Summary : It's almost too easy to make an Uchiha fall into depravity, Mikoto noticed as she pushed many of her clanmen over the metaphorical edge. Mostly because no one is surprised when it happens. Uchiha Mikoto-is-Arba Centric, Magi x Naruto Crossover. Dark.

Disclaimer : Neither Naruto or Magi are mine.

Rated M : not really a sunshine-and-rainbow fic, just so you know. It's Arba we're talking about.

Note : I'm not beta'ed and Engligh isn't my first langage

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Singing lullabies (of despair)

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III. Kings and orphans

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If Mikoto had any doubts left about Namikaze Minato's real persona, those would have been eradicated by the sight he made at this instant. The tall figure of her teammate, standing regal and confident at the doors of Konoha, as hundreds of white Ruths sang the return of their beloved master to the den.

Somehow, Jiraiya had taken a broken boy to hit the road for a year and had brought back a king.

Solomon, Solomon, all over again, staring at her with those innervingly blue eyes of his. Windows to his soul, Arba used to think at the time she still had use of notions like romance or poetry. Windows to his bullshit, more like.

He shouldn't be there. He couldn't be there. After all, Solomon had died or spread himself and his cursed Destiny or something. And yet, for half a second, Mikoto's breath just stopped. For half a second, Arba had to fight to urge to kneel in front of her King, and beg for forgiveness. Forgiveness. As if she regretted anything. As if she had been the one in the wrong. The way she remembered what happened back then, it hadn't been Arba that tried to kill God.

Mikoto still had no idea how or why Solomon was here, disguised as her fifteen-year old teammate, but boy she would make him pay. One way or another.

"Mikoto-san, Kushina-san," Minato greeted his welcoming party with a goofy smile, their sensei on his heels. Nevermind what she had said before, he hadn't changed one bit.

Mikoto glanced to her 'friend', who she had quite forgotten in the rush. To be fair, judging by the wide eyes Kushina was giving Minato, the redhead probably had all forgotten about Mikoto as well. And here it came, the infamous Uzumaki blush, burning the skin of Kushina's cheeks with renewed vigor.

"Welcome back, Minato-kun," Mikoto eventually took upon herself to reply, when it became clear that her partner-in-crime had lost all motor functions for the time being. "It's good to finally see you back."

Namikaze's blue eyes glinted happily at her. Mikoto had never wanted to poke anything so badly before. "Thanks. You look very good Mikoto-san."

Oh my. That finally seemed to get Kushina out of her Solomon-induced trance, as she stared angrily at the two of them. Jealousy, jealousy, here you come. And hadn't Arba quite missed that. Good thing to know that no matter the world, the life, the millenium, Solomon would never be able to understand women. No amount of intense training with their womanizer of a sensei would ever change that simple fact.

"Hardly!" Mikoto giggled, right on clue. "Minato-kun's is the one looking good, don't you think Kushina-chan?"

As predicted, her teanmate looked startled at the 'chan' she had used on purpose. As if he had realized just now his two female nemesis might have made use of his long absence to bond over their common acquaintance. Oh yes, so much teasing, her polite grin promised to the blond, shameless. So much. Starting now.

"What...what are you talking about, Mikoto?" Kushina rilled herself up, defensive. "Still a sassy wimp, didn't noticed a change."

Minato visibly deflated at that, as Mikoto silently cackled in glee. Those two hopeless fools. Had Arba not pushed the two of them together the first time, they would have never gotten their head out of their butt. "Nonsense! Have you not noticed those inches he took? And the biceps! My, Minato-kun, I had no idea you had any of those!"

A huge laugh interruped whatever answer a mortified Minato had been trying to give, as their giant sensei threw his arm around his favorite student's still shouders. "Haha, told you the ladies would eat in your palm if you followed my advices, Minato!" And then, in a admirable attempt not to leer at her, Jiraiya finally greeted the student he had left behind. "Mikoto-chan! Haven't you grow into a stunning woman while we were gone?"

Ah, good ol' Jiraiya. He, unlike his student, hadn't change one bit, still the same perverted fool. Fine, Mikoto liked her 'figures of authority' better that way in any case.

"I try, Sensei, I try," she smiled sweetly.

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Mikoto took a sip of poorly made tea, held back her wince of disgust and put her cup back on the table. Had she not known Minato and his counterpart's character like the back of her hand, she might have assumed her partner was trying to poison her.

"That bad?" Minato's shoulders slumped with disappointment. "I thought I've gotten better."

He had actually. At twelve, her teammate made a mockery of tea that tasted closer to a biologial weapon than any kind of editable beverage. Although very far from Uchiha's criteria, his last attempt at the very least wouldn't kill her. Probably.

"Let's just say cooking still isn't your strong point," Mikoto smiled benevolently to her teammate. "But you didn't left on a year-long journey to practice your tea-making skills in the first place."

"Ah, no, I guess," Minato grinned sheepishly. "But I did work on my sake-pourring talent."

What, their sensei, drinking and whoring, while he was supposed to dedicate his attention to his favorite genius student? Shocking.

"Anyway, thank you for taking care of my flat! Is there any way I could repay you for the trouble?"

Sure. You could have the decency to die for good, and stay dead. "It was no trouble at all, Minato-kun. Truth to be told, having the occasion to leave the compount every once in a while did work wonder on my mood."

Now, Arba loved spending time messing with her relatives' so fragile sanity, but a girl needed some privacy from time to time. If only to dust Minato's tiny flat and restrain herself from burning the entire building. It wasn't like she didn't already have in-depth experience with clean up after Solomon's bullshit.

Minato's smile strained a bit at the confession. "Yes...I heard you semi-retired..."

Oh my, news ran quickly. Indeed, while Jiraiya and Minato took a sabbatic year, Mikoto's father had pushed his daughter to retire to an administrative position instead of taking active missions and poursuing her career as an actual kunoichi. After all, she was his only heir, it wouldn't do at all for her to die in the middle of nowhere before spawing a few sons for the Clan. Mikoto could have told him to fuck off had she wished to, but truthfully, it suited her plans just fine. Taking off the steam by decapitating foreign shinobis was all good and games, but Arba would rather put her time to better use. Like keep on worsening relashions between Uchiha and Konoha. Now, that was true fun.

"Ah, you know how it is," she shruggled. "Clan duties."

Of course he didn't. Orphan tragic backstory and stuff. So sad. If she had the emotional capacity, she woud cry.

"Right," Minato forced a smile. "I know it's not my business, but I can't help but worry about you. I mean, it was your dream to become a kunoichi..."

Perhaps it had been Mikoto's dream indeed, before she got a taste of what it really meant to be kunoichi. Before Arba. Not that it mattered anymore now.

Mikoto lowered her eyes, staring at her hands resting on her lap. Time to play the emotional card. Solomon had always been a sucker for those. "I do not wish to got back to the battlefield, Minato-kun. I consider myself done with that life."

"Oh. Yes, of course, I understand," her teammate replied mournfully. Probably remembering their first disastrous real life confrontation with the ugliness of this rotten world. Ah, good ol' Masato. "But I just want to tell...if you need help of any kind, I will be there for you."

Right. That was why both Sensei and him, the only members left of her genin team had left her to rot in Konoha to the mercy of her Clan's plot, while they frolicked all over the Element Countries. Completly reliable friend material here. Not that Mikoto cared, but still.

"Likewise, Minato-kun," she smiled warmly, before going straight for the kill. "Especially if you need love advices with Kushina-san!" Arba had plenty experience to share in giving love advices. More than she would wish to have in any case.

His groan of embarrassment rewarded her well for her trouble. Really, he should be immune to the innuendo by now.

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Among other hobbies such as murdering or embarrassing to death Solomon or Sheba, Arba quite enjoyed cooking. The fact she amused herself thinking how she could poison her food might or might not enter into consideration.

"Mikoto."

Interrupted in the middle of a quite satisfaying session of slaying vegetables, Mikoto turned her head towards her father, rather taken aback. She honestly had no idea he even knew where the kitchen was, for the amount of attention he had paid to this part of the house before. Truly, Uchiha Makoto should be grateful he had such a dedicated daughter to keep him afloat.

"Father? Do you need something?" she blinked to him, tilting her head to the side with confusion.

He crossed his arms, looking as welcoming and warm as ever. Which meant not at all. "I heard Jiraiya and his student came back."

'Jiraiya and his student', he said. As if Mikoto had not mattered at all. She bit back a laugh at his unsubtle remimber as she turned back to her vegetables.

"I also heard you went to meet them," the Uchiha Clan head added, when it became clear that his daughter was not eager to share her intel on the matter.

Oh, he was worried she was having a change of heart regarding this whole 'woman at home' business. How adorable. Mikoto could be quite obtuse when it suited her too. "Yes?" she answered innocently. "What about it?"

He frowned at her, playing the role of the stern father to the perfection. Mikoto gave the performance at least a 7, if only because she was quite impressed by the depth he could drop the corners of his mouth on purpose. "I hope you are still aware of your importance to the clan."

That was typical Uchiha behavior. They couldn't be honest and forthcoming even between each other. Her beloved genitor could have said: 'I need you to pop up proper heirs for the Clan, not pathetic failures like you who couldn't even activate their Sharingan.' But no, he had to go ahead and try to make her feel guilty. They really should work on their communication skills.

On second thought, perhaps not. Someone might notice what she was doing otherwise. It wouldn't do yet.

"Of course not, Father," she smiled dermurely, in accordance to the respectful daughter persona she had to maintien. "I did promise I would marry Fugaku-san after my sixteenth birthday, didn't I? You need not to worry, I understand perfectly well."

And once she was done with him, her fiancé would be eating in her palm like a good dog.