Sailing Across River Styx

"Behind every great kid, is a Parent who is pretty sure they're screwing it up."

― Anonymous

Part One: Baby Days

Interlude One

Disclaimer: Insert yet another witty I-do-not-own-Naruto disclaimer 'here'.

Unbeta'd

"Man, that was a really good breakfast …" Inuzuka Tsume sighed in pure contentment as she rubbed her bulging stomach. Beside her, Hyuuga Hizashi rolled his lilac eyes at the satisfied girl as he grabbed her dirty and towering plates.

Diligently washing the many dishes, Minato kept one ear open to the conversation of his friends even as he passed dish after dish to Nara Shikaku, who had been bullied into drying duty.

Yesterday had been the last day of the Academy before their Winter Break, and the group of friends had planned a grand sleep over. Although they all had approximately six months left of class, it was the last break they would all have before they started their ninja career. And since all of his friends were clan children, Minato was sure that they wouldn't even see each other during the break, as their parents would all want to teach them some of their clan techniques.

Of course, that didn't apply to Minato. After all, he was the only one there without family …

"Do you want me to take over?"

Blinking in surprise, Minato turned around to face Uchiha Mikoto. The older girl gave the boy a sweet smile, even though her eyes were shadowed with slight worry.

… Ah, did Minato drift off into a daze again? And he thought he had been getting better at paying attention …

Schooling his face into a small smile, the boy gently turned down Mikoto's offer. "It's okay Uchiha-chan. I'm fine; I did volunteer to help."

Slouching comfortably on the couch, Yamanaka Inoichi snorted. "Again with addressing us by our last names, Minato? We never did break you out of that habit."

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head, lips twitching up even as he strived to be nonchalant. "I still turn my head whenever he talks to Mikoto."

On the other side, Akimichi Chouza laughed as he put away the dried plates he got from Shikaku. "If you think that's bad, how about me and Chou? He calls both of us Akimichi-san!"

Hyuuga Hiashi nodded in mock agreement. "And Hizashi and I as well."

A pause before ...

Everybody snickered as Minato blushed a delicate pink. Teasing their dear resident prodigy was a past-time all of them enjoyed. After all, Minato was always so polite and awkward; it was becoming an ongoing challenge for them just to make him blush and fumble.

Shikaku shook his head at his friends as he dried yet another dish. Sighing, he summed up everything with his trademark term.

"Troublesome."

And Minato ...

.

.

.

Minato laughed.

(Although he doesn't always show it, Minato love loved his friends.

After all, though he himself had never experienced the lovely phenomenon before, Minato was certain that they were what family felt like.)

"Minato-kun?"

Minato blinked in surprise at Hōki's voice. Peering into the room, he saw the matron of the orphanage sitting on the couch in the living room, studying some sheets of paper. Minato's forehead furrowed; why was Hōki waiting for him to come back?

Although his pseudo mother used to greet him at the door whenever he got home, that had quickly become non-existent as the boy grew up. After all, Minato was but one of the many children at the orphanage. And he was the oldest as well.

Hōki had tried her very best to be the mother Minato never had, but she was only human. She couldn't be there for him all the time whilst looking after the other children too. Thus, by now the ten-year old was quite independent.

"Yes, Hōki-san?" Minato stepped into the living room and sat down at Hōki's gesture to make himself comfortable.

After a few seconds of stilted silence, the matron sighed. "Minato-kun…do you still want a family?"

Minato's heart jumped into his throat as he choked on the air. Immediately, his eyes darted over to the sheets of paper in Hōki's hands. After all, the boy was praised for his prodigious mind. Putting the facts together wasn't too hard.

"O-Of course I do," Minato levelled his wide blue orbs at Hōki. "Do you mean…"

Hōki sighed again. "It isn't what you're thinking of, Minato-kun. Nobody has come for you, but…" The matron stood up. "Follow me."

Perking up slightly (after Minato felt his hope being crushed at Hōki's admittance to the fact that no one wanted him), the boy followed the woman to … the empty nursery? The youngest child in the orphanage was currently three years old, and was thus too old for a crib. Going to that room was not something Minato expected.

… And certainly, the tiny baby in the supposedly empty room was something Minato hadn't been expecting either.

Minato gaped.

The tiny thing wrapped in blankets had to be a newborn. It ―he/she― didn't even look a month old! With the child looking sound asleep, Minato leaned forward and scrutinized the baby, taking in the pink skin and the oddly familiar gold puffs of hair ...

… Wait. Minato's mind whirled as the pieces began to fit together. It couldn't be …

His head snapped up to look at Hōki. Said matron was smiling at him softly, before she handed him the sheets of paper she had been holding onto.

"Minato-kun, meet Miho-chan, your younger sister."

Her birthday was December 25th.

That was only roughly a week ago.

His little sister had been born a week ago and he didn't even know.

… He had a sister.

Minato pushed down the urge to laugh hysterically as the tiny thing ―no not a thing, its, she's his sister― cooed and reached for him. The boy didn't dare pick her up again, not after that fiasco of almost dropping her. Minato didn't know what he would do if he accidentally gave brain-damage to his only known relative.

The boy flipped through the DNA tests absent-mindedly, before his eyes settled back onto the note that had been with his sister. He ran his hands over the grooves in the paper, looking at the handwriting almost hungrily.

You would have thought that little Miho would be perhaps his half-sister or something. But no. Namikaze Miho's DNA tests show that the little baby was Minato's full-blooded sister. Why his ―their― parents decided to have another child just to orphan her, Minato would never understand.

But that meant that the small, handwritten note, with only Miho's name and her birthday on the other side, could be from his parents. And though Minato had long accepted that his parents would never come for him, looking at the unfamiliar handwriting still made his heart ache.

Six years. Minato arrived at the orphanage when he was four, amnesic and remembering nothing but his own name. He was taken in, and he waited and waited. Day after day. He waited for six years, just to see his family again.

Minato had always been alone. Every day, he yearned for his family. Even now …

A soft whimper snapped Minato out of his thoughts. Immediately bending down to look at the small baby, Minato took one look at the glistening blue orbs ―so much like his own― and felt his heart swell.

But he wasn't alone any more. Minato had found his family, and he'll be damned if he let his sister feel the same loneliness he once had. Surrendering his hand to the baby's chubby fingers in hopes of placating her, Minato made a lifelong vow.

He was going to be the best brother ever.

Minato crouched in the branches, frowning even as his mind worked furiously. He dissected everything his new maybe-if-they-passed-sensei, Jiraiya, told him and no matter what angle he looked at it, he always came to the same conclusion. The test had a hidden purpose.

Obviously, both of his teammates thought the same, because within the next two minutes both of them tracked him down.

"Minato," Fugaku greeted. "What did the Red Menace call you the first time you met?"

Minato spluttered and turned bright red.

"Something along the lines of a 'weak, flaky, dandelion weed who has a stupid looking smile', if I remember correctly." Chou commented lightly. He took another look at Minato's red face. "This is Minato-kun alright, nobody can blush that shade of red."

Minato hid his face into his hands. "Can we stop using that as our code? Please?" Both his teammates chuckled softly.

Taking a few deep breaths, Minato straightened up with all the signs of his rosy blush gone. No time to dilly daddle; they did have a time limit after all. "This test is trying to turn us against each other."

"Hn." Fugaku agreed.

Chou frowned, eyes thoughtful. "Aren't Genin teams always a group of three?"

Minato nodded, blue eyes flashing. "He said there was a sixty-six percent chance of failure, and Jiraiya-san implied that we will fail, but as a team. I'm guessing that the real test here is to see if we would turn on each other."

"Because really, what Genin can take on a Jounin?" Fugaku commented wryly, finishing his blonde friend's explanation.

Minato's eyes glinted with an unusual tint of mischief. "Genin aren't expected to take on a Jounin and win. But the three of us …"

The three not-yet Genin shared a small smile. "We can give them a good show."

Fugaku was sneaking worried glances at his blond friend.

Chou was openly showing concern.

Jiraiya resisted ―and failed― the urge to groan. Where oh where was his little genius? Who left this incompetent, clumsy, and dazed replica in his place?

"Okay, that's it!" Chou exclaimed when Minato had dipped his brush into black paint instead of white for the third time in a row. Thanks to their friend's absent-mindedness, their simple D-ranked mission of painting the fence was taking way longer than usual.

"Minato-kun, what's wrong?"

The blonde blinked, looking a bit surprised when his whole team turned on him and demanded an answer. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, everyone. I'm just a bit worried …"

Fugaku frowned at that while Jiraiya placed his hand on Minato's head and gave his hair a ruffle. "Kid, spit it out. What's wrong?"

Minato sighed. "I'm, uh, moving out next week, and well …" The blonde ducked his head.

"My little sister!" The normally calm boy suddenly blurted out. "I don't know who can take care of her!"

Silence.

Jiraiya hummed, taking in his student's truly worried face. "Next week will be dedicated to training, since you brats already ran enough missions to request a C-rank. You can bring your sister to our training sessions if you need more time to look for a babysitter."

... Hey, well, nobody said that Jiraiya was a bad person. He was just a bad sensei!

"R-Really?" Minato's eyes shone. Jiraiya could almost see a wagging tail behind his genius student as the blonde thanked him profusely.

On the other hand, Fugaku exchanged surprised glances with Chou. When did Minato get a sister?

Apparently, Jiraiya-sensei took a bigger liking to Miho than Minato had originally thought.

The man got his sister a toad onesie.

… Did Minato mention that Miho looked adorable? No? Well, she does. Minato took at least one hundred pictures that day.

"Hatake-san?" Minato inquired politely as he followed the man.

Sakumo hummed. "Minato-kun, you're still looking for a babysitter, right?" Minato blinked, looking surprised before his forehead furrowed in thought.

Actually, he was really at his wits' end. Team Jiraiya was going to start their C-Rank missions soon, and Minato was still looking for a babysitter. At this rate, Minato might really have to give his sister to Hōki ...

"Yes, I am." Minato admitted, the tips of his lips turning down slightly. Hōki-san would take Miho in, but it wouldn't be permanent. On the other hand, maybe one of those 24/7 daycares could work ... ?

Sakumo laughed. "Well, in that case, I can volunteer for the role!"

.

.

.

Minato blinked in shock. "E-Eh?" Did he just hear what he thought he heard ... ?

"I asked my wife yesterday and she agreed. Miho-chan would be the perfect playmate for my little Kakashi." Sakumo explained, looking quite amused at Minato's stunned face. It wasn't everyday he got to see the prodigy being so surprised.

Slowly, Minato gathered his thoughts before beaming. This was almost too good to be true. After all, Sakumo was one of the only adults he inexplicitly trusted!

His Miho would be safe with him.

Chou bounced the upset toddler on his thigh as Fugaku made dinner, after finally convincing their last team-mate to take a well-needed nap.

It was one of the horrendous times for a new parent.

Miho was teething.

In response, Minato looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Chou sighed as he grabbed the bag he brought to Minato's new apartment (a nice place; small but tidy and homey) before taking out a new teething toy. Miho latched onto it immediately as if it was her lifeline before stuffing it in her mouth. Chou smiled as the child quieted down.

It was understandable for Minato to become so bedraggled. After all, Miho wasn't a fussy baby. She almost never cried and was extremely well-behaved. For the usual angel-like child to become so demonic, it only goes to show how terrible the teething process was.

Fugaku stuck his head out of the kitchen. "Did it work?"

Chou nodded, giving his team-mate a tired smile. "Yeah, like a charm. Her fever's gone down too."

"Great," With that, Fugaku went back to making dinner ... But Chou still caught the small smile on the teen's face.

Really, Minato's little sister had them all wrapped around her tiny thumb. It was almost laughable.

A pat on his cheek (that didn't leave any saliva, thank god Miho wasn't like his many cousins) redirected his attention back onto the baby. Cerulean eyes, just like Minato's, stared up at him in curiosity even as she nibbled on the fake kunai.

Chou smiled at her. "Hang in there, Miho-chan. And be good for your brother, okay?"

The big blue eyes studied him for another moment, before the baby made a sound of laughter. Chou relaxed and chuckled as well.

He couldn't wait to see Minato's face when he comes down and sees his precious sister chewing on a kunai.

"Dandelion Head, do you read me? Over."

"Yes, Fashion Disaster, loud and clear, over."

A sigh came in from their last team-mate. "Guys, break it up. Target is 4 meters away from Dandelion, over."

Everyone paused as they let that information sunk in. This time the sigh came from another person. "Okay then. Fashion will close in from the top, while Butterfly will block of the exit. I'll engage and subdue the target."

You could almost hear the grimace in the words.

Both boys hid a spark of sympathy as they moved into position. Their last team-mate was really unlucky to be the one who had to do this again.

... But on the bright side, it wasn't them who had to engage the target!

"In position, Dandelion Head."

"Same."

"Alright then, in three, two, one ..."

The boys and all the other people in the vicinity winced as chaos erupted in the form of screeches, howls, and restrained (but polite ... nobody knew how the boy does it) curses. Finally, when everything died down, Fugaku and Chou approached their pitiable team member.

Minato was covered in many red and angry scratches. His jacket was also sacrificed to hold the little cat they were assigned to capture. All in all, it was clear who had the upper hand in their fight.

Minato grimaced. "That was not a D-ranked mission." He held his cargo warily as he hissed out the words, his infallible composure finally shaken.

"... I'll buy you a new jacket." Fugaku said as he eyed the tatters that was once Minato's clothes.

Chou smiled hesitantly. "I'll learn medi-jutsu."

Minato sighed. Capturing Raion was one of the most difficult missions, hands down. Now he knew why the cute and tiny furball was called 'lion'.

(On the bright side, that was how Team Jiraiya gained a medic.)

They were in their daily three-way sparring match when Sakumo visited with the children. Well, this itself wouldn't be an anomaly; the older Hatake visited Team Jiraiya's training sessions regularly with both Miho and Kakashi in attendance. When asked why, Sakumo had just sprouted some bullshit about 'watching your big brothers play ninja!' and how the kids could learn from their awesomeness.

However, this visit was special. Minato could feel it in his bones, and even his never-wrong intuition was tingling in warning.

Thus, Minato was totally justified in peering at his little sister (consequently being almost skewered by Chou's kunai).

Chou yelped when he saw his friend completely lose focus in their spar, his reflexes not fast enough to abort the hand that was flicking his kunai. Thankfully, Fugaku, who had originally lunged in to prevent their youngest member from escaping, successfully blocked the knife that had almost made its way into Minato's chest.

Both boys took a few seconds to stare at their unharmed friend in relief, before it quickly turned into anger.

"Minato!" Fugaku hissed, eyes glaring a truly worthy Uchiha Glare (c). Minato ... Minato ignored him as he continued to stare.

"Shh!" The blonde urged, eyes still latched onto what had captured his attention in the first place. Both his team-mates, recognizing the stubborn set of Minato's jaw, reluctantly followed his gaze to ...

Miho.

("Of course," Fugaku grumbled under his breath as Chou shushed him this time, looking just as enraptured as his friend.)

Miho, who was currently holding onto Kakashi's hand as she leaned forward on her wobbly knees. Kakashi by then had long started walking, and Minato watched with wide eyes as his little sister braced one tiny foot onto the ground and heaved herself up.

The clearing was quiet. Even both Jiraiya and Sakumo had stopped talking.

Kakashi did his job as a human pillar well. Once he saw that his playmate was on both her feet, the older toddler tugged the girl forward in a step.

Miho took one unsteady step. And then another. And then, letting go of her walking cane's hand (Kakashi looked almost affronted), Miho took a few more steps on her own before toddling to a stop.

She looked up, big blue eyes shining as she made eye contact with Minato. Smiling a toothy smile, Minato watched in awe as the tiny child threw her chubby arms out wide, before opening her mouth and―

"Nii-chwan!"

―spoke her first word.

Pandemonium exploded as Minato melted into a pile of goo. He got to see Miho's first steps and her first word!

Her first word, which was big brother! Minato couldn't stop smiling.

(Of course, he was later crying crocodile tears after the commotion settled down and his team-mates decided it was time to show him just why Minato wasn't suppose to space out in spars.)

A/N: A quick interlude to show a different POV, so less Miho and more Minato and his generation. This chapter wraps up Miho's baby days, and next chapter we will start moving on with plot!

Argh, sorry for the late chapter. I got sidetracked by the wonders of Reborn and its been hard to try and get back into the habit of writing for Naruto. I also feel like my writing has changed, and since this chapter was mostly written before I got distracted I find it really not up to par ... Anyway, I'm currently in my summer school class, so expect either extremely fast updates or a long wait, ahahahaha!

Unbeta'd because I really wanted to get this out. Thanks to all the darling reviews, favourites, and follows! And the suggestions as well! You guys are honestly helping me so much in planning the plot, please don't stop!

Guest Review Reply

cherryleaf92: Oh I see! Hmm, I can probably squish that in the next Interlude. :) Thanks for the suggestion!

scarlet: I'm glad you like this story! Thanks!~

pie: Yeahhh! I was kind of sad it was so short, but it was short and sweet so- xD

belladu57: Thank you!