Greetings again everyone and here we have another installment of the story for you all, fair warning, this chapter is mostly about Minori getting settled back into the village and meeting some of the locals, next chapter will focus more on Naruto.
As always, I don't do so well with editing so please excuse the mess this is likely to be in. hopefully this time FF.n won't each my scene breaks after I'm done my brief little edit here. I hope you all enjoy, see you at the bottom.
Part 1: The beginnings of a beginning
"Nee-chaaaaaan! Why do I have to do all this boring stuff!" Complained Naruto as he sat at his living room table with Minori and a mess of papers where Minori was attempting to teach the boy the written language.
"Because without it you can't learn Fuinjutsu . . . or read mission scrolls for that matter but that's less important than Fuinjutsu!" Minori said before bopping Naruto on the head "Just for that little spout of disobedience! When I return I want three pages of the entire alphabet both in hiragana and katakana! There will also be at least three copies of the first thirty Kanji I taught you!" said Minori and Naruto slammed his head against the desk in horror.
"Where are you going nee-chan?" Asked Naruto as he lifted his head from the desk
"Since the Hokage cut off your stipend and doesn't want to pay me for much of anything, I am forced to sell my services to various clans! It's not that bad really, I'm just gonna go sell some of my new C-Rations to the Akimichi who are in charge of the Shinobi rations in Konoha and even have their own store to sell things like that" Minori said, looking back at Naruto fondly
"Why'd jiji cut my money off?" Asked Naruto, cocking his head to the side in confusion
"Because, Naruto, I'm here to take care of you so the Hokage doesn't want to waste any more precious budget than he has too, which is also why he isn't paying me for doing my job, what little of a job I have anyway. I can sell my services in Fuinjutsu and brilliant genius to earn the money I need to make ends meet and better yet! It all helps Konoha by lightening the budget a little and providing good stuff to help our troops in the field or back home!" replied Minori with enthusiasm.
"Nee-chan is awesome!" Naruto said and Minori grinned at him
"Yes I am, now get back to work! I knew a hundred Kanji by your age!" Minori said causing Naruto to groan before going back to his work with pencil in hand. Minori let a fond smile play on her face as she watched the boy work. He was still wearing the grey kimono almost as if he refused to take it off and Minori wasn't sure if she was pleased of wary. It had been a couple of weeks since she had started living with the boy, even though he proclaims he is living with her, and she has done much to attempt to rectify the issues Naruto had from not being raised right. "Naruto" Minori said quietly and the boy in question paused his work to look up. "Tomorrow I'm going to start teaching you Taijutsu, I think Yadokawa style form three will suit you" She said as she thought Naruto's training.
"Isn't your name Yadokawa? Did you invent your own Taijutsu style?" Asked the now eager Naruto.
"No Naruto, this belonged to my clan . . . I shall tell you about it some time soon . . . especially since you and I have some things in common in that regard" Minori replied, looking thoughtfully at the boy again.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side in his 'confused puppy' expression.
"We shall have a chat about it, and your family, when I return" Minori said before walking over to the boy and giving him a kiss on the forehead, turning around and leaving with a wave. Naruto grinned happily as he waved back and then got stuck into his work, he didn't want Minori to leave him and this wasn't that hard anyway.
"So, you said you had something for us that could be a great addition to the Shinobi diet?" Asked Akimichi Chouza as he and a couple other clan members took a seat around a table, looking expectantly at Minori. "Before we get started . . . you aren't coming to use cause you think we like to eat anything right? You're coming to use cause you know we are masters of nutrition and culinary art!" Minori was positive that Chouza was joking a little and the fact that he said all of this with a large smile and boisterous attitude aided this theory.
"Of course, but actually, I'm here cause you guys run the commissary that supplies shinobi with their rations before going into the field . . . you could be Uchiha for all I cared but luckily, you lot use your sticks for stirring pots rather than where the Uchiha leave them . . . same place as the Hyuuga actually heh" Minori replied and Chouza burst out in laughter that made the walls shake a little.
"So, let's see these rations then" Chouza said as he came down from his bout of mirth. Minori grinned and rolled a scroll across the table in front of the three Akimichi men.
"This is my meal scroll, it contains anywhere from one to ten Self-Contained Ration Packs and is designed to be easily carried in most packs or scroll pouches" Said Minori with a flourish before placing two fingers on the edge of the scroll and inserting a little chakra. The effect was immediate as three somewhat largish plastic packs popped out of the scroll and sat cleanly on top of it.
"Is this plastic?" Asked the left Akimichi, he was someone you might have mistaken for fat if you didn't know the Akimichi, especially with his somewhat pudgy cheeks. "These packs look like they'd take a hit or two and could even be submerged" He said as he held his pack and cast his critical eye over it.
"The pack is designed to be sturdy just in case the nin in question chooses to not have it sealed in a scroll or what have you and yes it is plastic" Minori said as she and the other two Akimichi watched the third member study his pack. Coming to the tear line Minori had placed into the plastic at the top, the man ripped it off and opted to lay it gently on the table before checking the contents. "Inside you will find a few more, and less sturdy, bags that contain various things along with the actual entree itself. Everything in the pack is designed to be nutritious, give energy and strength, and be easily able to be disposed of right back into the pack you got it from so that it can be re-sealed and leave no traces you were ever there. I've also included a small heating tag, a new invention of mine, that is designed to heat up for a few minutes, just long enough to bring the food to a good heat but it isn't necessary as the entree is edible cold, there is also spreads, treats and biscuits all of which intended to replace valuable nutrients lost during combat or exertion, finally there is tea and an electrolyte replenisher so that the shinobi in the field can make the most of a bit of water, oh and there are some paper towels, chopsticks and a couple other useful utensils" The Akimichi pulled each of the things out of the bag and studied them in turn as Minori explained them and their purposes, even the heating tag got a critical eye.
"What do you make of the tag Nori?" Asked Chouza, addressing the Akimichi who had been the one examining the pack and it's contents.
"I'm no seal master but it looks like it's just designed to create heat without smoke, fuel or even much light. Only lasts for a few minutes though by the looks of it" Said Nori.
"Ahh hot food in the field without giving away your position . . . so long as you can spare the few minutes that it takes to heat it up . . . and all this can go right back in the bag and sealed up again too so all you really need to do is take out the entree, scoff it down, put everything back where it came from and move out again, convenient" Remarked Chouza.
"Yes, but this all looks like it wouldn't taste as good as some good old fashioned home cooking" Said Nori as he sat the entree on top of the heating tag, applied some chakra and watched it heat the meal up.
"Well, no . . . certainly not an Akimichi's home cooking . . . but it's way better than food pills and ration bars and even has better nutritional value. You could live off this stuff indefinitely if you had to or wanted to. I'm the process of creating a variant for use by shinobi who expend more energy due to clan jutsu or simply require more nutrient to keep the size and mass needed for clan jutsu . . . I suspect I will need an Akimichi variant and an Inuzuka variant but hopefully, I can cater to both with a single ration"
"So how do I open this?" Asked the Akimichi as he looked down at the entree.
"Hmm? Oh" Minori said as she pulled out one of the bags and grabbed a little piece of metal that had a razor sharp hook on one end. Minori slid the hook across one of the entree and then used the hook to pull back the flap so she could tear it off.
"Ahh, clever, and beef stew with vegetables and rice! Hearty" Commented Chouza as he and the other Akimichi watched Nori pull out his chopsticks, pick up some food and try them with slow and careful procedure.
"Well, it's certainly good, not the best meal I've ever had but I could live off this . . . although I reckon you will need to make an Akimichi version, I'll need more food than this in the field, maybe add another entree and an energy bar or two" Said Nori and Minori nodded her agreement.
"So, think this would work?" Chouza asked Nori who nodded "Well then, I think we should talk about money" Minori didn't really want to charge too much when it would be the Akimichi who did all the leg work with her idea but she did need some.
"A small bit of royalty, nothing too high or that will drive up the prices, just a couple percentiles off the purchase price and that'll do me" She said to Chouza.
"That all you want? You sure? This is a good idea and these tags of yours could sell for a bit individually" Replied Chouza as he watched Minori, trying to figure out if she was just being modest or not.
"I'm intending to sell a different version of my heating tag to the standard commissary along with my own version of a shinobi kit. My other version is intended to be used to heat up sentries or what have you in cold climates without giving away your position . . . my first test with the tags was an absolute success . . . saved an orphan who was stuck on the street from dying of hypothermia. This along with my special belts that have slots to seal scrolls into as well as to put pouches means I shouldn't have a need to sell the cooking tag that I created individually" Chouza nodded at Minori's explanation
"Well, in any case, that'll just make it cheaper for the troops! And the cheaper food is, the more of it you can have! Say, you're pretty good a this Fuinjutsu stuff . . . I don't reckon you could teach some of my clan members a little bit of the stuff could you?" Said Chouza, resting his arms against the table while Nori started snacking on some salted biscuits.
"Sure, I wouldn't mind teaching you guys to make storage seals and arm or disarm some traps" replied Minori who was more than likely going to do it for free since it was a vital skill that always amazed her that it wasn't taught. "In any case, I have a meeting with a blacksmith named Higurashi . . . I'll drop on by during the week to begin some quick lessons"
"Greetings there! What can I do for you?" Asked a kindly man behind the counter of the weapons shop Minori had just walked into
"Ahh yes, I'm here about those seals I was gonna start putting on weapons for you" Replied Minori as she walked up to the counter. Playing around the shop was a seven year old girl with chinese style dress and her hair in two chinese style buns.
"Are you a kunoichi like Tsunade?" Asked the little girl who was suddenly beside her and looking up with large, twinkling eyes.
"Yes I am little one, in fact, I've even worked with Lady Tsunade on occasion and a lot of people say I'm better than her" Minori said back to the little girl and almost laughed as the girl's face changed nearly instantly.
"No you're not! Nobody's better than Tsunade! She's the number one legendary kunoichi!" The girl exclaimed, going into a tirade of how Tsunade did this and that.
"Would you be able to do a very big favour for me?" Minori asked Higurashi as she turned back to face him.
"You mean other than pay you for your services?" Laughed Higurashi "Of course, whatever you need although . . . if it's too expensive I may have to ask for payment, my shop does well but the materials to make the top notch gear isn't cheap" Minori chuckled a little as she unclipped her sword from the sash it was secured in.
"I can't unsheath my sword . . . well I can but then I'd have to kill you" Minori said as she held the blade in its sheath in both her hands.
"I'm not sure I follow, something special about the sword?" asked Higurashi with a frown as he studied the sheathed blade.
"Yadokawa family traditions dictate that a Yadokawa shinobi only ever draw their sword with intent to kill . . . meaning that if I draw my sword, I must kill or die trying . . . this is non-negotiable and thus an interesting problem has been made known . . . I can't draw my sword to maintain it" with that explanation, Minori reverently placed the sheathed blade on the counter in front of Higurashi with a bow.
"I take it the sword is special beyond your clan's traditions? Why not have them do it . . . unless . . ." Higurashi began to say before he trailed off at the darkened appearance of Minori.
"My clan is no more and you are right, the blade is special" Minori said and gently pushed the blade towards Higurashi.
"May I?" The smith asked and Minori nodded. Higurashi picked up the blade and slowly drew it, gasping as the blade was revealed to him.
"The Yadokawa maintained non-family attendants, sadly all have perished but that's neither here nor there. As for the weapon making, I'm not privy to the secrets but I have the meticulous records of those smiths so the secrets are not lost" Minori explained to the smith who was examining the weapon. The little girl was watching the whole proceedings with a fascinated expression.
"I'll gladly take care of your weapon whenever you need it to be cared for, I'm honored that you chose me for this, I will treat your sword with the utmost care" The man said with a faint grin.
"Thank you, I'll just be applying those seals you wanted if you have any questions" Said Minori and Higurashi nodded, leading her over to a stockpile of equipment while he took Minori's sword over to a bench to begin work on it. "So what's your name little one" Minori asked the young girl who was staring at her with twinkling eyes
"Tenten!" The girl joyfully exclaimed as she plopped herself down beside Minori cross legged. "Whatcha doin'?" The girl asked, watching Minori expectantly and with a massive grin.
"I'm applying Fuinjutsu seals to these weapons so that they have special properties like chakra enhancements, chakra storage and what have you, Fuinjutsu can do just about anything if you're clever enough, even create effects that emulate nin or genjutsu without hand signs or chakra. You know they say Fuinjutsu was around before ninjutsu and genjutsu" Minori said as she painted seals onto the various pieces of equipment.
"Really!? Can you do medical jutsu with Fuinjutsu?" The overly excitable girl asked.
"You want to be able to emulate Lady Tsunade huh? Well yes, Fuinjutsu can do medical jutsu but you have to be really really clever to be able to do medical Fuinjutsu" Minori had Tenten's undivided attention and she was grinning ear to ear. "You know what, why don't you study this here book" Minori pulled a book out of nowhere and handed it to Tenten. "It might be a little hard to read for you right now but it's a good start for Fuinjutsu" Tenten held the book that Minori handed to her as if she had just received a holy artefact. Tenten opened the book and tried to read the book and, to Minori's amazement, was actually succeeding. Chuckling Minori went back to work while Tenten read silently.
"I have finished the work on your sword, it's such a remarkable weapon" Higurashi said as he walked over to Minori with the blade now in its sheath.
"Yes, yes it is. Your daughter seems to have developed a fascination with Fuinjutsu" Minori said as she finished off the last piece of equipment and got up. Sensing that Minori had gotten up, Tenten looked up at her with her big eyes twinkling. "Here, eventually you will figure out how to seal and unseal the contents of this scroll, I'm entrusting them to you Tenten, it's a portion of my old clan library" again Tenten looked like she had just been handed a holy artefact as she reverently took the scroll from Minori. Tenten stared at the scroll with an expression of sheer wonder before she gave Minori a determined expression and nodded, fully accepting the role as guardian of that section of the Library.
"Now Tenten" Said Higurashi in a stern voice causing the girl to give the man her full attention. "The people who wrote the texts contained in that scroll are all gone now . . . the only thing of theirs that remains is in your hands. Any carelessness on your part and great knowledge could be forever lost, never to be recovered" Tenten's eyes widened at this revelation.
"Unless you wish to carry on that legacy of course, you have a book that will tell you how to unseal the knowledge contained within . . . you could learn that knowledge, embrace it and carry on the legacy . . . or you could simply hold onto those texts and make sure nobody ever takes them, the choice, and the legacy of the weapon smiths of the Yadokawa clan, lay in your hands now" Minori said to the girl who was almost shaking under the weight of responsibility that now rested on her shoulders before her expression hardened and Tenten gave Minori a determined expression.
"The will of fire indeed" was what went through the heads of both Higurashi and Minori.
"I'm going to sign up to the academy next year! I will be a ninja like no other and this" Tenten held up the scroll she carried. "I will protect it with all the skill I will have, that is my nindo! My ninja way!" Minori grinned at the adorable little girl along with Higurashi.
"I'm counting on you Tenten" Minori said before ruffling Tenten's hair and walking off out the door of the shop before either could stop her.
"Well Tenten, this is a big responsibility you have, think you'll manage?" Asked Higurashi to his daughter whom had a rather curious expression on her face.
"Papa, I feel warm inside" Tenten said and Higurashi frowned before, with a widening of eyes, the scroll in Tenten's hands burst into a cloud of smoke, revealing a pile of books and scrolls. Higurashi picked up one, it was written in some kind of code but the diagrams suggested the book was on a new alloy formula. Higurashi dropped the book and picked up another one, a book that seemed to be a weapons manual, he picked up another one. "Papa" Tenten said and Higurashi turned his attention to his adopted daughter who was giving him a hard look. "Please put it down" She said with a very polite tone and Higurashi almost laughed, it seemed his daughter was going to take her newfound guardian role seriously.
"Can you seal all this back into the scroll?" Asked Higurashi as he handed the book he was about to read through to Tenten. Tenten in turn, pulled out the book she had been reading not long ago and flicked through it until she found was she was looking for. Nodding, Tenten placed all the scrolls and books together, gave one last look at her book and put it down, then made a series of hand signs and a puff of smoke engulfed the pile of texts. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was the scroll Minori had given her.
"Wait! Gaaaaagh!" Tenten cried out in horror, clutching her head as she panicked.
"What's wrong!?" asked Higurashi as he watched his daughter have a minor panic attack.
"I accidentally sealed the book of seals into the scroll!" She exclaimed and Higurashi burst out laughing. "D-don't laugh! Now how am I supposed to unseal it!? I'll figure it out, it can't be that hard!" Tenten unrolled the scroll and began trying different combinations of hand signs to try and unseal the contents again. "I just did this! How is it so hard that I can't do it again!?" Higurashi was rolling on the floor. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Tenten shouted before trying her seven year old best to beat the mirth out of her adoptive father.
"Ahh, Minori-chan, how are you settling in? It's been a few weeks since the last time I saw you" Said Sarutobi as he took a few steps away from Minori and his ANBU took a few steps closer. They were in the middle of the street on Minori's way back home and, even though he didn't expect it to happen, Sarutobi wasn't going to fall into any traps by Minori again.
"Quite nicely I must say, met another interesting kid too but you don't need that tale" replied Minori, placing her arm on Sarutobi's shoulder. Sarutobi himself was staring at the spot Minori had just been standing in with no small amount of shock since she now behind him and touching him. His senses told him that the ANBU were equally stunned and this caused Minori to laugh as she stepped away from the old man and gave him the space he was trying to put between them.
"You want the hat?" Sarutobi asked with a grumble as he pulled out his pipe and lit it with some fire chakra.
"You sounded a lot more serious about your offer when sensei died . . . I didn't accept then either, I don't want to take the hat . . . it was sensei's dream and now it's Naruto's, he'll get it some day I'm sure" Minori said looking forlorn as she did.
"You can't blame an old man for trying . . . especially after what happened" Said Sarutobi, his own forlorn expression on his face. "What do you know of the Akatsuki?" He asked, turning back to Minori
"Rebel faction based out of Amegakure, weren't important so just knowing where I can find them is enough for now but I have a feeling . . . I've got eyes on them . . . and you should too, something isn't right there I can feel it" Minori replied. "How's the Uchiha issue?"
"I should have known better than to think you'd not notice that . . . I assume you already have people in on it?" Said Sarutobi as the two began walking towards the Hokage tower.
"Of course, the things I'm being told though . . . I fear we may be dealing with someone that is almost at my skill level" Replied Minori and Sarutobi looked up sharply at her. "I had one of my old Uchiha buddies look into the problem . . . one clan meeting later and he was spouting anti-konoha rhetoric and going on about how the village is plotting against the Uchiha . . . I suspect Genjutsu, Uchiha variety . . . someone, probably from the clan, has gone rogue or maybe even turned coat" Sarutobi turned his head away and glanced in the direction of the Uchiha compound
"Hokage-sama! Should we really be having this conversation in the middle of a street? In daylight no less?" Asked one of the ANBU that had been trailing close by
"You let them hear the conversation?" Sarutobi asked Minori who just shrugged and suddenly the ANBU could no longer hear the conversation between Minori and the Hokage. "Speaking of spies, how is Jiraiya's next book coming? Any details?" At Sarutobi's question, Minori started giggling.
"Let's just say I was 'intimately involved' with this one" Minori said as she looked back over towards the Hokage "If anyone asks whether or not I knew he was spying, I will deny it . . . and if anyone asks about a certain seal on the wall that was done in a very Yadokawa-esk style . . . I will deny that too" Sarutobi began chuckling at Minori's comment. "Take care of yourself old man . . . we are in for some interesting times" Said Minori as she put a reassuring hand on Sarutobi's shoulder before detaching and heading back home.
"Hokage-sama, how was she able to prevent me from hearing your conversation? I was standing not three feet away!" Asked the ANBU that had spoken earlier
"Hmmm, you are awfully inquisitive for an ANBU aren't you" Replied Sarutobi and the ANBU retreated until he was out of sight at the veiled threat of treason.
"Interesting times indeed" Sarutobi looked up at the Hokage Monument in thought "Wish you were still here Minato . . . I wonder how you'd have dealt with this situation" he said to himself before shrugging and continuing on his journey.
Well here we are at the end of another chapter.
As always, I hope you all enjoyed and let me know what you liked, disliked, what you thought could be improved and what you want to see more of.