"Talking"
'Thinking'
Biju talk/think/Jutsu
Flash Back
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Minaruki was more than content to let the rest of the afternoon slip away in peaceful slumber, pointedly disregarding the intense scrutiny of Orochimaru and the waves of Sumiko's barely suppressed annoyance. Her newfound kunoichi companions had been relentless in their interrogation, a barrage of questions she'd met with a few terse replies before retreating into her preferred silence. Thankfully, the remaining portion of the lunch break had been brief, and they had soon returned to their respective classrooms.
She had gratefully sought refuge at Kakashi's side, offering him a weary pout which he returned with a knowing glance. As recompense for her earlier social ordeal, he wordlessly allowed her to use his arm as a pillow. The little menace was already ambidextrous, so her presence didn't impede his activities in the slightest.
Minaruki mused that her decision to embrace sleep for the remainder of the afternoon was an excellent one. In the quiet of her dozing state, she could sense the subtle mending of her fractured heart. The charred remnants of trees in her mindscape, lurking in the shadows of the few vibrant ones, were beginning to show the faintest signs of new growth. They would forever bear the scars of those she had lost, but the fresh memories she would create with these new individuals would gradually soothe the ache of her past grief.
Minaruki felt an immense wave of relief wash over her as the final bell of the academy day rang out. Without hesitation, she grabbed Kakashi's hand and practically dragged him towards the main gates.
"Nee-san!" she yelled, her voice filled with joy as she spotted her distinctive red-haired sister standing out amidst the throng of waiting family members. Kushina beamed, waving excitedly as her little sister launched herself into her arms, engulfing her in a tight hug and swinging her around.
"Mina-chan!" Kushina exclaimed happily, her arms squeezing Minaruki close. "How did my little imouto's first day go?"
"Okay," Minaruki replied truthfully, though a hint of weariness lingered in her voice.
"Orochimaru-sama mentioned she had a bit of a scare," Kakashi interjected, finally catching up to them. Minaruki whirled around, shooting him a sharp glare.
"Hey!"
"It's true," Kakashi stated matter-of-factly, unfazed by her irritation.
Minaruki pouted, even as she felt Kushina's gaze soften with concern.
"Imouto?" Kushina asked gently, her voice laced with worry.
Minaruki turned and buried her face in the comforting softness of Kushina's neck. "Was scared," she mumbled against her skin.
Kushina sighed, rubbing Minaruki's back soothingly. "It's okay to be scared, sweetie, but I have a feeling it was more than just a little scared."
Minaruki chose to remain silent, pressing closer to her sister. Kushina sighed again as they began their walk back to her apartment. Halfway home, a memory of the morning surfaced, and Minaruki sat up in Kushina's arms, a small frown creasing her brow as she looked at her Nee-san.
Kushina tilted her head questioningly.
"Nee-san, why did you growl at Nii-san this morning? I smelled fear on him."
Kushina's face flushed a vibrant red, matching her hair. "Uh-um…" she stammered, searching for the right words. "I'm not really a morning person. I tend to wake up…before I'm fully awake."
Two pairs of confused eyes stared at her. Kushina groaned, looking away in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to," she pouted. "So, what do you two want for dinner?" she asked, attempting to deflect their continued scrutiny.
Minaruki's face brightened instantly. "RAMEN!" she shouted enthusiastically.
"NO!" Kakashi retorted immediately. "You had that for breakfast and lunch!"
"What?" Kushina asked, but her question was lost as Minaruki turned and glared down at Kakashi.
"Ramen is the food of the gods! Did my warning this morning not make an impression?"
Kakashi snorted derisively. "Hard to take you seriously when you were crying like a baby earlier."
Suddenly, Kushina found her arms empty as two small figures, one almost five and the other a true five-year-old, tumbled onto the ground. Yelps of surprise, muttered curses, childish threats, and the muffled thuds of small fists meeting skin filled the air. After a few futile attempts to physically separate the squabbling children, Kushina finally activated her chakra, a visible aura of exasperation flaring around her.
With her hands clasped calmly behind her back, she smiled serenely and continued her walk home. Kushina blissfully ignored the two still-bickering children suspended upside down behind her, securely bound by chakra chains. Instead, she strolled along with a cheerful expression, pointedly overlooking the incredulous stares she was receiving from both the civilian populace and the shinobi they passed.
Minaruki suspected that her and Kakashi's incessant bickering had finally pushed Kushina past her breaking point sometime during the previous afternoon. In her defense, Minaruki was merely attempting to encourage the perpetually serious child to act more his age. Engaging in minor squabbles seemed like the most effective strategy.
However…
That particular tactic backfired spectacularly when Kushina subjected them to a grueling training session that evening after dinner, pushing them both to the point of utter exhaustion, beyond even the capacity for a whimper.
Minato, upon witnessing Kushina's deceptively pleasant smile, complete with her signature eye crinkles, had promptly turned tail as if he'd seen a ghost.
'Coward,' Kurama had grumbled mentally. Minaruki had silently concurred, but her thoughts were too sluggish to dwell on it as her Nee-san continued their…disciplinary training.
She slept with such profound exhaustion that neither her vivid memories nor her lingering nightmares possessed the energy to torment her.
Minato – bless his golden heart – had allowed them to sleep in late and then treated them to a substantial breakfast at an Akimichi clan restaurant before dropping them off at the academy.
Minaruki inwardly groaned at the announcement of Sumiko-sensei's planned quiz for the day. With a determined sigh, she sped through the test, submitted it promptly, and then retrieved the brand-new notebook Minato had thoughtfully purchased for her that morning.
She knew precisely one reliable method to divert an Uzumaki's wrath: make them laugh at someone else's misfortune. The fact that this endeavor also served to fulfill a promise made to a certain nine-tailed fox upon her arrival in the village was merely a delightful bonus.
Thus, the remainder of the test hour was dedicated to meticulous plotting.
"What are you up to?" Kakashi whispered, returning to his seat after handing in his completed quiz.
"Scheming," she muttered, her focus entirely on her notebook.
"Scheming what, exactly?"
"A prank," she smirked, her eyes never leaving the intricate diagrams she was sketching. It was a seal of her own invention from years past, dusted off after its remarkably successful deployment on a particular snake sannin. The memory of Tsunade's tearful laughter at the sight of a pink-haired Orochimaru still brought a smile to her face. His swift reintegration into their group after that incident had been an unexpected perk.
"N-not on Kushina-nee-san, r-right?" Kakashi stammered, a tremor of fear in his voice. He had learned very early on in this timeline precisely why Minato held his girlfriend in such healthy, respectful apprehension.
Minaruki snorted derisively. "Absolutely not. The most effective way to redirect Nee-san's attention from our misdeeds is to aim it squarely at someone else."
Kakashi watched her intently as she continued to meticulously outline her plan. He choked audibly when he recognized the clan she had targeted.
"The Uchiha?" he hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are you completely insane?"
Minaruki finally looked up, a wide, mischievous smirk spreading across her face. "I'm Uzumaki."
Kakashi met her intense gaze but wisely refrained from comment. He couldn't decipher if that declaration was an admission of madness or a twisted form of logic, and he wasn't about to risk inquiring.
"Why them, though?" he asked, shifting the subject.
Minaruki paused in her sketching, her blue eyes meeting Kakashi's. "They just look like they could use a little lightening up."
"Do you even know your way around their compound?" a new voice whispered from directly in front of them. Both children looked up to see an Uchiha boy peering down at Minaruki. She suppressed a frown. His face was vaguely familiar, and his chakra signature felt both known and subtly different.
"I'll manage," Minaruki replied, her gaze still fixed on him, a flicker of recognition in her eyes.
He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Wouldn't knowing the layout give you a bit of an edge?"
Kakashi and Minaruki exchanged a quick glance before she turned back to the Uchiha boy, raising her own eyebrow in challenge. "Is that an offer, Uchiha?" she asked, deliberately emphasizing his clan name. Not with malice, but with pointed curiosity.
To her surprise, the boy offered a small, almost conspiratorial smile, 'A smile? First Obito, now this one. Was she destined to only encounter the perpetually gloomy ones in her previous life?'
"Tou-san always says the clan needs to loosen up a bit. A harmless prank should do the trick."
"How do you know it's harmless?" Kakashi interjected, ever cautious.
"I see Pink in the seal matrix. I'm no seal master, but even I know my basic color indicators," he deadpanned, pointing to a specific symbol within her design.
Minaruki smirked, a hint of respect in her expression. "You're not half bad, Uchiha. What's your first name?"
"Kai. And I can even help you get into the main Uchiha compound. Tou-san is Mikoto-obasan's brother. He takes me to see Oji-chan at the head house all the time."
Minaruki froze, a sudden realization dawning within her. Shisui Uchiha?
Minaruki rubbed her aching temples, the gruesome sounds of the resurrected shinobi devouring the three white zetsu that Sasuke had sacrificed his left arm to obtain filling the cavern. The cost was far too steep; the time it would take for him to relearn combat with a missing limb was a luxury they couldn't afford.
"Who did Sasuke instruct you to resurrect this time?" Minaruki asked, her eyes squeezed shut, unwilling to witness the macabre feeding. Their initial plan had been for five resurrections, but the Jyuubi's monstrous spawn had intercepted their retrieval mission, leaving Sasuke to pay a terrible price to bring his team back.
Orochimaru grunted as he straightened, his joints audibly protesting his advanced age, his essence long since contained within his original, restored body. "Some particularly powerful Uchiha."
"We already have Sasuke and Itachi," Minaruki pointed out, her voice weary.
"It is not sufficient," Orochimaru stated flatly.
"It's NEVER enough!" she snapped, her crimson eyes blazing with frustration and grief. Orochimaru sighed, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. Everyone present was acutely aware of Minaruki's pain. They had been living underground for two long years, the scattered hidden villages forced into a unified refuge when Madara and the Jyuubi had relentlessly hunted them. Konoha, however, still possessed formidable shinobi, and crucially, they had Minaruki, whose intricate protective seals shielded them from the Jyuubi's all-encompassing senses.
Yet, even her powerful seals couldn't prevent the recent loss of Hinata and her infant nephew. The revelation of Naruto and Hinata's secret pre-war union had been a fragile beacon of hope for Minaruki, now extinguished. Few of their original Konoha 12 remained, and she was fiercely determined not to lose any more.
"It's never enough, but if we send anyone out there who bleeds, they will be torn apart and never return."
"Mina." A rough voice echoed from the tunnel entrance. Minaruki whirled around, her gaze locking onto Sasuke's haggard figure.
"Idiot!" she exclaimed, rushing towards him. "What are you doing out of the infirmary? Where are Tsunade and Sakura? You should still be in bed!"
"I need to be here. As the only living blood Uchiha, and as the clan head, they will need my confirmation that your words hold true."
"My foolish little brother speaks the truth," Itachi sighed, his spectral form following Sasuke's unnaturally pale figure into the room. "Even as the eldest, as a mere reanimation, I hold no authority over the clan seat. Not to mention, one I personally struck down, the other understood my reasons, and the last perished in the Kyuubi's attack, utterly unaware of the current…circumstances."
Minaruki frowned, her gaze shifting between the two Uchiha brothers. "Just who exactly are you bringing back?"
"Itachi?!" a voice exclaimed, laced with utter disbelief. "What in the world?"
Minaruki turned her attention to the three newly reanimated figures, now fully conscious and taking in their surroundings. One, sporting crimson eyes and a slowly spinning Fuma Shuriken emblem on his clothing, scanned between Itachi, Sasuke, and Minaruki. Orochimaru had already departed, his task complete and his desire to avoid further antagonizing the last Uzumaki paramount.
"Shisui," Itachi acknowledged with a small, relieved smile. "It's…good to see you again, my friend."
The spiky-haired Uchiha merely blinked for a moment before a wide grin spread across his face. "Hah! You brooding bastard, see? Feelings aren't that complicated!"
Minaruki tilted her head, observing the cheerful Uchiha before shifting her gaze to a grimacing Sasuke.
"Am I actually dead?" she asked him softly as Itachi moved to converse with the newly resurrected Shisui, guiding Sasuke's remaining arm onto a nearby cushion to make him comfortable.
"What? Why would you ask that?" Sasuke frowned, bewildered by her question.
"There is a smiling Uchiha standing before us," she stated dryly.
Sasuke snorted, a faint smirk touching his lips as he looked up at her. "It's a family trait, honestly."
"Be nice, Sasuke-chan," a gentle voice chided from behind them. Both turned to see a woman with long, flowing hair smiling warmly as she sat beside Sasuke. "Shisui and his family are just…more emotionally expressive."
"Mother," Sasuke rasped, a hint of surprise in his tone.
She smiled softly at him. "They are your first cousins and my nephews, after all. Kagami and I always suspected they inherited it from us. They clearly stole all those cheerful genes and left none for you two," she teased her youngest son.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted in response, but then sighed contentedly, leaning against her. A rare look of peace settled on his face. Minaruki's gaze met a pair of crimson eyes, the intricate six-pointed black flower of a Mangekyou Sharingan briefly flaring before settling.
Mikoto's Sharingan-enhanced eyes meticulously scanned Minaruki's features before widening in surprise.
"M-Minashi?"
Minaruki blinked. "Hai?"
Mikoto's eyes widened further. "You look so much like your father, but you have your mother's chakra…" Her gaze darted around the cavern. "Where's little Naruto-chan?"
Minaruki's eyes darkened, and Sasuke stiffened beside her.
"Dead," Minaruki stated firmly, her sharp tone snapping Mikoto's attention back to her. "Because he's dead, we need your help. Orochimaru used the Edo Tensei, with the clones Sasuke retrieved, to bring you three back temporarily. Itachi and Sasuke informed us that your Sharingan abilities are unique and should help turn the tide in battle. Especially since Sasuke here decided to donate his arm."
"It was that or my head," the Uchiha deadpanned, his tone laced with his usual sardonic wit.
Minaruki simply turned her own crimson eyes towards him, a silent warning radiating from her gaze. "Tread carefully, Sasuke. You and Sakura are among the last threads connecting me to Naruto. Don't. Test. Me."
Sasuke, ever the pragmatist, wisely chose silence.
"K-Kai-nii?" a voice broke the tense quiet.
Minaruki stood and turned to see Shisui launch himself towards the other reanimated Uchiha, his own spiky black hair mirroring Shisui's.
"Shisui!" the other older teen exclaimed, embracing the younger one tightly. Minaruki watched as the two Uchiha smiled at each other with genuine warmth, a familiar ache resonating within her at the easy display of their sibling bond.
Eventually, she called them to attention and filled them in on the years they had missed, the dire circumstances that necessitated their aid, and the roles they would be expected to play.
They departed to assist Sasuke back to the hospital, offering her respectful bows after Shisui pointed out the Hokage's hat and half-cloak resting nearby.
Minaruki mentally shook off the lingering tendrils of the past. "I don't need assistance navigating their compounds. Just a basic layout, patrol schedules, and their usual routes. I can work with that," Minaruki replied, hoping her brief moment of distraction hadn't been too noticeable.
"Really?" Kai asked, his skepticism evident.
Minaruki nodded, firmly pushing the bittersweet memories aside. She had gleaned all the necessary information from them. Kai was Shisui's older brother. The two siblings had been invaluable allies for a year before their eventual return to the afterlife. The familiarity she felt now made perfect sense.
"Alright," he smirked, then began to softly divulge the kind of intel any enemy would kill for. But this child was willingly handing it over for the sheer joy of seeing his notoriously stoic clan pranked. It would absolutely drive their elders up the wall.
Kurama and Minaruki shared a silent, gleeful snort within her mind. They both had a profound appreciation for causing a bit of controlled chaos amongst the elder generation.
The resumption of class interrupted her plotting session with Kai and Kakashi's occasional input. But not for long. Lunch arrived, and she promptly dragged the boys up to the rooftop to continue their clandestine planning.
They decided that her seal would maintain its innocuous pink hue, but it would be the Uchiha's typically dark hair that would be transformed into a vibrant Sakura pink. A subtle, playful tribute to her fallen teammate. To amplify the prank's delightful annoyance, she was incorporating a timer into the seal. It would last for a full month. Minaruki grinned wickedly at the prospect.
The wicked grin was a deliberate choice, a way to avoid dwelling on the fact that tomorrow was Saturday. Her first appointment with Inojiro.
She was dreading the session, but the anticipation of unleashing her magnificent prank that very evening served as a potent motivator. It would be her well-deserved reward for delving into her painful past, for confronting those difficult emotions. If Minaruki's smile was a touch too tight, neither boy seemed to notice or comment.
"So, how exactly are you planning on not getting caught?" Kai finally asked as they walked back into the academy together.
Minaruki snorted softly, finding the question almost insulting.
Kakashi and Kai exchanged a confused glance.
"What?" Kai asked, a slight pout forming on his lips.
"Let's just say I'm a bit sneakier than you're giving me credit for," she replied with a foxy, knowing grin.
Kai's eyes narrowed, a competitive glint appearing. "Want to make a wager on that?"
Kakashi sighed, a low warning rumble. "Don't."
"No, Kashi, let the Uchiha test his luck against me," Minaruki replied with an innocent smile. "He is the Uchiha, after all."
Kai puffed out his chest slightly. "I bet you'll be caught within a week."
"I bet never," Kakashi deadpanned. He had already witnessed Minaruki's uncanny luck firsthand. He'd seen her bend down to pick up a dropped coin and somehow narrowly avoid a stray kunai thrown by a clumsy younger student. It had nearly given him a heart attack. But more than that, the unwavering confidence in her eyes warned him to never bet against her. He would trust his instincts on this one.
Minaruki beamed at Kakashi and then smirked at Kai. "And what exactly are you wagering?"
Kai frowned, his brow furrowed in thought. "I'll buy you lunch for two weeks?"
"A month," Minaruki countered seriously, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
Kai shrugged. "Fine. One month. If I win," he looked her up and down, then glanced pointedly at Kakashi before returning his gaze to her, a sly smile spreading across his face. "you have to be my girlfriend."
Kakashi let out a low growl, his body tensing beside her.
Minaruki simply smirked. "Deal." They shook hands, sealing the ridiculous wager, and Kakashi sulked in wounded silence the rest of the way to class.
Minaruki found herself once again seated at Sumiko-sensei's desk alongside Orochimaru while the other students reviewed Fuuinjutsu theory for storage scrolls. She, however, was engrossed in her own tag design, incorporating Orochimaru's insightful suggestions.
"How will you account for the varying chakra affinities of your target?" he inquired, his golden eyes scrutinizing her intricate diagrams.
Minaruki grunted in frustration. "That's precisely where I'm currently stuck." He had already guided her in devising a method to extract and store the victim's chakra, but the issue of individual elemental affinities, not to mention those with advanced Elemental Releases, remained a significant hurdle.
"Hm. Could you not incorporate all five basic elemental natures into the seal and add an initial matrix layer that reacts specifically to your victim's dominant chakra nature? This first layer could then trigger the corresponding elemental sign on the second matrix. From there, your existing third matrix layer could proceed with the process of drawing in the chakra, destabilizing it, and then returning it as a foreign attack."
Minaruki blinked, genuinely impressed by Orochimaru's sudden flash of brilliance. She often forgot just how formidable his intellect could be. She tilted her head, studying him thoughtfully.
"Orochimaru-san, why don't you dedicate more time to studying Fuuinjutsu?"
His golden eyes flickered up from her notes, a hint of surprise in their depths. "It is not my primary focus. I aspire to master as much Ninjutsu as humanly possible."
"Why?"
"To attain ultimate strength."
"Why?"
Orochimaru opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He simply closed it again, a flicker of something unreadable in his golden gaze.
"Why do you desire such power, Orochimaru?" Minaruki pressed gently, her blue eyes searching his.
Orochimaru simply blinked at her, his golden eyes momentarily devoid of their usual unsettling amusement. "Why do you seek strength?" he countered, deflecting her question with one of his own.
Minaruki offered him a small, sad smile. "To safeguard those precious to me."
He held her gaze, his expression unreadable. "Companions can be vulnerabilities."
Minaruki's smile remained unwavering. "Indeed, they can. But they also amplify your strength. Standing solitary, one is frail and lacks a true purpose to fight for. Yet, when you and your allies stand united, that bond becomes unbreakable. Even if a cherished friend is lost, the remaining will grow stronger, fueled by the memory, to protect those who still remain."
Orochimaru continued to hold her gaze, a silent battle of wills. Minaruki did not waver.
"How did you discern that my former teammates were…absent?" he finally asked, a subtle shift in his tone.
Minaruki's gaze remained steady. "Why else would they not be here, defending their home alongside their comrade?"
Orochimaru stared at her for a long moment, a barely perceptible flicker of comprehension dawning in his golden eyes.
"You are an unusual child," he muttered, a hint of something akin to reluctant curiosity in his voice.
"Hai!" she chirped, a bright grin spreading across her face.
"That was not intended as a compliment," he deadpanned, his usual sardonic tone returning.
"And you are an unusual man," she retorted with a playful smirk.
He regarded her again, a flicker of something akin to acknowledgement in his gaze. "I am aware," he conceded after a brief pause.
"So, when will you go and bring your family back home?" she asked, turning her attention back to jotting down Orochimaru's insightful suggestions. She would need to discreetly examine some of Kushina and Minato's Fuuinjutsu notes to ascertain the viability of the Snake Sannin's ideas.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because they undoubtedly need you as much as you need them," she replied absently, then paused, a sudden thought clouding her youthful features. "It's not enjoyable being alone. Loneliness is a darkness that will slowly consume you from within." Her voice softened as she spoke, before she resolutely returned to her notes.
"I will…consider it," he replied, echoing his earlier sentiment.
Minaruki let the matter drop. They worked in comfortable silence for the remainder of the lesson. When the subject shifted, she returned to her own seat and allowed her mind to drift during the tactics lesson. The rudimentary strategies being taught paled in comparison to the brutal realities of warfare she had personally experienced.
Lunch was spent with her burgeoning group of friends. Surprisingly, it had expanded beyond just the kunoichi. Kakashi, evidently weary of the incessant questions from the other boys, had sought her out, and they had soon followed. Before she and Kakashi quite realized it, they were surrounded by students ranging from their own age up to those in their graduating class. Many of them were the jounin or chuunin she had once known. Others were unfamiliar faces, and she absently wondered about their fates, though the likely answers were grimly obvious: the Third Great War, or the devastating Kyuubi attack.
After their midday meal, Sumiko-sensei guided them to the training grounds. Minaruki found her focus shifting beyond the familiar shuriken and kunai. She began practicing with senbon, a weapon neither she nor Naruto had ever needed in their previous lives. However, Minaruki's aspirations lay within ANBU, necessitating lighter, more specialized tools of assassination. She needed to expand her arsenal, and senbon seemed the logical next step.
The initial erratic flight of the slender needles was undeniably frustrating.
"They are lighter than kunai and possess a more delicate balance," Sumiko-sensei explained as she observed Minaruki's efforts. Nearby, Orochimaru offered his typically dry commentary on the other students' less-than-stellar performances, making exceptions only for Kakashi and Anko. Anko, already displaying a natural aptitude for senbon, seemed to be relentlessly badgering the Snake Sannin about various poisons.
"Hai," Minaruki muttered, redirecting her concentration to the senbon held in her hand. She manipulated the slender needles, twirling them between her fingers, rolling them across her palm, striving to develop a tactile understanding of the unfamiliar weapon.
Over the next hour, her accuracy gradually improved. The class then transitioned to strength and stamina training. Minaruki welcomed the burning sensation in her muscles, the tightening in her lungs. It was tangible proof of her body growing stronger. She noted with satisfaction that none of the kunoichi present complained with the dramatic flair her old friends might have at this age.
Taijutsu presented a genuine challenge in this iteration. The other students often possessed a significant height and weight advantage. While Minaruki utilized her inherent speed to compensate, overcoming the physical disparity remained a constant struggle, particularly against the clan children. Raised in the lingering shadow of wartime, many had been learning martial arts katas almost since they could walk.
Minaruki relished the challenge, especially during her sparring matches against Kakashi in front of the entire class. He clearly bristled at the prospect of being defeated by a girl in front of his peers, displaying a level of focused intensity she hadn't witnessed before. However, through their consistent spars and training sessions, Minaruki was becoming increasingly adept at utilizing her smaller stature to her advantage, no longer overextending herself.
Their final exchange ended in a stalemate, deliberately orchestrated by Minaruki, though she doubted anyone else truly recognized it. Well, perhaps Orochimaru, judging by the subtly raised eyebrow he directed her way. She chose to ignore him, turning her attention to observe the remaining sparring matches.
As dusk settled, Minaruki sat contentedly beneath a sprawling tree, Kushina's gentle fingers threading through her damp hair while Minato patiently guided a dripping wet Kakashi through the intricacies of water walking nearby. Minaruki and Kushina had already completed their water-based chakra control exercises, hence Minaruki's thoroughly soaked state. With a sigh of contentment, Minaruki closed her eyes, relishing the soothing rhythm of Kushina's fingers untangling the knots. Slowly, those nimble fingers began to weave intricate braids.
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to braid your hair in the mornings, Imouto," Kushina murmured softly, her voice filled with a hint of regret.
Minaruki simply shrugged. While she did miss Sakumo's skillful morning hairstyles, her twenty-five-year-old mind understood the reality: Minato was utterly hopeless with hair, and Kushina was decidedly not a morning person.
"How are you settling into the academy?" Kushina asked, her thoughts drifting back to her own challenging first week as an outsider.
"It's okay. I've made some friends," Minaruki mumbled, her eyelids heavy with lingering drowsiness.
"No one's giving you any trouble, are they?" Kushina's voice held a note of concern.
Minaruki sighed softly. "Please, Nee-san," she whispered. "Not tonight. I have that appointment with Inojiro tomorrow. He'll pry enough for everyone."
Kushina gently tilted Minaruki's head back and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "I'm not trying to pry, Imouto. I'm just worried about you. My own start at the academy wasn't the easiest, and I don't want you to go through anything like that."
Minaruki understood her sister's unspoken anxieties immediately. "No one's bothering me, I promise. I'm making friends. I think even Orochimaru-san counts as one."
Kushina's eyes widened in surprise. "One of the Sannin?"
Minaruki smiled faintly. "Hai. He's incredibly intelligent."
Kushina chuckled softly. "That he is. He's the Sandaime-sama's prodigious student."
"Alright, I think we should call it a night," Minato announced, approaching with an utterly exhausted Kakashi slumped asleep on his back, his soaked academy uniform leaving damp patches on Minato's own clothes. "These two desperately need baths, food, and a long night's sleep," he finished with a weary yawn.
Kushina snickered, but stood, gently scooping Minaruki up onto her hip. "I think we're all due for it."
"Hai," Minato agreed, and the four of them made their way back to Minato's apartment. It had been decided that they would spend the weekend there.
Kushina busied herself in the kitchen while Minato ensured that both Kakashi and Minaruki were bathed and dressed for bed. A short while later, with her belly pleasantly full, it didn't take long for Minaruki to succumb to sleep, Kakashi already out cold on the futon beside her bed.
