A/N: Arrrghhh! It was raining. I slipped and fell. In public. Again! I have half a mind to force the characters to suffer my accident-proneness. It sucks! But anyway, I'll just carry on with the story. Sorry.

Cyn Vicente: Have you been around someone and their personality just rubs off on you over time? I guess it's kinda like that… I'm really happy that you want to hear my version. Thanks!

Chiri-tan: Whoa, chill. Please don't cuss. It would be nice if Haku and Zabuza fell in love with each other, yes. But I was thinking 'What about the age difference. Zabuza is like… so much older than Haku.' Love blooming between them would probably be more father and daughter kind of relationship. Being lovers would be really… awkward… Not that I'm trying to be rude. I respect your opinion since I don't really have ideas of my own. ;)

BTB: Thank you for the compliment (is it?) about my command of the English language. I kinda mentioned (did I?) in the A/N that in my story, Kushina-san isn't a Jinchuuriki. I know that she is but… Anyways, a list of commonly misused homophones would be nice. If you could, please PM me the list or something. And, well, my ethnic group is Chinese so I guess Mandarin Chinese is my native language… Hinata seems more confident because she reminds me of myself and my friends are always telling me to be more confident. I think Hinata should too so… And she confessed her love in the end didn't she? Oh well… And it's not Memory Erase, it's Memory Replacement. You'll see what I mean by that and randomness.

Crypton89: I agree completely. But it would be nice if they lived and went back to Konoha. Actually I planned on sending them on a mission before the whole Wave incident and let Haku and Zabuza live but I guess not.

MadxHatter: Yes it would be wouldn't it? I guess thinking up hilarious things is your job as Mad Hatter.

JP Gosick: Oh my God! I'm so sorry, but I know only two languages, English and Chinese so I'm really sorry because I have absolutely no idea what you said (typed). dch448: I'm sorry. You didn't really come off as rude. I was actually really happy that you reviewed! So I thank you.

WolfCoyote: Goodness! That's just asking too much! You know, the duck-headed device can't make people forget their hatred. I don't mean this in a bad way. I find your peace-seeking ways a redeeming quality I guess… I don't think Minato would hook up with anyone other than Kushina. Oh well…

Chapter 8: Beginning

"A marshmallow totally came and ate the monkey," a feminine voice insisted. "No, it was the mommy meat bun that ate the monkey" a male voice contradicted. Minato's eyebrow twitched, watching his two team mates battle it out. They were debating the events of the previous night and true to his fears, the Memory Replacer had given them really random memories that made absolutely no sense.

Yet, his team mates seemed to believe it had happened. They seemed to think that they had gone hiking in the woods where they encountered a talking meat bun. They recalled that a monkey swung down from the trees and ate the meat bun and from there, they both had different recollections. Sakura thought that a marshmallow ate the monkey, god knows why and Sasuke reckoned the meat bun's mother ate the monkey for revenge. Both were absolutely impossible.

Minato sighed, falling back onto the grass in the training ground, letting his feet fly into the air before feeling them connect with the ground as well. He lifted a hand up to his eyes, shielding them from the harsh rays of the sun as he gazed at the serene sky, the clouds like cotton candy running into the cerulean of the sky as a messenger hawk flew across his vision, screeching as it soared away.

'This carelessness really isn't like me. I really have to buck up. I can't let them know who I really am.' He closed his eyes to a half-mast before sensing their sensei approaching them and flipped to his feet, watching as his team mates came back into view, still bickering over that little thing. "How can a meat bun even give birth it's not even a living thing…" Sakura's voice came drifting in the wind, assaulting Minato's ears as their sensei appeared, walking over to them.

"So, what's got their panties in a bunch?" Kakashi asked as he approached Minato for answers about his other two charges' little debate.

"Beats me. I think their currently discussing the birthing process of a meat bun." Minato said, not taking his eyes off the squabbling duo.

"Really now." Kakashi said, not believing something so preposterous.

"No wait. I think they've switched to discussing how meat buns are made." Minato corrected, listening to the progress of his team mates' Kiokuchikan-induced debate.

"You mean like stuffing meat into a-" Kakashi was cut off when Sakura groaned in frustration screaming "You don't even know how meat buns are made!"

"I do! When a guy bun and a girl bun love each other very much…" Sasuke retorted.

"How did this happen?" Kakashi asked, eye muscles twitching up a storm.

"How should I know? I suggest you try and get their attention so we can go and take on a mission." Minato feigned ignorance as he casually placed his suggestion.

"Good idea. Ah-hem!" Kakashi cleared his throat to get their attention.

"No no no! That's not it!" told him that he'd failed in his attempt.

"Ay-Hermh!" Kakashi shouted, but producing no results. Minato had had enough. He didn't know where the impulse came from, but pulled out a scrap of paper and created what would've been an equivalent of an explosive tag with significantly less lethal explosive power. He wrapped the tag around an ordinary kunai and released it with pin point accuracy.

It embedded itself in the ground at the duo's feet and detonated, creating a large plume of smoke and a tiny spark of fire that could be seen burning within it. Kakashi looked on wide-eyed before turning to face his charge. He couldn't believe that the blond would do such a thing. He proceeded to berate his charge, anger flashing in his eyes, set on forcing the blond to drop the programme for killing his own team mates just because they irritated him.

Suddenly two figures emerged from the smoke, coughing and covered in soot but relatively unharmed. As they got closer, Kakashi could make out the disgruntled faces of Sasuke and Sakura. He rounded on 'Naruto', noticing the brush, its tip black and moist with fresh ink. "You made that explosive tag?" Kakashi asked, amazed.

"It's not that big a deal. I just read about how to make a watered down version since I can't do a full one so I was sure that it wouldn't hurt them." 'Naruto' said innocently, holding out a small black book. Kakashi took it out of his student's hand s and skimmed through it, noting that it did indeed teach elementary sealing methods and watered down versions of the originals.

"Why the interest in sealing?" Kakashi questioned, handing the book back to his blond charge.

"Jiji told me about you-know-what and that a seal is all that's stopping it from escaping so I thought it'd be cool to learn how to do that." 'Naruto' declared.

"Seems reasonable, but I am disappointed in you for using that against your team mates, even if it is weaker. There was no guarantee that they would not have been hurt. Let them get cleaned up and we'll go get a mission from the Hokage." Kakashi said, his anger beginning to evaporate. Minato nodded and bounded towards the grass patch under the tree he'd laid claim to and sat down, opening his book but not really seeing what was on the page. Instead, he was thinking about the impulse he had had. Being reckless and brash was Kushina's personality, not his. He'd have to rein in his impulses from now on or risk exposing himself. Deactivating the illusory seal on his book, he focused his thoughts on the contents of the book as well as sensing the people in the area as he studied the complex seal arrays in the book.

Sasuke was having a bad day. He couldn't find any tomatoes in the refrigerator and had to eat his breakfast tomato-less. Then, when he'd tried to recall what had happened the previous night, the only memories he had did not contain a shred of reality. But after turning his brain to mush wracking it for answers, he came up empty handed so he just had to assume what he had presumably experienced had been real. Then, when he met Sakura, she said that it was a marshmallow that ate the monkey and launched into a debate about the whole thing. It was retarded and now that he thought back on it, he had made himself sound really retarded in the heat of the moment. I mean come on! How can a meat bun give birth? Then, something exploded in his face and now he had to waste time washing all the grime off. Yep, it was a bad day indeed.

Kakashi was watching over his cute Gennin, occasionally glancing over at the blond one on his team. The one he had mistaken for his sensei on the first day. Now that he thought about it, every time he saw 'Naruto' pangs of nostalgia would flood him and he'd feel tears building up, threatening to fall. Over the weeks the feeling had lessened but he still wondered why his student would affect him in such a way. He pushed it aside, seeing as his students had come out of the lake, albeit sopping wet.

Minato sensed his team mates and sensei heading over to his location and activated the seal while stuffing his book back into his kunai pouch. He rested his head on the rough bark of the tree and waited for his team mates to arrive. The sound of footsteps reached his ears and both eyes shot open as a chakra signature he recognised as Sakura's sped towards him. He moved out of the way just as Sakura's fist met with the poor tree. "NARUTO! When I get my hands on you, I'll kill you for ruining my clothes!"

"I'm sorry!" Minato shouted dodging blow after blow.

"Now now, that's enough you two." Kakashi said as he hoisted Sakura into the air and locked her arms in place to stop her from assaulting Minato any further. "Calm down," Kakashi said, trying to placate the rampaging kunoichi. A very hurt Kakashi and a nearly castrated Minato later, they finally arrived at the Hokage Tower, fully understanding the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'.

"What happened to you guys?" Sarutobi inquired, hastily adding a "Never mind" seeing Kakashi and Naruto shuddering involuntarily. "Alright. Ignoring your haggard appearances, I have deemed your team ready for a C-rank mission." Cheers permeated the air. "Iruka, you're not going to object?" Sarutobi asked, baffled by the Chunin's silence.

"No Hokage-sama." Iruka replied, thinking 'Why would I? Seeing as one of them is Sharingan Kakashi and another is Kiiroi Senkou.'

"Why not?" the Hokage persisted.

"Um… because I have faith in them." Iruka said with conviction.

"That's good enough for me." The Hokage concluded, causing Iruka to release a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Anyways, your mission will be to protect the bridge builder Tazuna. You will be escorting him to his home in the land of Waves and protect him as he builds his bridge. Okay, send in Tazuna." The Hokage commanded. The team stared intently at the door in anticipation, forming speculations about how this 'Tazuna' person looked like.

The door opened and revealed an old man who was getting on in his age. He wore a grey shirt that was secured by a cloth belt and khaki coloured pants. He carried a backpack with a bedroll secured tightly on top of it and had a towel draped across his shoulders. There was something reminiscent of a headband tied to his head and the heavy blush on his cheeks coupled with the bottle of sake in his grasp clued them in to the fact that this 'Tazuna' was drunk. He leaned on the door frame and insulted them, his words slurred.

"What the… A bunch of little snot-nosed kids? And you two look like you don't have money to buy new clothes and took a stroll in the rain. And you in the middle. You look like you got beaten up by your wife for cheating on someone else, not that you have one. You really expect me to believe you three are ninja?" He took another swig of his sake "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I expect the Hokage has already informed you of my situation. I am building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it costs you your life."

"Okay Team 7, meet me at the gates in 1 hour." Kakashi instructed before leaving via shunshin.

"Don't worry. He won't arrive late if it's for a mission." Minato informed his team mates as they left the building.

His team mates nodded curtly in response and left for their apartment to get changed. Minato rushed back to his apartment and wormed out of his blinding jumpsuit, exposing the black garb beneath. Snapping on his glove, he decided that even if it was just a simple C-rank mission, he would still have to be careful and expect the unexpected. There was also something about the bridge builder that set his alarm bells ringing. Something was wrong.

He grabbed a sealing scroll and proceeded to seal all the necessities into it and slipping it into his kunai pouch along with a book on sealing before strapping the pouch to his right thigh. Jumping out of the window and onto the roof, he flitted across the rooftops towards an alley between two buildings and landed in the passageway before strolling out into the sunlight and onto the main road. He then walked towards the gates to meet up with his team.

Upon arriving, he did not see any of his team mates so he took up residence next to the gates and opened his book, perusing it once again. The reason for his constant studying of seals was to find a way to bring Kushina back to life. So far, things looked bleak but he was not about to give up. He snapped his book closed when he sensed his team mates approaching. Sakura appeared in his field of vision, her hair dripping wet and wearing her usual apparel but it was clear she had changed because the set she was wearing didn't look like it had been in the blender. In addition she had a backpack slung across her back.

She noticed him and gave him a curious look, asking "Why don't you have a backpack. Don't tell me you aren't bringing anything? And why the sudden change in clothes? I remember! You were wearing this during the graduation exams right?"

"Um… Sasuke, 3 o'clock." Minato rushed, for once immensely happy to see Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cooed as she ran up to meet her crush. Minato sighed in relief.

"Hey. What's up with your clothes? Had a wardrobe change?" Sasuke brought up where Sakura had left off.

"Well, since we're finally getting a C-ranker, I thought I should at least dress appropriately." Minato said casually, hoping that Sasuke would drop the subject.

"Oh really…" Kakashi appeared out of thin air over Sasuke's shoulder.

"Gaahh!" the three Gennin shouted in surprise. Minato, having sensed their wayward sensei just shouted along with his team mates so as not to seem suspicious. Kakashi eye-smiled and joined them in their wait for the bridge builder. Minutes later, Tazuna turned up, smelling of booze and sweat and was downright drunk.

"What're we waitin' for? Let's go already." Tazuna slurred, stepping beyond the large gates of Konoha. Kakashi shrugged and motioned for the team to follow him. They all set down on the path towards Wave, excitement bubbling in the air. Minato and Kakashi the only ones having suspicions about the drunk bridge builder known as Tazuna. Soon, Minato would be very glad he had decided to heed his gut feeling for what they were about to face was definitely not within the boundaries of a C-rank.

A/N: Urm… I'm not very confident about this chapter because I was having writer's block. Anyway, I need help. Do you have any theories on what would happen if you tried to use Edo-Tensei to summon someone who is still alive? What I think is that nothing will happen. What do you think? Please respond thank you!