Apologies for the delay, I was moving houses and going to my new job. But now that's out of the way, I'll be updating regularly! Stick around, I've got tons of plans.

Chapter 2

Real life is complicated. The anime was full of plot holes that made no sense and only to served to make the story more interesting. But now that I was actually here, there are so many things that I was finding out were never mentioned. I suppose there were hints, but the issues were skirted over for the sake of keeping the story appropriate for kids.

One of the things prevalent in the ninja world is mental problems. Everyone, from the common civilian baker to the nobles in the Daimyo's court know that ninja are mentally unstable. They just have to be insane and loyal in order to stay in service to their Kage. In fact, the best ninja are the ones who are unhinged, but not to the point where they are unable to function on the field. It was shown in the jounin and Akatsuki members. The Akatsuki, made up of missing-nin, had major problems but were all insanely strong. Kakashi and Gai were the strongest jounin and also the weirdest. Kages are all unhinged as well, but just better at hiding it. Although their vices were shown in the fact that Terumi Mei, the fifth Mizukage, could suddenly turn deadly from just hearing someone talk about marriage, and how A, the fourth Raikage destroyed buildings on a daily basis. Tsunade was a drunken gambler and recovered haemophobic, but was easily welcomed back to become Hokage after years of absence because the only thing that matters is whether or not you can do your job, and do it well.

Konoha actually had the best reputation for mental stability to go along with our 'nice' image. We had regular tests that all ninja were required to go through in order to be cleared for service, both for physical abilities and mental 'maintenance'. If a ninja didn't have an able body and mind then they were put onto a strict regime in order to fix that. Psychological tests started at the start of first year in the academy before practical ninja skills were taught in order to weed out the unfit from learning secrets of ninja training. Those that had serious problems at a young age, whether mentally or physically, were shuffled into administration training or sent to a civilian school.

It was early on in this life when I realised my mental state was different from before. It was hinted in the anime where Minato could be the most terrifying person who slaughtered thousands of ninja but was still always cheerful towards his friends. It was because he just didn't care, or didn't care enough about his enemies and those that he killed. Now that I was in his body, I had come to realise that things I would have been horrified at in my past life served to merely make me uncomfortable.

Sociopathy is not a thing that you can be or cannot be. It is a scale in which you display some tendencies, either with a little antisocial behaviour and less remorse, or to an extreme degree. On that scale of one to ten, I would say Minato, and now I, was at around five or six. It was as I was manipulating the children, pretending to care for them in order to get them to teach me to read that I realised I was different. In my previous body (and isn't that a weird thing to say) I would have felt guilty about it, but still gone about my business anyway after a debate with morality in which practicality would win. Here, I only felt a morsel of guilt at manipulating kids who stood no chance of knowing what I was doing and promptly did it with nary a thought. It was only the fact that I didn't feel very guilty at all that made me feel bad. It was a selfish guilt, where I was worried about myself changing, which I had no control over.

In some ways, realising I had sociopathic tendencies was a relief. If I didn't feel as much guilt about everything, then killing people would be easier to cope with and there was less chance of faltering on my chosen path. I have always been a selfish person. When I was younger, both mentally and physically, I was a right brat and if I wanted something I would get it, even if I had to bulldoze over everyone else to do it. It was only my parents hammering morals and social niceties into my head that changed me into someone who would follow the rules of society and feel bad about harming others. Even then it was a bit of a toss-up. Now that my sense of guilt was diminished, it would be hard for me to stay the same person I had been. However there was nothing I could do about it, so I accepted it and waited to see what the future would bring.

It had been a week since my encounter with the two slave traders and meeting The Mistress. I had been out every day since then, attending morning lessons at sun-up and then getting to see the district for myself. Since I had been told about the unspoken rules of the Reds, I have observed the people even more closely. People often think that those who end up in the red light district lack the brains to get jobs elsewhere, but that could not be further from the truth. People here may not have proper education, but they are undoubtedly sharp in the ways of trickery and deception. If you look closely enough you can see the invisible undercurrents at work. Serving girls would sometimes bring a certain drink to a customer, and that would signal there was a need for a meeting between two people; the barkeepers knew everyone who came and went, constantly meeting up with contacts interested in the information they could provide, for a price of course; street boys ran between brothels, bringing warnings of men and women too violent and dangerous to entertain and should subsequently be drugged if causing trouble.

Yes, the red-light district was a very interesting place to be, and I found myself highly intrigued. I had gone back to the area where I had fought off the two slave traders, and scouted around. It didn't take me long to find the place I was searching for.

The Compass was a bar that doubled as an inn on the upper floors. It was a rather run-down place, but open and bright, and the atmosphere was good. When I entered, I quickly spotted familiar brown hair and an unkempt beard. It didn't take him long to see me as well.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Minato! Come over here and take a seat. The name's Takeshi." The man who I had spoken to in the alley boomed out, causing heads to turn. The bar was rather empty, it being midday, but the people there all seemed to frequent the place often. I crossed the room and sent chakra to my legs, hopping onto a ridiculously high bar stool.

Man, I hate being four years old. I can't wait until puberty hits. Oh shit! I've finally lost it, I'm actually looking forward to puberty!

Oblivious to my internal distress, Takeshi poured me a glass of water and set it on the bar.

"It's good to see you again, Takeshi." I said summoning up a smile. "But I was hoping for something a little better than water..."

Takeshi laughed before replying, "Too bad kid, you're still just a midget. When you become an adult I'll give you your first drink, on the house."

I grinned while taking a sip of my water. "I'll hold you to that."

"So what brings you to my fine establishment kiddo?"

I laughed before teasing, "You call this dive a fine establishment? I'd hate to see your idea of a shithole."

Even though I had only spoken to Takeshi once before, I felt myself relaxing in his presence. He was the kind of person that anyone could get to like, with his friendly attitude and lack of judgment. It was nice to be myself without receiving weird looks for my maturity. No doubt his demeanor made him an excellent barkeeper.

Takeshi laughed again before mock-scowling. "Better watch what you say kid, or I'll chuck your scrawny ass out."

I smiled sweetly at him.

"I'd like to see you try."

Takeshi gave me a look before barking, "Hah, I suppose I had that coming."

I just shook my head, smiling again.

"You haven't gotten into any more trouble, have you?"

"It's only been a week, how often do you think I get kidnapped?" I asked skeptically.

Takshi shrugged. "You never know with ninja."

I gave him an 'are-you-stupid-look'.

"I'm four years old." I deadpanned.

Takeshi grinned before saying, "Aye, but you're going to be a ninja. I have no idea how you moved those knives around, but its obviously some ninja trick. Even if I hadn't told the info-broker, I wager you'd be recruited anyway."

I shrugged my shoulders, negelecting to mention I already had a scholarship due to my unique chakra.

"What'd you tell 'em?" I asked.

"Everything I knew, which wasn't much." Takeshi shrugged.

I 'hmmed', nodding my head. I had already known Takeshi would have said everything, but I was probing to see how open he was to speaking to me about the subject.

"So how long have you been running this place then?" I asked, curious.

"Ah, it's been around six years. Used to be a merchant before the war came and my suppliers went out of business. I also lost too many caravans, so I decided to sell off what I had left and opened this place. It's much less profitable, but at least it's stable."

Ah yes, the Second Shinobi War. It was on a much smaller scale than the past World Wars of my world, but no less brutal. It was a common sight in Konoha to see people with missing limbs, both civilians and ninja. The streets were lined with starving people, and refugees were constantly flooding in. News of another town being destroyed came every week, and the people were weary. The war had been raging for the past 7 years, but by now it had toned down to vicious competition between the nations for resources and a cutthroat shadow war instead of massive battlefields. The orphanage had actually gotten a little better now that the war was simmering down, and although we still had rationed food, we sometimes got a sack of old apples or a little extra rice. We were never starved, but we were never really full either. I, of course, wasn't about to let that stunt my growth, and ever since I had figured out how to pick the lock with my chakra strings, I had been breaking into the food storage every night to steal something small that wouldn't be noticed.

Shaking myself out of my musings, I came to my main purpose for being here.

"Say Takeshi, I've been looking for a library, do you know where I could find one?"

Takeshi raised an eybrow before replying, "There's a few around, but the main one is couple streets away from the Hokage tower. You just head towards the tall red tower, can't miss it. But why come to me?"

I ducked my head in embarrassment before reluctantly admitting, "The first guy I asked didn't even know there were public libraries in Konoha, and the second gave me directions to a sex-toy shop. The third just ran away when I got near."

Takeshi threw his head back, booming out his loud laugh while I tried to get my blush under control.

"It's not funny, it's weird! Who sends a kid to that kind of store?" I said incredulously. Seriously, I had asked normal-looking people I happened to pass by on the street.

And what was up with that guy running away? People are strange.

Takeshi finally got his laughter back under control after a considerable time.

"Haha, kid, you've got a lot to learn!"

"Yeah, yeah." I grouched. "Laugh it up. But really, why would someone run away? I was just asking for directions."

Still chuckling Takeshi put his dish-cloth away.

"You're still new around here, so you won't know, but news spreads fast. People know that a blond midget carved up some slavers last week. I'll bet the guy you approached was part of the same organization."

"What! What do you mean carved up?" I spluttered. "You make it sound like I sent them home in chunks!"

"Rumours always get out of hand." Takeshi shrugged. "And you did send them packing rather nicely."

I sighed in exasperation before leveling a glare at him.

"I hope it wasn't you who started those rumours."

Takeshi grinned unrepentantly. "Nope, wasn't me who started 'em, but if someone asks it's only polite to reply truthfully."

I snorted. "Because you're so worried about being truthful." I grumbled under my breath.

"So what were you doing there?" Takeshi asked curiously.

I let it drop and shrugged my shoulders.

"Getting dancing lessons."

Takeshi looked at me incredulously.

"Dancing lessons?"

"Yep." I said, popping the p.

"A real man you are, Minato." Takeshi teased.

"Better than being a waitress." I shot back.

A false wounded expression crossed his face.

"Waitress! I'll have you know being a barkeeper is a very manly profession."

At that moment one of the men at another table shouted, "Oi, Takeshi! Stop chatting with the kid and bring me a beer!"

Grinning, I hopped off my stool.

"Better get to it, gotta earn your tips somehow." I joked.

Takeshi rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Alright smart-ass, get outta here."

I headed towards the door, with a "Thanks for the chat" tossed over my shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~

The Hokage tower was as easy to find as Takeshi had said. A massive red tower, taller than most other buildings, it was just below Hokage-Rushmore in the most defensible part of the village. Although the positioning was strategically sound, I couldn't help but wonder at the idea of having an important military building stand out so much. Surely having it more subtle would be better? Or perhaps only the civilians are dealt with in the building, and the ninja meet elsewhere?

Blurs moved swiftly over the rooftops, and I stared every time I saw someone soar overhead. To someone who had lived their life as a normal civilian, it was jarring to see a whole ton of supermen soaring above. I was eager to try it myself, but I knew my weak muscles and bones wouldn't be able to take my weight, as light as I was. Even with chakra enhancement, I was still too young and under-fed. Milk was scarce during wartime, and I had only started pilfering food a month ago.

The largest library in Konoha was found nearby, overlooking a small park. It was a large building, not nearly as large as some of the libraries I had seen on Earth, but for a library of under a century it was rather impressive.

I got a couple of raised eyebrows when I strolled in, but no one bothered me, so I was free to peruse the shelves. It didn't take long for me to find the section I was searching for. History. I knew next to nothing about how this world came to be, how long humans had been around for, what had happened before the Sage of Six Paths. Were there dinosaurs on this world too? Was there an ice age? Have people gone beyond the borders of the elemental nations?

What about the Summoning Realm? How did it come to be, and how in the world is it possible for animals to talk? How can fuuninjutsu possibly manipulate nature, and how could energy have sentience without a body like the Bijuu? I had so much to learn, so much I didn't know that it was daunting to even start. So I settled for the basic questions first.

Scanning the shelves for a book on the earliest history yielded disappointing results. The dates I saw only went back three hundred years, to the time of the Sage. It was ridiculous that there was only three hundred years worth of knowledge, when my people had documented thousands of years into the past. Exasperated, I gave up and headed to one of the desks. The librarian was a middle-aged woman who, stereotypically, had glasses and her black hair up in a bun.

"Excuse me ma'am?"

Frustratingly, she had to peer over her desk in order to see me, I was just that short. Scowling slightly as she saw me, she answered with an impatient "yes?"

Giving her a polite smile, I said, "I'm looking for history books that date back to before the Sage."

Slight interest crossed her face, before she said, "Due to the constant clan wars that took place before the founding of the shinobi villages, there aren't any books that can be found about that time. A lot of the knowledge was destroyed. Some Clan libraries will have records, I'm sure, but unless you are a part of one, then I'm afraid you're out of luck."

I scowled, but thanked her anyway before meandering back to the history section.

Three hours later saw me sitting at a desk with a heap of books stacked around me. The book towers were so tall, that should anyone have looked, all they would see were tufts of yellow-blond hair peaking over the covers. I had been skimming through dozens of books, and it only left me with more questions than I started with. It just didn't make sense. There was so much information missing, that I had no clue if it was being suppressed for some obscure reason, or if people just hadn't thought about it.

Maybe the chakra messed with their heads?

I was one step away from tearing my hair out in frustration when the librarian approached me. She didn't look happy to see a small kid messing with her books. No doubt she was annoyed she'd have to put them all away. Plus, she probably thought I couldn't read yet.

"May I ask what you're looking for?" She said sharply, hoping to intimidate me so that I wouldn't waste anymore of her time. At that point I was so annoyed that I didn't even care what she thought of me anymore. Screw the consequences.

"Where are the maps for outside the elemental nations? Why are there no books about the clans? There aren't any old newspapers or records, and if someone has invented the television, why on earth are there no telephones?"

Not giving her anytime to respond, I whipped out a map of the elemental nations and their weather patterns.

"Have you seen this?" I demanded, sharply pointing my finger at it. "Look at these weather patterns and tell me if it makes sense. How can it be cold in Lightning, sweltering in Fire, and a fucking desert in Wind when they are so damn close to each other? And Wind doesn't make any sense! It's right next to the ocean, and there's only flat ground between the ocean and the desert. There are no mountains that could block the clouds from rolling in, no way the drought could be caused! It's like someone just dropped a heap of sand and heat there and kept it! Also, if there are people who control earth, why are we not all moving metal about just the same? And if we can control lightning, why are we not creating magnetic trains all over the country!?"

I was near shouting at this point, and the librarian was staring wide-eyed at the map and books I was shoving in her face. Panting, I felt much better after airing some of the questions I had agonized over for years since I had entered this world. Clearly I had been too forward and had shocked the librarian too much to answer.

"Well!?" I demanded, shaking the map once more. Pulling herself together, she blinked rapidly before taking the map.

"Ah, no one has been documented to have sailed across the ocean, and if they have, they never returned. I've never heard of a telephone before, and the only televisions we have are reserved for shinobi and the daimyo. The weather has always been like that, I don't see what's so puzzling about it. Clan information is, of course, classified, and only certain metals are capable of being magnetic, no one knows why. As for shinobi techniques, I have no idea about them."

So, no one's thought of telephones before? But I was sure they had radios? And they seem to be lacking in a lot of scientific knowledge. Some key areas, actually, I would have thought it would be necessary before advancing further, but apparently not. Now why wouldn't they have this knowledge?

"How old are you, young man? How do you know about all these things?" The librarian peered at me intently over her glasses.

Ah, crap, I've made her suspicious.

"I'm four, but I've read all the books in the orphanage. Besides, I think it's more like how could I not know anything. I don't even know the details of the shinobi system, and I'll be joining one day."

"You're going to be a ninja?" The librarian asked, her tone changing.

"Yeah, I've got a scholarship to the Academy."

To a civilian, ninja are super-human people who can preform magic. A really smart kid is not that unusual when you compare me to the people who can see through walls, read minds, or house bugs in their own bodies. I had also mentioned it so she would stop prying; no one likes to get involved with shinobi secrets.

"Well, I expect you to put everything back where you found it."

"Of course ma'am."

After she had left, I turned back to my work, taking out a notebook I had re-appropriated from a boy at the orphanage.

Hiro is a lazy bum anyway, it's not like he would miss it even if I took all of his school things.

Glancing at the tall stacks of books surrounding me, I sighed again.

This is going to take a loooong time.

~~~~~~~~~~S.o.t.S~~~~~~~~~

I only stayed at the library for another two hours before packing up and leaving with a pounding headache at the influx of information. It was early March and the sun was low in the sky. Breath misting in front of me and bag bumping my back, I hurried through the Konoha streets. I really liked Konoha, and I could see how people could devote themselves to the place. The trees were bare, sparkling with early spring frost, and the buildings were colourful and friendly. Laughter could be heard from bars and the people were bustling about despite the on-going war. Restaurants had lit lanterns, and the soft glow spilled out onto the street. Konoha truly was a beautiful place to live, even I wasn't immune to its charm. Entering the orphanage, I was met with a gust of warmth, and gratefully took off my scarf and jacket, placing it on my bed. Takeo and Ise, my roomates, were used to me slipping in and out of the window by now, and just greeted me.

"You nearly missed dinner Minato." Takeo, an older boy who looked out for both Ise and me said.

"Sorry, I was at the library." I shrugged my bag off my shoulder and stuffed it under my bed, stretching my back in relief. "How was school?" I asked.

"Same old. I did find a master to teach me though!" Takeo spoke proudly.

Takeo was fourteen years old and would be graduating civilian school at sixteen. Then he would be given a year to get a job and enough money to support himself, and at seventeen, he was required to move out of the orphanage. He had aspirations of becoming a blacksmith.

"Oh yeah? That's great! What's he like?" I queried as we queued in the large cafeteria for our dinner. Kids were jostling each other in line and talking loudly.

Takeo rubbed his head in embarrassment saying, "Well, he's ok, he was rather drunk, but his workshop looked alright. I'm sure it was just an off day though, I'll learn tons from him!" He finished, nodding enthusiastically.

I wasn't nearly as optimistic as him, but didn't vote my doubts.

"That's great Takeo, I'm sure you will. And even if he isn't that good of a teacher, as long you do your best I'm sure you'll get far."

I wasn't lying about that, Takeo was rather passionate about blacksmithing. If he had been born into a better station, he no doubt would have had lots of options for a master. It was just unfortunate that he was an orphan. Taking our trays consisting of a bowl of rice, vegetables, and a small portion of unidentifiable meat, we moved to 'our' table. A group of children of varying ages sat there and greeted us as we joined them.

"Minato, Takeo, you're late!" A boisterous boy called loudly.

"Shut up Ryuuto, you're so loud!" That was Mara, a thirteen year old girl who acted like a cranky old lady.

"Aw, come on Mara, don't be like that!" Ryuuto laughed.

I interjected before they started squabbling again.

"I lost track of time at the library."

"Heh, I can't believe you're sneaking out of the orphanage Minato!" Ryuuto grinned.

"Our secret, right?" I winked at him.

"Of course!"

"You shouldn't do that." Mara sniffed. "You'll get caught, and when you do, I'm not going down with you."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." I smiled at her. "I got you the book you wanted by the way. Stop by my room after dinner."

Mara looked torn between disapproving and pleased, and in the end just nodded.

"Did you get my book too Minato?" A small voice asked.

Turning to my right, I grinned at the shy ten year old boy.

"Of course, I wouldn't forget." I said.

The boy smiled bashfully, looking pleased.

"Thanks Minato."

As dinner progressed, I leaned back to consider my friends. I had cultivated this group very carefully and brought them together. Ryuuto was often annoying and loud, but also very friendly and he had lots of friends in the civilian academy. He wanted to be a merchant, and had befriended all of the merchant children at his school. Mara was constantly grumpy, but she had a real talent for math. The shy boy, Eiji, was brilliant at science, and a true genius when it came to chemistry. Misumi had a job as a waitress, but she had a dream of owning her own restaurant and was a marvellous cook. When I told her about some recipes from my old world, she was able to recreate them, and they were delicious. Takeo was bull-headed and stubborn and wanted to become a smith that legendary ninja would visit. I had high hopes for them all. With a bit of encouragement and aid, I was sure they would go far, and I helped them anyway I could, while making sure they were loyal to me. It was a win-win scenario. I would help them achieve their dreams, and they would help me achieve mine. The fact that they didn't get a say in the matter didn't bother me. After all, I was just aiding them in getting what they wanted.

I went to bed satisfied with the day, only to remember I had dance lessons in the morning with a sadist known as The Mistress. Groaning, I stuffed my face into my pillow and prayed that when I went there tomorrow, she would go easy on me. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised that wasn't the case.

Finally, a chapter! Tell me what you think. The next one covers Minato's dance lessons.

Blackbird out~