smiled and laughed as he knew his answer would confuse her and annoy her.
"I studied butterflies. Lots and lots of butterflies!"
8.
The feeling of wind sweeping against his face and the wild freedom of simply racing through the trees was wonderful. It didn't matter that the night was damp and the moon's light obscured by the canopy, it was exhilarating. Minato wanted to laugh load and his heart raced as he deftly followed the dark shape of Yashino step for step. He could make barely make him out, and he was so silent Minato wouldn't have known he was there if he wasn't seeing him. Their chakra was suppressed. Yashino had done it as soon as they exited the village gates, and Minato followed. It wasn't something one would usually do for a simple C – ranked mission, but he supposed Yashino acted on habits.
His grin broadened when he saw Yashino glance back at him with a smile on his lips. He couldn't see the smile, but he knew it was there. It was impossible not to smile, when the chase in the treetops made them feel so much alive. Minato wondered how he could have lived without this for the past years, without the thrill of a mission and the adrenaline building on anticipation. The feeling of pure joy made him leap up beside Yashino and grin mischievously as he sped off between the branches. The Uchiha made a sound that could be a chuckle, and Minato could practically feel him close the distance again before he suddenly was in front of him and the blond swore he saw Yashino wink at him.
They continued their game of cat and mouse throughout the night, hunting each other and overtaking each other with every step. It wasn't a very energy efficient way of travel, but they did cover a great distance, and Minato was surprised to note that his sensei didn't reach for a single cigarette as they leapt from tree to tree. Yashino proved he could be playful when he wanted to be, when he sometimes would push or pull at Minato to make him lose balance or concentration. Minato pushed back, or tried to, since he had to actually get close enough to Yashino to reach him, and when he did succeed Yashino laughed. It wasn't the dry, sort of mirthful laugh with an undertone of bitter irony that he was used to, but pure joyous laughter. It was a weird to see Yashino enjoying himself.
When dawn broke they landed in a small clearing and Yashino laughed softly, his eyes dancing with happiness and not the bland mirth Minato had gotten used to. It made him look younger, and more there, as opposite to the distance he kept when staring at the far away sky. Minato laughed too, but his laughter was broken slightly by his heavier breathing.
"We should do that more often, don't you think Minato?" he asked and smiled brightly at his young charge. Minato stared at him for a moment, and nodded with a small smile. He breathed out one more time before he straightened and tilted his head at his teacher.
"Hey, sensei, what are we doing out here?" he asked tentatively. He hadn't asked Yashino about the mission yet, and he hadn't offered up anything either. They had left at dawn two days ago, and the first thing Yashino had done was to turn his day upside down. They traveled at night hidden by the darkness and the canopy of trees, but he gave no explanation as to why. At the moment, as far as Minato was able to tell, they were somewhere along the border of Fire Country and Sea Country.
Sea Country was a smaller country and dealt mostly with shipping and trade. They had no Hidden Village, and as far as Minato knew, they didn't have any kind of treaty with Fire either. During the war they had kept inconspicuously quiet and calm. They had continued their trading routes as if nothing was going on, and even if it was a Secret war it did affect the countries at large. But not Sea. Sea remained untouched, tucked safely between the coast of Fire Country and the coast of River country. From there they sent their ships east to Wind Country, or northwest to the many small nations littering the coast before it reached Water Country. What they were doing in this backwater nation was beyond Minato.
Yashino focused at him and chuckled at his peeved expression.
"I know where we are, if you were wondering," he ensured, but Minato wasn't worried about that. Yashino spacing out hadn't happened since they had left the village, and even if he was prone to walk without thinking inside the village walls, he doubted his sensei would do that on a mission. Considering his previous post Minato wasn't sure if it was possible for him to space out on a mission. He seemed to have snapped back in full mission modus as soon as they left the gate, suppressing chakra and traveling only at night. That was something ANBU would do, not something normal ninja on a normal mission would. It was considered too tedious by most. Their little game that night had been the exception. It had been surprisingly fun….
"I am sure," he said dryly, and Yashino smirked at the deadpanned answer. Minato had the distinct feeling Yashino was enjoying himself immensely. He was nearly bouncing, as incredible as that sounded.
"What I meant was to ask you what our mission is?" Minato corrected and got that bad feeling again when Yashino turned serious in the blink of an eye. He felt as if he was watching the ANBU captain and not his sensei. It didn't help that he could see the shimmering red beneath the black in his eyes.
"I guess I should fill you in. I haven't told you yet, have I?"
Minato resisted rolling his eyes at the obviously rhetorical question. Yashino motioned for him to follow as they started to walk normally at the forest floor.
"I don't need to tell you this, since you know it, but during a war a lot of people are made homeless. Families are torn apart, mothers and fathers killed, children lost, refugees wandering aimlessly in search of some shelter and a new home. Whole nations went under during the last war. It made thousands of people lose their home, some lost the earth they'd been living off, some had their homes burned, it doesn't really matter how, the important thing is that it happened."
Minato wondered where his sensei was going with this, but he kept silent and listened. If it was one thing he had learnt with Yashino it was that there was always more to what he tried to teach him that the obvious. The bastard liked mind games.
"These people don't have anyone to protect them. They don't have a home, often not a country to belong to and no money. They are, in lack of a better word, free prey. Those who are stronger, those who have no scruples or morals when it comes to earning money, can easily earn money on the people left defenseless by our war."
Minato felt a chill go down his spine. He had heard stories, of course, but he had never actually believed them to be true. He had heard from the elder ninja in his past life of missions concerning certain aspects of despicable trade. Human trade. Slaves. He had thought there was something to it, but he hadn't thought it was something he would ever be entangled in, and certainly not something which happened on Fire Country's borders. He glanced at his sensei and wondered what they were supposed to do.
"The Hokage wondered why Sea's been keeping so quiet and docile during these years, and ANBU investigated it. They've been keeping track of Sea's slave shipments. Most of them head northwards, towards Water. We aren't sure why or what the Mizukage is planning with so many slaves, but something is going on there alright. Anyway, that is ANBU's problem, not ours. We are simply doing a sweeping."
"….Sweeping?" Minato questioned not sure if he got the meaning of that. Yashino shrugged and Minato noted that sometime during his briefing he'd pulled out a kunai and was absentmindedly swirling it on a finger. He'd never seen Yashino toy with anything, not even the cigarettes, and to see him play with a kunai while talking about sweeping was unsettling. Yashino hummed and his eyes swiped over the area around them, flashing red every now and then in response to whatever thoughts he had.
"Yeah, sweeping…. It is a term used when you head in to kill everyone in a certain area, organization or family."
Minato's eyes widened and he cursed in his mind. He had known he wouldn't like whatever it was Yashino had planned for him, and this was proving it. While he found the whole slave trade despicable, he still didn't want to cold heartedly kill a whole bunch of people just like that. Yashino eyed him for a moment, before he resolutely turned his eyes forwards.
"I was older than you are now when I was roped in for my first assassinations," he admitted silently. His voice was so soft Minato wouldn't have made it out if he wasn't trained to pick up low sounds. He looked up at Yashino, but his face was blank and void of any kind of emotion, even the lazy mirth he used to hide behind.
"I was ten, and had awakened my sharingan only a month prior. According to my clan and whoever decides those things that were enough to get me promoted at the chuunin exams…. So yeah, a fresh chuunin picked to assassinate a family of seven. They were part of the daimyo's court, and with the power struggles going on between two of the old daimyo's sons at the time people were killed left and right. It is ironic that Konoha ninja did most of those assassinations, but then again, the Hokage always likes to keep track of what goes on there."
Minato didn't say anything but waited for Yashino to continue. The story wasn't over, and it was interesting to learn something about his sensei.
"Can you do it, Minato? Can you kill you heart for your village? Because it is your duty as a ninja of Konoha to carry out the missions we get flawlessly, and this is our mission. Do you think when the time is there, that you can end a human life knowingly, willingly and efficiently?"
Minato didn't answer at first. It wasn't as if he hadn't killed before, in his other life. No, he had killed plenty of people, but that was in open battle. They had a fair chance of defending themselves, but he was a shinobi, and they didn't fight with honor. They fought with whatever suited them best at the moment, and if assassination was the easiest way to succeed, then assassination it was. It had to be, or he would never be able to rise in the ranks as he had planned. He suddenly remembered what Yashino had asked him the day they first met, when he accepted him as a student.
'What is your reason, Minato, to want to walk this path in life? To want to willingly soak your hands in blood, sell your soul for your village and kill your heart for your sanity?'
Sell you soul for the village… and kill your heart for your sanity. If he wanted to serve his village in this time, he'd have to swallow whatever regret and guilt he'd feel, he'd have to do things he couldn't justify by idealistic views, he'd have to sell his soul, and kill his heart. Hard icy blue eyes met blood red, and he started, because it was the first time he saw the awakened sharingan in the eyes of Yashino. Three tomoes in each eye, slowly spinning and glowing in the bleak morning light. Minato met his eyes dead on, and nodded. He'd do it, because sooner or later he'd have to and sooner or later ideals weren't enough and this was a time where he didn't have a choice. For the sake of the future, he had to quell his misgivings and accept the path of twilight every ninja walked.
"I will."
It wasn't a question, or a sentence, it was a statement. He would, and gods help him he would. He fisted his hands for a second, before he was aware of doing it and loosened them. He looked up at his sensei again, but the shining red of his eyes were once again darkened to an onyx black. He wondered briefly why his sensei had activated the bloodline while waiting for his answer, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He was pretty sure he'd never understand the enigmatic Uchiha.
"What happened?" he asked after a while. Yashino glanced questioningly at him.
"The first time you assassinated someone, what happened?" Minato asked again, but didn't expect an answer. He was astonished when Yashino smiled wryly and answered.
"I did it, of course. It was a B – ranked missions, since it was assassination, but it wasn't really difficult or dangerous. They were only one of many families at the court, and for some reason targeted in the power struggle. They lived in a small mansion and it was ridiculously easy to sneak past the guards and access the targets. I have a feeling the guards might have been bribed, but I never cared to find out…. Anyway, it went smoothly until I reached the youngest children. One was only a baby, and I couldn't help but stop and wonder what the hell I was doing."
Yashino grimaced and shook his head at some other thought he had. Minato watched him and wondered what he was thinking, but it was as usual impossible to tell.
"That was the day I killed my heart, as they say. I slit their throats and walked out of there as if it was the most natural thing in the world. There wasn't anything more to it, it was my mission, my duty to the village and the village depended on me to fulfill it. If I couldn't even to that, what kind of ninja would I be?"
Minato didn't say anything, and they continued their walk in silence. It was noon before they stopped and found a place to rest and wait for the dusk. The dense forest of Fire Country had given way to a lusher, open forest with smaller trees and clearly defined paths. They weren't worried about anyone seeing them, but they still decided for one to keep watch while the other rested. Minato got the second watch, and regarded Yashino as he slept. The Uchiha lay on the side, one arm under his head and under the other hand was a kunai. His breathing was even, but Minato could tell from where he sat that it wasn't a deep slumber. It was more like a light doze where most of the senses where still alert.
His theory was proven when he went to wake his teacher. Yashino's eyes were open when Minato got within five feet of him, and he had a feeling he had been aware of his movements as soon as he rose. He did however note that Yashino reflexively gripped the kunai tightly and stiffened before he was entirely coherent again. Any trace of sleep was gone when he sat up and let his eyes trail the sky to get an approximated time.
"Sensei, may I ask something?" Minato asked and Yashino nodded absentmindedly.
"You said this slave trade really is the ANBU's problem, so why are we sent to assassinate the traders?" he asked and Yashino blinked before he hummed and rubbed the back of his neck to loosen the stiffness in his shoulders.
"Sea Country is a neutral country, and as such it doesn't matter to Fire where they get their money from, officially, that is. The daimyo and the Hokage are perfectly fine with ignoring them as long as they keep that particular trade outside of the Fire Country's borders. We do need the supplies they bring us on their ships after all, so it wouldn't do to have the country bankrupt."
For once Minato realized why he liked Yashino so much. He didn't just explain what they were doing, but why and the reasons behind it. There were so many more sides to some missions than the black and white he'd been used to. Guarding princesses and fighting a war seemed rather two dimensional compared to missions where politics and economy were involved. Well, there was money involved in every mission, but not necessary on a large scale like this. He understood why the Hokage pretended Sea Country was as goody two shoed as they presented themselves to be, but it still didn't explain what they were doing there.
"Sea country, like every other country, gets their money from taxes, so they don't control their different traders too much. They are aware of the ban Fire Country has on slave trade within its borders, so they usually discourage their people to try something like that there, since the Hokage and the Fire Daimyo would frown upon it if they knowingly broke their law. They aren't stupid enough to antagonize the closest military power to them, and they are quite aware that Fire Country could annex them without any trouble if they annoy our Daimyo or Hokage too much. That is their main reason to keep their exotic trade from Fire Country; the other is the scandal it would bring them. Officially Sea Country looks down on slave trade and is firmly against it 'because all human lives are valuable and none should be considered goods'."
Yashino snorted a little and Minato couldn't help the smirk on his own face. He wondered how many were aware of the exotic trade of Sea Country, but knew it was probably common knowledge among the ninja populace and kept a secret to the civilians. Wasn't that how it usually was? Even the standard military wasn't usually aware of much of what occurred in their own country.
"As it is, it seems one company in particular hasn't caught on to that, or the owner simply suffers some standard suicidal notions because they have been producing slaves for several nobles in Fire Country, something our Daimyo was less than pleased with. He encouraged the Hokage to have the company erased. We are taking out the owner, while ANBU will be handling the rest. I don't know when they will be hitting but probably after we are done, if they aren't at work already."
Minato could see what they were doing. They could easily scare the owner and the company away from Fire Country, but that wouldn't send the right message. On the other hand, if they killed every single one of them, that gave an undisputable warning. Keep to our unspoken agreement or else. Brutal, but less so than to go to war with Sea Country. Who knew what kind of mess that would create with Wind Country, who was much more dependent on the shipments from Sea than Fire was.
"So we are to sweep the home of the owner, and the ANBU will take out the rest?" Minato summarize and Yashino nodded once in agreement.
The trees here were too small for them to travel from branch to branch, so they were forced to keep to the ground, running zigzag to avoid the tree trunks. The air was less humid than it had been the night before, and there was a distinct tint of salt in it. A soft breeze met them as they stopped to survey the capitol of Sea Country, bringing with it a whisper of the deep sea and the smells from the town beneath them.
The town wasn't that large, it looked clean enough too, with a stone wall surrounding it and one visible gate. They both knew most towns had more than one gate. Konoha had the main gate, but they also had four others, one each for the four directions; north, south, west and east. Only ninja leaving for a mission could use them, but they had to enter through the main gate when they returned. The exception was ANBU, who came and left as they pleased, more or less, through any of the gates. Usually the normal ninja wouldn't bother with the smaller gates, but considering what Yashino used to be, Minato wasn't surprised that he'd used one of the smaller gates.
This wall wouldn't be a problem, with or without gates. It was a normal wall, without any defenses against ninja. Konoha's walls were inscribed with seals, keeping anyone from climbing on them or otherwise stick to them with chakra. There was a reason they stood after Pain had smashed everything else. Sturdy, those old things was.
"There are guards," Minato commented as he saw a small group of men walk down the main road of the town.
"'Course there are," Yashino answered uncaringly. He looked downright bored with the entire situation. He most likely was, used as he was to take S – ranked missions. He probably felt this was a run of the mill assassination with nothing overly exiting going all. Too bad Minato couldn't agree with him. His nerves were wracking havoc with his stomach and he felt his heart beat uncomfortable fast. He nearly choked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped form the town to Yashino, who was squatting down beside him.
"Don't worry, Minato. It'll be fine, I'll be there with you all the way, and afterwards," he said softly and reached out a little hesitant before he ruffled his hair. Minato was too shocked to say anything at all, just followed the man as he rose and started to run towards the town. The night covered them from any spying eyes, and their soft steps too silent for anyone but the ll observing cats to notice.
Perhaps it was because he was so nervous but Minato was the one saving them from walking right into one of the patrols. All his senses were screaming to him, and when he heard the steady thud thud from the guards steps, he immediately shot one hand out and grabbed the back of Yashino's west to hold him back. The Uchiha stopped abruptly, and if Minato had been larger he would have stumbled straight into him from the sudden halt. The glanced around the corner and saw the patrol, and both grimaces as it was heading their way.
The houses weren't tall enough and didn't stand close enough for them to hide on the walls. They could hide on the roof tops, but the guards were certain to notice the movements if they suddenly started to climb up the walls with them so close. Minato could see the irritated glare Yashino shot the roof, and in a split second made his decision. His sensei wouldn't think twice about killing the guards if they were discovered, that much he knew about him, but that would leave a mess and the Daimyo of Sea Country wouldn't be happy about his soldiers being slaughtered on his streets.
He quickly flashed through a couple of hand seals and whispered softly; Sly Mind Effect Technique. The effect was instantaneous. The guards faltered for a split second, and Minato could see how their expressions suddenly were studiously blank. They walked right past the two ninjas, not turning or looking around even once. They would continue their patrol blindly and not stop before either the technique ran out of chakra, or they were woken from it. The first was the most likely alternative, considering this was ordinary soldiers with no experience in fighting genjutsu, and no one would wonder why a patrol was patrolling. It was what they did.
"That's some quick thinking," Yashino praised quietly. Minato just nodded and swallowed heavily. This was worse than any mission he had ever had. His nerves were horrible. He felt as if they were balancing on the edge of a cliff, and one wrong move would send them tumbling into certain death. He hadn't noticed before, but his hands were sweaty and all his muscles were tense, ready to act on the slightest suspected hostile motion. He didn't answer his sensei, just wondered what the hell kind of C – ranked mission this was. Had the Hokage experimented with some new herbal mixture in his tobacco when he ranked it? He must have been freaking high when he did. This suspense was simply killing him slowly.
When he didn't receive any answer, and probably not expecting one either, Yashino motioned for Minato to follow him until they reached a part of the town with more expensive houses and green gardens separating the houses from the road.
The house they were heading for was as silent as all the others, illuminated only by the moonlight. It wasn't much; the moon was only a scythe on the sky. A pale, silvery glow and nothing more. The shadows were dark, and as they jumped over the low wall surrounding the sound of something running had Yashino act on pure instinct. Minato had seen shurikens fly many times. He had thrown them himself, had them thrown at him, in sunlight, in moonlight, in the darkest night and in pouring rain, but that night the flight of the shuriken looked different.
The gleam of metal through the darkened air, the silvery light of the moon glittering sharply as they spun and the whistling sound they made in the otherwise complete silence. The only other sound they heard was the running and the distant sound of never ending waves hitting the shore.
The yelps when the shurikens hit sounded too loud and sharp in the night, and the glossy surface of blood was seen only because the pale moon in the sky was just right. It was otherworldly, the silence that followed, and the low breath Yashino breathed out as the dogs fell motionless to the ground and no movements followed them. The shurikens were buried deeply within flesh and fur, and the only red Minato could see as he shifted only a little was the red glow of sharingan eyes.
"Shit. I'm out of training," Yashino mumbled and eased himself from the wall to the ground. Minato didn't dare make a single sound in fright of disturbing something else. Heck, the dogs were as big as he was! Where did people get these beasts?
The crept silently up to the house, and this time both of them were utilizing every bit of skill they had. There was no way they were going to fail this, when they had already been scared half to death. The house had two levels, and from what they could see where they knelt under a window, there were servants in the house. Not necessary awake, but they heard someone walking upstairs. The floor was creaking.
Yashino tapped his chest and pointed upwards, indicating that he'd take whatever was upstairs, and Minato agreed reluctantly. He was not fond of the idea of being separated from Yashino. He knew he couldn't have reacted as the older man had earlier with the dogs and killed them simply from ingrained reflexes. He didn't have reflexes like that. It was pure luck no one had heard the yelps the dogs made when they were struck or seen their shadows as they clung to the wall.
He watched for a moment as Yashino disappeared in the shadows, assumingly to find a window on the second floor. Minato slowly peered through the window they had been sitting under and into a small room. There was nothing to see, really. It looked like a small office, with a desk, a table and some chairs. No longer afraid of someone catching him in there he concentrated and formed thin strings of chakra that found their way to the handles on the inside on the window. There was no sound as the glowing blue strings, as thins as a strand of hair, wound their way around the handles and suddenly tightened as Minato slowly lifted his hands to open the window. The handles followed the strings and the window cracked open.
He room smelled of dust and wood polish. That was the only thought Minato had as he closed the window and crept over to the door. He had a kunai in his right hand, ready to strike if someone was waiting outside, but the hallway was as empty as the room had been. The door next to this one led into a larger room, a reception room, Minato mused, and was eerily silent, just like the rest of the house. He supposed he wouldn't have thought it was eerie but ordinary if he hadn't been there to kill every single living being in the house. He breathed out a sigh of relief but stiffened as he felt movement from somewhere. He quickly stepped into the shadows under an ugly, stuffed tiger head. The skin was on the floor, he noted absently, as he tightened his grip on the kunai.
He heard steppes now. Definite. Light steps, of someone who knew their way around the house, because they were secure and didn't falter even once.
"…useless new girl," he heard a male voice mutter irritably.
"I asked her to close the doors. Can't do a thing right, I swear. If it wasn't for the mistress liking her I would have…" the rest dissipated in his muttering, and Minato stilled as the man, a servant if he wasn't mistaken, stepped into the room. He didn't notice him, where he was perched on the wall right under the stuffed tiger head, and didn't even suspect someone else was in the room with him when Minato dropped from the wall and masterly landed with both his feet on the back of the man.
He didn't care to consider what he did or give the man a chance to react and possible throw off his much lighter weight as he plunged the kunai hard into the back of the man's neck. He heard bone crunch under his hands and swallowed rapidly as the body he was straddling convulsed and the man let out a low gurgling sound. Blood splattered from his mouth to the immaculate floor, and Minato cursed the noise from the trashing body. He drew another kunai and stabbed into the side of the neck, where he knew the jugular was. The trashing stopped, almost at once, and he rose, not noticing how his entire body was shaking. He wasn't sure the movements stopped because the man died from the lethal wound to the neck or because of the severed jugular, and he didn't care. He simply stood up and walked from the room while closing the door behind him. One was down.
He glided from room to room, but the next rooms where all empty, until he reached the smaller rooms behind the kitchen. It was where some of the servants lived, and he was somewhat glad they were asleep. It was easier to slit the throat of someone asleep than someone awake. He purposely didn't think about how these people weren't involved in whatever their master did. They were only hired to do a job, but as Yashino had said, a sweeping demanded everyone dead, guilty or not. There were two servants asleep and one chef.
Minato nearly had a heart attack when he came back to the kitchen, and came face to face with a woman kneading dough. Her face contorted in anger, probably thinking him a thief or some other intruder, then she spotted the bloodied kunai in his hand and her eyes went wide form fear. He could see how her chest expanded as she drew a deep breath, how her skin paled and how her eyes fixed themselves on his forehead protector. She knew what he was, and more importantly, she knew what fate had in store for her. She didn't scream; she didn't even try to move as the kunai sped towards her, and Minato ran at her with another one drawn. The thrown kunai embedded itself in her chest, but before she could make a sound of pain, shock or fear, she was knocked to the floor by the impact of the boy jumping her and her throat slit.
Minato took a deep, steadying breath and sighed. Where the fucking hell had she come from? There weren't any other adjourned rooms then the ones he had already been in, and he was certain Yashino wouldn't have let her wander from upstairs without killing her. Why had she even been up at this time of the day? He shook himself and left the kitchen soundlessly. The dead woman lay forgotten behind him, her eyes unseeing and widened from the terror she felt in the moment of her death.
He made his way through the house, once again searching every single room to find out where she'd come from, until he was certain it wasn't from anywhere downstairs. He carefully tapped the wall and wondered if his sensei was finished. He didn't think he'd use much more time than him, even if it was likely that there were more people sleeping upstairs than downstairs where all the common rooms was. He didn't have to wait long, and he frowned at the emotionless face of his sensei. There was nothing either in his eyes or his face that looked remotely like a feeling at all. It was a perfect blank mask. He might as well have worn an ANBU mask.
"One of them got away. I don't think she noticed anything," Yashino said flatly. Minato raised one eyebrow and pointed towards the kitchen. Yashino quickly made his way over and glanced in. He spotted the dead woman and nodded satisfied at his student.
"We should leave. It is getting late," he said in the same detached tone, and Minato couldn't help but frown even deeper at the flash of red in his eyes, as if he was struggling to keep his sharingan deactivated. He knew the bloodline activated on its own from great emotional stress, so what had gotten his sensei so worked up? They left the way Minato had entered, and as if they had never been there the day broke over the capitol of Sea Country.
The forest seemed bleaker, somehow, and the chirping from the birds was, in Minato's ears, too loud and too sharp and far too annoying right now. The sun was too sharp as well, glaring down at them as if to accuse them of blatant murder, which was, in the eyes of anyone but another ninja, the truth. The worst, however, was Yashino's rapidly deterring mood. He had been sullen when they left the town, but now he was downright aggravated and glaring with red eyes at everything and nothing. He didn't seem to notice how tired Minato was before he stumbled and nearly lost his footing among the numerous roots penetrating the forest floor. Yashino was quick to keep him from falling, steadying him and silently watching him as he got some of his breath back.
"Sorry about that," he muttered and his eyes reverted back to their calm black. Minato tried to answer, but with the way he was still gasping for breath he didn't get to voice anything but broken words. When he finally got around enough to not heave for every breath he took, Yashino was leaning against a tree, his eyes closed and his hands pushed into his pockets. If it hadn't been for the tenseness in his posture, Minato could have sworn he was asleep.
"Sensei?" he questioned concerned.
"Sensei, did something happen?" he asked again, and this time Yashino looked up from his thoughts. Haunted eyes, Minato thought as he saw the grim look on his sensei's face, but than a soft look overtook Yashino and he walked over to Minato and motioned for him to sit down with him.
"I'll be fine kid, don't worry about it."
Minato sincerely doubted that.
"That isn't the same as being fine, sensei. What happened to you? You were scary and your eyes activated on their own."
A hand landed on his head and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"It is along story. Why don't you rest, eh? I'll keep watch so don't worry about it."
Minato stubbornly refused to give in that easily. He wanted to know, because Yashino was everything but fine. Fine wasn't barely managing to control his anger, and he didn't have clue as to what angered Yashino so.
"Does it have something to do with why you quit ANBU?" he asked and knew he was right when Yashino stiffened and stared at him. He was sure the hand that ran through his hair was an involuntarily move to cover up his discomfort, and the hitch in his breath definitely gave him away.
"Your mother and Akane told me," he offered when Yashino opened his mouth to ask something, probably how he knew about that. When Yashino let out a snort somewhere between a laugh and a frustrated sigh Minato knew he'd get to know what bothered Yashino. Maybe even what had happened on that fateful ANBU mission.
"Minato, that is something they shouldn't be talking about," Yashino warned and Minato nodded.
"I know, but you were weird back at the hospital too, so they probably thought it was best I knew," he defended them, and this time he was the sullen one. Yashino sighed deeply and leant against a tree, relaxing and for a moment Minato was sure he was going to tell him to go to sleep and not put his nose where it didn't belong.
"You are still young, and I'm not sure if you'll understand, but when you've taken as many missions as I have, and many of them top ranked, you start to develop some instincts and reflexes. Most of the time they'll save your life," he said softly. Minato scooted closer and tilted his head while listening to the story. He was aware of these actions, they needed a trigger when the body was the right mindset, which proved that Yashino had been focused on the mission when the dogs showed up. That wasn't the sort of reflexes one where able to do if the brain was registering what was happening. What that had been was pure ingrained instinct.
"The mission we had was to hunt down a missing nin. It was odd, because we were solely an assassination squad, and we were just getting back from another mission. It didn't feel right from the start…. We weren't to kill him either, just apprehend him and bring him back for interrogation. The Hokage said he didn't have any other teams available at the time, but we did get two green members of the tracking squad to help us out. That is the sort of thing they usually do after all."
Yashino trailed off, his eyes fastened on the sky and Minato wondered if he was going all distant on him again.
"When we caught up with him it was a nightmare, because my team was already tired and we weren't used to catch our targets alive. All our tactics were based on hit and kill as fast as possible. The fewer hits the better and one hit per kill preferably. It is the tracking squad that usually deals with capture, but the ones we got with us were green recruits with next to no experience with our mission's level, and to work together with a team focused on assassination instead of a team more suited to the situation didn't help. The entire thing got out of hand…"
Minato watched silently as Yashino crossed his arms over his chest, as if trying to keep warm even when the sun was high on the sky and the temperature far above what it had been during the night. He had paled, and Mianto wasn't sure if his sensei knew or not that he looked as white as a sheet.
"I separated the target from my team and killed him. I didn't care what our mission was; as long as the bastard got away from my subordinates I was satisfied. I can't remember killing him…. It is weird, I should remember it, but I still can't. I was too tired, irritated and angry to care and just as I realized what I had done, I sensed someone behind me…. They didn't make and sounds, or flare their chakra or in any other way announce who they were or why they were there. I was still full of adrenaline form the battle, and too caught up in the moment to think, so I lashed out on instinct."
He winced, and closed his eyes to hide the tears forming and making them shiny and blanker than they already was. While he spoke they'd been glazed, and Minato flinched as he heard the story. Only an idiot sneaks up on someone just out of a fight and don't make their presence known. It's like asking to be hit with something, but usually not a deadly attack. Surely, it wasn't a deadly attack. Though, having seen what Yashino did to the dogs, he wasn't ready to bet on that.
"My team knew of my overly honed reactions, so they always kept their distance if we were separated during a fight, or they'd speak or flare their chakra to make me aware of them. Anyone with some sense do, it is common sense to do so…. But the two trackers we had with us didn't think so, and they took a B – ranked fire technique head on."
Minato flinched. He really did. He'd seen what fire attacks could do to a body, and a high ranking one was downright deadly. Even if Yashino didn't say which technique he'd used, it wasn't needed. Minato knew what to expect from a fire attack of that caliber. It was hot; burning just about anything in its way, and anyone caught in it would find themselves in an inferno of flames. There was nothing you could do to avoid it if you were already caught in it, because the pain of having your skin burned off would block out any coherent thought, and the fire wouldn't stop until what fueled it was gone. Fire was indeed a purely offence oriented element.
"What happened to them?" he asked quietly and Yashino would have missed the grimace Yashino made if it wasn't for the hand he placed on the butterfly on his shoulder.
"They died from their wounds. One while we were heading back to Konoha, and the other one two days later in hospital."
Yashino sighed and looked wearily at him.
"The dogs reminded me that I still can't control my reflexes, and I was terrified I might hit you with something. I first thought the sounds the woman made when she left her room were you, so I didn't do anything…. Go to sleep Minato, I'll keep watch."
Minato didn't argue with him, even though he still didn't know what had made Yashino angry. He was pretty sure his sensei didn't want him to see him cry.
Ehehe, don't be angry with me for the last part. Yashino really is pretty messed up. He's just good at hiding it. I thought I should thank everyone who has reviewed as well; I appreciate it and I read all of them, even if I haven't been answering them yet. I'll see if I get around to do it sometime. Some of you seem to be interested in the pairings. All I'll say is that it won't be a Minato/Kushina pairing. They are cozy together, yes, but as sister - brother cozy. I have a spesific pairing in mind for Minato, but who that is will remain a secret until I am sure I can pull it off naturally. I am not about to change my storyline just to fit in a romance (no it isn't Anko either). As for Kushina, well, lets just say I have something in mind for her too=). Some might wonder what Yashino's last ANBU mission has to do with anything, so I'll tell you that it'll be clear later on. He's a ninja, and of course didn't tell Minato everything there is to it. I have planned the next seven chapters ahead, named respectively 'Tell You What', 'Into the Water', 'Bloody Mist'. I haven't decided for the fourth if I am to name it 'Mission of a Lost Soul' or 'Wayward Pawn' but I'll see how it plays out in the end. I am never certain of what to name the chapters until I have them written and am more or less satisfied with them. I haven't written enough of the other chapters to have an idea of what to name them yet, so... Anyway, Minato will be further entangled in the Uchiha clan and the politics in the village, thanks to his sensei. He'll also meet Jiraiya, but that'll be during the sixth or seventh chapter I have planned, so there is still a while before that meeting. Minato will not, under any circumtance, start to study seals before he meets Jiraiya. Yashino has no reason to teach him that, most likely doesn't know much about it either and they'll be preoccupied with more pressing matters. Please have patience with me, since this is an epic story. If I rush it I'll ruin it completly. Remember also, that this story is AU, and Minato might not turn out the same as he did in the original story. I myself am not certain of the end yet, and it is still far off anyway. For the moment he's an eight year old genin with rather messed up teacher and several eyes follow him in the shadows. Nothing at all to worry about=P