Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto/Naruto Shippuden

Chapter Five

Kushina smiled widely as she waited outside the academy with a few other parents scattered about. She glanced at the few students that began to pile out before a familiar patch of dark red hair appeared in her line of vision. She grinned as she waved happily.

"Karibi!" Said 8 year old smiled as she ran up to her guardian.

"Kushina-neechan!" Said woman held her hand out to the little girl as a small and nimble hand clasped tightly on to hers.

"So?"

"I did just like you said!" Karibi grinned as she held out her final exam. "I passed!" Kushina blinked, completely caught off guard with the perfect score; this young girl was rather smart for her age.

"Nice job! And just like I promised, riceballs!" Karibi merely grinned as she began to ramble on about her day at school. Kushina nodded as she looked up, her smile disappearing for just a moment.

Karibi was a rather friendly and talkative person at heart, and so three months ago, Kushina and Minato had discussed with the Third about sending her to the academy. It was obvious she had power, and if she already had the skills to perform sealing jutsu, she had somewhat control over her chakra. And although Minato was acting as Hokage now, the couple always sought out the wise man's advice; he always had helpful things to say. After talking for an hour or so, the three had decided that sending Karibi to the academy would be good for her.

But no one had imagined just how well she would excel.

Glancing down at the exam in Karibi's hand, Kushina smiled as the young girl looked up at her. "And Mayuri-sensei told me that if I can pass this next exam then I'll most likely—"

"Become a genin." Kushina nodded as she smiled widely. "That's right!" Karibi grinned to herself as she nodded her head.

"I'm going to do it then!"

"Oh yeah?"

"That's right! I'm going to become a strong ninja, like you and Minato-niichan!" Kushina blinked before she chuckled and nodded her head.

"…I'm going to protect people who don't have others to protect them." The older Uzumaki raised a brow as she looked down at Karibi, the smile wiped clean from her face as she stared off into the distance. "I want to be able to help people who can't help themselves." A warmth began to spread within Kushina as she stopped and turned the young student to her. Karibi blinked as Kushina knelt down in front of her, ignoring the fact that she was getting dirt on her long skirt.

"Then do it." Kushina gave the young girl a reassuring nod. "Train hard and promise me you'll become a strong ninja! For those people and for yourself." Karibi slowly began to grin before she nodded.

"I promise!"

"Good. Now lets eat! I'm starting to get hungry myself!"

*One Month Later*

It had been a slow day for Minato. Although days of peace were lingering over the village, there were still things that he needed to take care of; as Hokage, his job was never done.

As he read through a scroll, he paused at the sound of footsteps and his office door opening. He smiled as a familiar patch of gray hair appeared before him. "Ah, Kakashi. It's good to see you."

"You too, Yondaime."

"I have a—" Before the Fourth Hokage could continue, the door to his office slammed open, causing both to jump. The two stared with startled gazes as they looked back, a young girl in brown pants and a white short-sleeved shirt panting and trying to catch her breath.

"Minato-niichan!" Said man blinked once more as he watched Karibi straighten up, completely ignoring the stranger's presence in the room; she was far to excited to notice. "Look!" Holding her hand out, Minato's eyes widened—the sun gleaming off of a metallic plate.

"Is that—"

"I passed! And I passed with one of the highest scores in the class!" Minato blinked as Karibi ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The Hokage laughed before he picked the newly assigned genin up, holding her tightly; pride was swelling within him. So much so he nearly forgot about Kakashi standing just a few feet away.

Kakashi blinked as the scene played out before him. At first, he had been irritated that someone as ignorant as that would just walk in without warning and interrupt the Hokage so abruptly. But when he had realized who it was, he unwillingly ignored his irritation. After all, the young girl had been glowing so brightly in his face. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to scold the girl. So, he merely watched in silence as the redhead leaped into Minato-sensei's arms, holding her new leaf forehead protector in her hand tightly. His gaze softened at the way she grinned; there was still that innocence Kakashi remembered from the first time he had ever laid his eye upon her face.

And in the depths of his mind, he was somewhat relieved.

"What do you think?" Kakashi blinked as a voice pulled him away from his thoughts. He raised a brow as he found Karibi standing before him, her new genin headband tied firmly around her forehead. The jonin said nothing as he stared down at the logo on the plate. He relaxed slightly as the 8 year old smiled up at him before he nodded his head; that had been a good enough response for her.

Spinning around to Minato, Karibi released a content breath. "In celebration, I say we go out to eat for dinner!"

"Only if you're paying," Minato replied back playfully, the guardian laughing at the way the young girl began to pout.

"Hey, if you want, you could come." Kakashi's eye widened as Karibi turned to him with a wide grin. She locked her hands behind her back as Kakashi stared, surprised by her invitation.

A lot had changed about the once silent girl. She had first come off as timid and unresponsive, but now she was full of life and chatty; it was a complete change. And although it had been quite sometime since Kakashi had last seen her, he couldn't forget that time in the alley and what he had said—because he had fully believed in every word he had told her.

And it seemed, Karibi had too.

"I have a mission," Kakashi finally stated as he looked over at Minato, the man blinking before nodding, smiling sheepishly.

"Right."

"Hmm." Karibi looked over at Kakashi for a moment as she frowned.

She hadn't forgotten what he had said to her that day. And she had never forgotten that first day she had seen him at the bridge. Like a magnets, they always seemed to somehow find each other, but never stay for too long; it was such a shame to her. But, she didn't have the time to linger too much on the thought; she was still glowing from passing out of the academy.

"Don't worry. There's always next time!" Kakashi and Minato blinked at that. "I'll be a chunin in no time! And you'll have to celebrate with us then!" Karibi didn't need to get to know the young man. She didn't even need to know his name. The only thing she cared about was that he had been kind enough to help her that day, and she wanted to make sure he knew how much she had appreciated that.

After all, it's important to say the things you want to say before it's too late.

With one quick wave, Karibi was out the door; she still needed to inform Kushina of the good news.

Kakashi and Minato stood in the little girl's wake, still trying to settle from the buzzing. The Fourth Hokage chuckled as he sat back down, shaking his head. Kakashi turned as he looked back to his leader with a curious gaze.

"She's one of the best graduates I've seen from the academy," Minato said as his smile began to fade. "At this rate, she could easily become a chunin, maybe even a jonin, in a year." But that was the problem.

Minato had seen many things. He had experienced many tragedies, and he had lost many loved ones. He had watched as lives crumbled and as the spark in people's eyes disappeared. He had killed and he had nearly been killed. That was the life of a shinobi. That was the price one was to pay. And as his eyes flickered over to Kakashi, he knew. He knew just how true it all was.

For Kakashi was still paying the price.

"You should come along." Kakashi blinked as he gave his sensei an incredulous stare. He smiled at his former student as he held out the mission statement to the young boy. "There's no need to rush this next mission. One dinner wouldn't hurt." Kakashi hesitated before he grabbed the scroll from the Hokage. He stared down at it for a moment as he looked back up at Minato-sensei.

He knew what the man was trying to do. He knew that his sensei felt a string of guilt every time their eyes met. But there was nothing for the blond to be guilty of. He had taught everyone a valuable lesson—Kakashi had just been too stubborn to realize it until it was too late. So, no. There was no reason for Yondaime to feel any sort of sadness for his own stupidity.

Kakashi had been the fool.

"Just think about it." Minato smiled before he turned his attention back to the scroll he had been originally reading. Kakashi stood silently for a moment before he turned and began to walk out of the room. As the door clicked shut, the blond looked back up with a frown.

He wanted to reach out and help Kakashi, but if the young boy didn't ask for help, then Minato couldn't give him any.

§

"Barbeque? It's been a long time since I've eaten barbeque!" Kushina smiled widely as she held tightly to Karibi's hand, the young girl laughing and tugging the woman inside the restaurant.

"That's why I picked here to eat! Now lets go!" Minato chuckled as he watched the two Uzumaki's walk into the restaurant. He followed after them but stopped at the doorway as he looked over his shoulder. He raised a brow as his eyes danced around the busy street; he could have sworn he felt a familiar presence.

"Minato?" Said man looked back forward as Kushina looked at him with a confused expression. "What's wrong." The man smiled as he shook his head, walking inside.

"Nothing."

A shadow from across the street watched from a rooftop as the Fourth Hokage walked into the restaurant. The masked figure stood to his feet as he stared for a second longer.

A part of Kakashi had wanted to join his sensei. He wanted to be able to laugh and smile the way Minato did around Kushina and Karibi. He wanted to be able tofeel again. But the darkness that lurked in his mind—it clawed at him and pulled him back. The voice of Rin whispered in his ear, calling his name and echoing in his mind. The insatiable guilt ate away at his soul, and it wouldn't be too long until there was nothing left of Kakashi.

Nothing but his hollow shell.

*Two Months Later*

"Minato." Someone was calling his name. "Minato?" It was a familiar voice. "Oh for—Minato!" Said man jumped, sitting up and glancing around. He blinked a few times as his head began to spin for a moment. He yawned after gaining his bearings as he looked over at his wife, the woman wearing nothing but a sheet wrapped around her body.

"Kushina? What is it?"

"It's Karibi." That had completely gained the man's attention.

"What's wrong?"

"She's gone." Minato blinked.

"Gone?"

"I thought I heard footsteps, and when I went to go check, Karibi's door was left open and she's not in there," Kushina said with a worried look on her face. The Fourth Hokage nodded as he began pull on the clothes that had been strewn about. He stopped for a moment as he looked back at his wife for a moment. She stared back at him with a raised brow before he innocently pointed at her.

"You went to check on her in that?" Kushina began to blush as she glared at her husband. He began to laugh as she picked up a pillow and chucked it at him.

"Shut up!"

§

Karibi had always been a morning person. She wasn't sure what it was that got her up so early, but once the sun hit the sky, she was full of energy and ready to go.

And on this special day, she was especially awake.

She had been scheduled to meet with her team that late morning, but seeing as she was already up, she had decided to do a bit of walking before she went to meet them. She strolled up towards the bridge she had gone to feed the ducks and stopped as she sat down at the edge, watching a cluster of grown ducks appeared in the water. She smiled at them as she sighed.

"I'm sorry. I have nothing for you today."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Karibi tensed as she looked up, watching as Minato sat down beside her with a small bag of bread in his hands. Her eyes widened as the man winked at her.

"Just keep this between the two of us." Kushina had always lectured Karibi about feeding the ducks.

Grinning, Karibi crumbled a chunk of bread in her hand as she gently tossed it into the water, watching as the ducks flocked towards the floating specks of food. She smiled to herself before she looked up at Minato, the man in his normal attire with out his robe. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye before he smiled.

"What is it?"

"…What was it like for you?"

"What was what like for me?"

"What was it like for you when you became a chunin?"

And then, Minato had finally realized why Karibi had been up so early.

Smiling, Minato began to reminisce about the days when he had been in the academy and when he had first become a genin and a chunin. He chuckled as he remembered the way he had professed his feelings to Kushina, and the day she had come to cheer him on for the chunin exam; those were all some of his fondest memories.

"I had been training hard with my sensei for a long time before I took the chunin exam," Minato began as Karibi nodded. She looked over at her companion as he broke off a piece of bread and tossed it to a lone duck on the other side of the creek. "Jiraiya-sensei had been really helpfully. He taught me almost everything I know now," the Fourth Hokage stated; that was to be expected from a sanin.

"I want to meet this Jiraiya-sensei one day!" Karibi said with a smile as her guardian nodded his head with a chuckle.

That would be an interesting day.

"It's alright if you're nervous." The genin frowned as she played with the crumbs of bread between her fingers. Minato smiled at her sudden bashfulness as he placed his hand on the top of her head. "I get nervous too."

"But you're the Hokage!" Karibi exclaimed as the man laughed beside her.

"Everyone gets nervous. Especially when it comes to their dreams." For Minato had been dreaming about that moment where he stood before the village for his entire life; it was still a bit surreal to him that it had all come true.

"…I just want to make you and Kushina-neechan proud." Minato's gaze softened as he stared down at the red head. He chuckled as he pulled her close to his side, a blush flushing over Karibi's cheeks.

"We'll be proud whether or not you pass or fail this exam," Minato stated confidently. "As long as you do your best." For that was all that mattered.

"You've been training hard for this, and even Riku-sensei says you've been excelling." Minato had made sure to keep a close relation with the young girl's sensei. Karibi shrugged as she sighed, staring down at her reflection in the water.

"…I just don't want to disappoint anyone." And then, Minato had to wonder; was Karibi's sense of weakness and insecurity related to her relationship with her parents?

"Don't worry." Minato smiled widely as he stood up, holding his hand out to the 8 year old. "You won't be disappointing anyone. Just do your best. And don't give up on yourself." Karibi stared at the man's calloused and dry hand before she grinned and slipped her own into his. He helped the young girl to her feet as she dusted herself off before taking a step towards Minato. Slightly startled, Minato stiffened as Karibi wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes as she leaned into him.

"Thank you, Minato-niichan." Without hesitation, the blond smiled as he hugged the young girl back.

"You're welcome."

§

"Karibi-chan! You're late!"

"Morning, sensei!" The last member of Team 2 quickly ran towards her teammates, Hayase and Hana waving to the girl.

"If you had been any later, we would have had to go to the exam without you," Hana said as she rubbed her cheeks, the red markings on her face making Karibi smile.

"Sorry! I lost track of time!"

"What were you doing, anyways?" the male member of the team inquired curiously as Karibi chuckled weakly, waving his question off.

"Oh, nothing! Alright, sensei! We're ready to go!"

"No second-guessing ourselves, right?" The brown haired woman smirked as each of her genin shook their heads before she nodded. "Good! Then lets get going. I don't expect to see you three until the end of the exam, got it?" She had no failures on her team.

Approaching the academy, Hayase groaned as he shook his head, his spiky black hair moving with the breeze. "Man, and I promised myself I'd never come back here again."

"Don't be a baby, Hayase," Hana said playfully as Karibi smiled up at the school she had once attended just a few months before.

"Alright, you three. This is where we part. Remember, this first part is the written portion of the exam," Riku said as she crossed her arms over her rather busty chest. "Just…make sure to think like ninja, alright?"

"Right!" Riku-sensei smiled fondly at her students before she pulled the three into a hug. She chuckled as Hayase tried to escape the embrace, the two girls of the team rolling their eyes at him.

"Now go on, and make me a proud sensei!" As the three waved back at her, Riku watched with a sigh before she shook her head. She chuckled as she turned and disappeared from the front of the academy.

In no time at all, they would return as chunin.

Hello to whoever is reading! I'm here with an update! If you notice, there are going to be a lot of time hops and skips. But like I have mentioned before, I've done my best to make sure that everything matches up with the series timeline well. For those who may not know, this goes back from Kakashi Gaiden and through some of the episodes in Shippuden that trace back to Kakashi's past as well as the episodes where Naruto finally really learns about what happened before the Nine-tailed fox attack. Just in case some people may have not seen those episodes, I won't spoil anything by saying much here, but that is the gist of where we are right now in this story. Just wanted to be a bit clearer on that, is all!

Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope that whoever is here has enjoyed it thus far! More is to come, and I truly hope that you all will enjoy what I post! Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see me fix or if there is something that you like. I am all about taking what readers have to say and really implementing their suggestions and critiques into my story! So if there's anything I should fix, please, don't hesitate to let me know!

By next week, I'm hoping to update more frequently. I won't promise anything because I don't want to break a promise. But I thought it would be worth mentioning, I suppose! So hopefully we'll see how well next week goes in my scheduel ^_^;

Thank you again for reading, and I hope you like this!

Reviews:

BROTH3R MENACE: I'm genuinely happy to hear that you liked that chapter :) And I'm glad that scene was touching to you! I worked especially hard on that scene not to make it over done but still emotional, so I'm glad you enjoyed it! More about Karibi will be seen, especially in the next chapter I post, so you'll learn much more about her soon! Thank you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you're thinking :D Hope you enjoy this and future posts to come!

Jagged Hearts: Thank you! I'm relieved that you are enjoying this thus far! More about Karibi's character will be seen soon, especially in the next chapters to come. And I'm glad you like the name too :3 Yes, there are a lot of things going on right now in my life, but I'm doing my best with making sure I get to everything! Thank you for the support, and thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy!

Gigubowbow: I'm really happy and flattered that you gave my story a chance! I hope I don't let you down...^_^; I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen LOL And I'm glad that you like how Kakashi and Karibi are together right now. I know they don't interact much, but at this moment they're really just strangers to each other and they know it, and they both have separate things going on in their lives, so I thought it was fitting that their lives don't intertwine much yet. But I'm really happy that you like how they are together so far! :D Thank you for reading this story! And thank you for reviewing! I appreciate you taking the time to do so, and I will make sure to work hard on future chapters I post! Thanks again!