Disclaimer: Nope still not mine.
Warnings: Side pairings will change, my apology's. Also, rating went up last chapter due to gore, it is possible it will go up again.
Note: I'd like to make it clear that this is not an exact replica of Mulan. Not at all, the plot is very different in places, and I'll be adding things to make it seem more authentic. It only follows the story of Mulan (Disney's version) please keep that in mind while reading. Thank you.
Sorry, no Madara in this yet, he will however, be appearing on the next Chapter so look forward to that! Also I'm afraid this is a rather short Chapter, I wasn't quite sure how to go about it, my apology's, the next one will be longer and far more interesting.
"Zǎoshang hǎo Ōumǐjiā! (Chinese translation: Good morning, Omega!)" Was the first thing he awoke to.
His hair however was the first thing his focus shifted too. It's length disconcerting, no longer falling over his shoulders, or sweeping behind his back it tickled against his neck and the bangs fell just in front of his eyes not even to his nose. For some reason it brought a strange feeling of panic before him, not because he could not deal with simple facts, but more of what it represented in this new life he had begun for himself.
Briefly he just lay there staring at the roof of his tent, not quite sure what he should think now. That was until a silver haired, fully grown man hovered in front of him with a crinkled eye and a disconcerting smile underneath that cloth mask of his. He pushed away from the man instinctively, eyeing his relaxed posture sitting there like he wasn't some strange man who he knew barely anything of. Truthfully he was more inclined to trust Iruka, and he had hardly even spoken to the brown-haired man.
"Breakfast!" The man announced suddenly, Naruto once more flinched back, something about the masked man brought him unease. The tent flap opened suddenly, and the blushing face of Iruka made his way in with a small serving of oatmeal hastily made and quite cool. Kakashi just smiled at the man with a tilt to his head, Naruto gingerly reached out and thanked the kind man with a smile and a nod. Iruka, once the bowl was taken sat off to his opposite side and drummed his fingers on his thighs.
Naruto daren't question how he had acquired the meal, it most certainly involved his cricket form, and that was still something he found slightly disconcerting. They both made quite pretty abstracts for each other, they quite obviously had a history, one that Naruto was eager to know, yet not eager to look into.
"Iruka, you never elaborated why you are here." His grin wasn't nearly as bright as he said it, as it normally would have been in good company, but given the circumstances he had an excuse for his not so courteous behavior. Not to mention the oatmeal he was trying to eat as quickly as possible so that he may dress for the day without delay.
"Oh yes, I'm terribly sorry Naruto. Well I, unlike Kakashi, was not chosen by your ancestors to aid you, in fact Kakashi asked me to come with him. He was, um, concerned about your status as an Omega. So he asked for my assistance in any problems that may arise in relation to your….um, Status." For a moment he simply blinked at the man, it wasn't out of the question or even shocking for that to be the reason Iruka was with them, the man was clearly an Omega, nevertheless that wrought several questions as it did understanding.
"Oh dear, seems everyone has already left, what's their hurry?" The drawl of the man almost made the blond lose his words in his thoughts, of course it wasn't until Iruka let out an outraged shirk did he actually process the words spoken.
Legs flailed, clothing got tossed around in various directions shoes were hastily applied, Kakashi also got a punch the face by a flying fist. In mere moments Naruto was jumping out of his tent with slightly disorientated, but ready for a harsh day nonetheless.
Many of the Alpha were already in the beginnings of a lineup, truly it was a cereal experience, his interest was peaked by his ignorance about the art of war, how he should feel about that revelation was insignificant. Many of the Alpha were laughing, appearing generally happy in each other's company, although the atmosphere was tense despite the smiles and laughs. It was apparent that the situation was a weight on everyone's shoulders.
Minato sat in silence, the river beside him a never ending flow, it represented serenity and fluidity, everything he currently could not fathom. His life no longer held tranquility, he could not even think of such an emotion. His panic, his fear, so profound like never before. He had thought he had known such emotions at the battle front when he was younger, how ignorant of him. It held no darkness to what he felt now.
When he had been a young man, just after the war, he had been visited by a medical woman, her eyes had pierced him, and her mouth had spoken words of vile intent. At first it hadn't mattered in the slightest, he hadn't a care for anything in his life back then. His soul had felt spent, as if it had been left on the battlefield a charred husk from what it had been. His body, present in the time and crippled nearly as much as his mind had longed for the rush, for the thrill of battle, the feeling of control, the loss of control, the struggle to get it back, he missed it all. He hadn't known what to do with himself after the war, the medical woman had clearly said he would not be able to sire heirs, and he hadn't a care at the time, because it hadn't mattered.
When he had met Kushina she had been doing something unethical, that, at first had driven him agast. Then he had joined her silently. She had only observed him for awhile, her mouth had been pulled taught, her body stiffened, although what he still remembered most was her hair. Mused and everywhere, the greenest grass beautiful as it had been held nothing too it's blood fire radiance. All of their meetings continued like this, in silence just staring at the sky in dark or in light, in the warmth of the summer breezes, or the chill of the winter winds against their skin. No one had ever come across them, and it was peaceful. For the long times they stayed there Minato could feel the tranquility he had as a child return to him for brief moments at a time.
When Kushina and him had gone to the matchmaker, they had been paired with each other, and though they knew little of each other it wouldn't be too difficult to try to understand one another. Minato had already understood that Kushina was not the average Omega not quite bending to the rules of society, yet not quite invested enough in those taboo ideas of hers that she would be outspoken.
Their marriage was a scam, at least originally.
Minato had been marked as sterile, although he was expected to have at least one child, so it had been arranged that Kushina would bare the child of her cousin in order for him to at least claim it to be his. The thing had been a vulgar idea that had made him retch in degust every time he thought of it. The very thought of the scheme was horrid, to use Kushina in such a way. They hadn't even had the courtesy to ask of her opinion of the matter, not that it would have mattered either way, that simply wasn't how things worked back then.
When Kushina was found pregnant, with his child no less, a miracle had been achieved. At first, his opinion on the matter hadn't been an entirely positive one, and truer still neither had Kushina's. She hadn't wanted a child originally, fearful for her freedom, and he hadn't known how to go about fatherhood. When little Nahito had been born, when held him in their arms, everything simply clicked together in their minds; through the rush, through the panic, through the insecurity. It had been serene.
It had also been the moment he truly loved his wife. Not as the mother of his child, but as the woman he had met in silence.
Fatherhood had been difficult in the early years, difficult as it had been it still brought a large grin to his face. When Nahito -and indeed he was still Nahito at that time- had been but a small boy, he had taken him out to the garden, and moved swiftly with his training movements to show and teach his son the way of the warrior. Back then his leg had not been driven into such a broken state, and he could still show off to his young child with relative ease. Nahito had relished in it, clapping his hands and laughing the entire time, trying to imitate his movements with stumbled steps.
Kushina hadn't liked that much, her ideals were bold yes, but she worried for her son's welfare when he would have to marry. It was only natural of her, but for a long time Minato had either fought or avoided her because of how restrictive she had been. It had been as if she had forgotten how rebellious she had been, how freedom had been her only friend.
The ring didn't suit her finger, it still didn't: Freedom, running through the grasslands and laughing was the only thing she should be married too.
He had begun to resent her then, her attitude had caused his instincts to flare, it had not been a fun time for their relationship. He still hadn't forgiven her for her actions even to this day.
The ring on her finger may as well have been a tether; A blood red sting, stained in pain and resentment binding her to unhappiness, to him.
In time, her actions were not so horrid to him, they were simply a mother's protection, and he could understand that. He had to be the best father he could be to overcome her pain, and make Naruto -no longer Nahito to him- understand that not every word his mother said held the truth, only the way other's thought you should be. His son had understood, but he feared that it had cast a resentful shadow over mother and son, never to leave.
Now he questioned himself. Did his actions cause this? Did his words really cause such action to be taken? Was all of this his fault?