Hi! Welcome to this story! There is a thing I would like to say first before you start reading it!
I changed the ages in this story as my friends and I changed them in our Naruto-verse to what we are personally most comfortable with! Thus, the story starts when the characters are 16 already, rather than their original age in this timeline. Please keep that in mind! It will be mentioned every now and then in the story, too :)
I also want to apologize for any grammar and spelling errors, as English is not my first language! Feel free to correct me!
Enjoy, and thank you for considering reading my story ^ ^
Minako Suzunami - the Heir of the Suzunami Clan, known for their special ability to change into anyone they wanted to, including their Chakra. It was quite a dangerous ability, one that the Hokage wasn't too fond of either unless he could use it to his advantage.
And that is exactly what happened - most of Minako's brothers, whom we will introduce slowly one by one because there are a ton of them, were on missions these days disguised as someone else.
It had been like that for quite some time now. The only brother that she still had around, was her twin brother - Fujimaru. He was a few minutes older than Minako and acted like it was his pride. It didn't annoy Minako in any way, though.
Minako ran over to Sasuke's apartment. Sasuke, who had just lost his parents a year ago. Sasuke, who had lost everything and everyone. Sasuke was betrayed by his brother, Itachi.
Sasuke and Minako were best friends, no one could separate them - except, perhaps, for Sasuke himself. The two of them had been thinking together of how to train and become stronger, just for the sake of Sasuke's revenge.
Minako wanted nothing more than to help her best friend and to be there for him. But this time… This time, she needed him. There was blood all over her hands, tears streaming down her face while running down the empty, dark streets of Konoha.
Reaching the Uchiha's apartment, she knocked on the door with all her might. ''Sasuke! Please, I'm begging you. Let me- Let me in.'' Her voice sounded broken, it was shaky.
Sasuke opened up the door, secretly hoping that whatever it was - it was Itachi's doing which meant he was close. ''It's… 3 AM…''
Minako just rushed inside, immediately making her way to the kitchen sink to wash off the blood on her hands. ''He's- Hugo- I- It wasn't me. I didn't- Please, you have to help me.''
Sasuke calmly followed Minako to the kitchen, only now noticing how she was washing the blood off her hands. ''Help you?''
''Yes, Sasuke. Help me. I-I need… Help. Please.'' Minako was shuddering heavily, and she knew she could depend on Sasuke.
… Could she?
Sasuke and Minako were best friends, no one could separate them - except, perhaps, for Sasuke himself.
''Mina, I don't have time for this. Wash it all off and either go sleep in the guest room or go back home. We need to wake up early to train. We can't slack on our schedule.'' Sasuke's voice was cold and distant, it wasn't the Sasuke that Minako loved hanging out with.
It wasn't the Sasuke that she could trust. No, that Sasuke was gone the day the massacre happened. And she understood it, one way or another. But this?
''I beg your pardon? Sasuke, this isn't the time for jokes—''
''I'm not joking! Go to the guest room, or go back home. To your family, something you have - in case you forgot.'' Sasuke nearly snarled at her.
Rage filled Minako's body. Rage, pain, betrayal - all of it at once. ''Whatever.''
Drying off her hands, she walked up to the front door until she heard Sasuke's voice speak to her once more. ''7 AM. Don't be late.''
And with that, she walked off.
_
Minako sat up in her bed, panting heavily and covered with sweat while her body was lightly trembling. Another nightmare. She had them all the time lately.
''That was five years ago…'' The girl muttered to herself as she brushed some strands of her brown locks with a purple gradient behind her ear, followed by a big stretch with her arms along with a grunt.
''Minako!'' An older man's voice shouted from beneath the stairs. ''Breakfast is ready, and you need to hurry up! You're behind schedule.''
Behind schedule, huh? Minako scoffed a bit to herself as she got out of bed. Making her way to the bathroom, which was connected to her bedroom, she took a shower. She did her skincare afterward and picked out her outfit for the day.
After her entire morning routine, she hurried downstairs to the enormous dining room that the Suzunami Clan owned. Well, they owned quite a big mansion in the first place.
''Good morning.'' Minako's father, Daichi Suzunami, and the current Head of the Suzunami Clan greeted his daughter warmly. ''Are you ready for your first day at The Academy?''
Minako sat down next to her father at the table as their butler - well, HER butler - Drace served her a plate with breakfast. ''Yes and no. I'm not looking forward to the whole academics thing, I just want to sleep in, play some games, or play with the dogs… But I suppose I'm looking forward to more structure in my days.''
Daichi took a sip of his green tea before nodding at Minako's words. ''Well, you can always call in sick for a day or two if you really need time to recharge your social battery. But don't tell anyone I said that, alright?''
Minako laughed softly. She loved her father. He truly understood her and was always there for her. She was lucky, that's for sure. ''Thank you, Father. That being said, where is Fuji?''
Daichi shrugged a little nonchalantly. ''He already ate breakfast half an hour ago and decided to go on ahead, or something. I feel like he's more nervous about this day than you are. You'll be placed into teams now, won't you?''
Taking a bite of her food, she quickly chewed on it before swallowing it and responding to her father's question with a nod. ''Yeah. Do you think I'll be placed into Team Zero?''
Daichi looked a bit perplexed upon hearing her question. ''Well, it's either you in Team Zero, or Fuji. Don't worry too much about it, alright? If you want to switch teams with Fuji, one way or another, you can always ask the Hokage. I'm sure he won't make too much of an issue, since the two of you are twins.''
''We might be twins, but we are not the same. Also, I don't like talking to the Hokage.'' Minako muttered a bit, causing the conversation to die down a little as the two of them ate their breakfast.
As breakfast was done, Minako grabbed her stuff and made her way along with Drace to the Academy as soon as they could.
Drace wasn't going to join her inside the building in any way, but Minako tended to get lost the second she stepped foot outside. Funnily enough, even inside the mansion. Her sense of direction was truly terrible.
Upon their arrival, Drace turned to Minako and bowed his head deeply. ''There you go, My Lady. I wish you a splendid day, and if you need anything - kindly let me know.''
Minako rolled her eyes. ''Drace, stop the formality already. Thanks for bringing me here, I'll be going back with Fuji later, so take some rest, 'kay?''
Drace let out a small chuckle before nodding. ''Of course, My Lady.'' And with that, the tall man - about 2.10 meters tall - walked back to where they came from earlier. His black hair was smooth as silk and taken care of very well. His red eyes were always intimidating to others, but Minako only saw him as her savior - she wasn't scared of him and she would never be.
Turning back around to face the building of the Academy, she took a deep breath and entered. As soon as she did, she heard many people talk all over the place. It was slightly overwhelming, but she knew that Fujimaru was there, too. So, it should be fine, no?
She entered the classroom she was assigned to, and the first thing she walked into was some girls fighting as to who should be sitting next to Sasuke. Rolling her eyes, she made sure to sit on the complete opposite side of where Sasuke was sitting, much to his disappointment.
As much as she hated this day, she was looking forward to it ending. Not only because that meant she didn't have to see Sasuke anymore, but also because her anonymous outsider friend would send a letter.
Every Monday, she would receive a letter from someone she didn't know. And at first, it scared her, it made her feel unsafe. But, after a while, it was safe to say that this person truly wanted the best for her. And thus she wrote back and forth with him - or her, for that matter.
After Iruka entered the room and did the whole ritual of trying to calm everyone down, he started listing down the teams. She was excited, but the longer it took, the less hope she had. Especially when Fujimaru was already sorted into a team.
''Now, as you can see, there are five people left. It's been over 20 years since this happened, but these five people will be sorted into Team Zero. Team Zero is a team of five people who have slightly more potential than the others but will serve as a support team for the other teams. Should any of the other teams be unable to participate in their mission, a member of Team Zero will temporarily replace them. Team Zero will also go on different types of missions, ones that fit their potential. This does not mean anyone in Team Zero is better than the other teams, their better potential is just seen fit for certain roles in the village.'' Iruka explained calmly.
''So, lastly… As for Team Zero, the members are Kimimela Adyren, Luca Horne, Tomori, Aoi Yoshida, and Minako Suzunami. Your mentor will be Taiyou Suzunami. That was everything. Dismissed!'' Iruka finally ended his talk, and it was quiet for a moment. But soon enough, the classroom emptied.
Minako stood up and tried to leave the classroom, too.
''Minako-'' Sasuke's voice tried to reach out to her, but she completely ignored him. She wasn't going to talk to him. Because if she were, it would be anything but kind.
While waiting in the hallway, Tomori walked over; their flashy hair with its three different colours bouncing slightly up and down with their movements.
''Hi, Mina!'' Tomori greeted her with a smile, and soon enough, the others joined up with them.
''Let's go. I can't waste any time, I need to make sure I can meet up with Sasuke later.'' Aoi spoke up, acting all high and mighty, which caused Tomori and Minako to exchange some looks.
''Sure… A waste of time, but let's go.'' Minako muttered as they made their way to the place where they had to meet their team leader.
An older man - not as old as the Third Hokage, however - was sitting on a bench and looking at his pocketwatch. Grey hair, yellow eyes, and fine aging lines. And... Minako's oldest uncle. Just her luck. Not in the sense of: he was horrible. No, embarrassing. Social anxiety got social anxiety from this man.
Taiyou looked up with a light frown on his face. ''At last. I almost thought you all got lost.''
Kimimela glanced over at Minako for a moment, considering the fact that Miss Heiress here always managed to get lost. ''Shut up.'' Minako rolled her eyes at Kimimela - or Kimi, for short - before the two of them giggled quietly.
''Alright. My name is Taiyou Suzunami, and I'll be your team leader. You were probably thinking to yourself: wow! Is that Minako's grandfather?! If you thought that, we aren't going to get along well. I'm not that old.''
He was that old.
''I'm still young.''
No, he wasn't.
''Jokes aside... Married, got two wonderful kids that aren't my kids anymore but my brother's now-''
Minako groaned. ''Uncle... No trauma dumping, please.''
Taiyou let out a snicker - Mission: Embarrass Niece, succeeded. ''Alright. I'm here as your trainer because I also used to be a part of Team Zero back in my day. I'm not really the type to follow rules from back in the day, and will always want your input in training as well. I don't like to go easy on people, so have none of those expectations.'' Taiyou's tone immediately went serious, melting away the goofy smile off his face in a second.
Everyone looked at each other and nodded at Taiyou, not really sure what else to say - sounds great. They're here to be trained, they're here to learn and also to help people in missions.
After a moment of silence, Taiyou cleared his throat again. ''Introduce yourselves. You, with the blond hair.'' Taiyou pointed at Aoi.
Aoi stood up proudly. ''My name is Aoi Yoshida! I'm looking forward to showing you all how to be a great ninja! Also, nice to meet you - I'm Sasuke Uchiha's future wife.'' The girl giggled, and in that moment, everyone else in the team - including Taiyou - decided they were not going to like this girl, at all.
''Right. Next one, you.'' Taiyou pointed at Luca.
''I'm Luca Horne, nice to meet you. Fortunately, I'm not interested in Sasuke. But I do hope we will all get along well. Sort of.'' Luca smiled.
Taiyou then pointed at Tomori, indicating that they were next.
''I'm Tomori. I don't have much to share about myself, but I'm looking forward to be working together with you all.'' Tomori's voice was quiet for now, but it also seemed kind at the same time.
''Next.'' Taiyou stretched a little bit.
''Oh, fuck yeah. Alright! Name's Kimimela Adyren! Call me Kimi, though. Except for anyone who is aspiring to become Sasuke's wife. It's Miss Adyren for you.'' Kimi wasn't afraid to challenge someone. ''Got an older brother, Cael, annoying shit. And uh... I'm raising an army of chickens, just in case we need it! For a war, or something. Don't ask.''
Hah. Foreshadowing.
''Trust me, I wasn't planning on asking,'' Taiyou smirked.
''Maybe your wife wanted to know.'' Kimi immediately threw back another jab.
''Then she should've been here. Last, my adorable little niece who has no idea where her own kitchen is.'' Taiyou grinned from ear to ear.
Minako stood up after Kimi sat down. ''My name is Minako Suzunami, but feel free to call me Mina. Ehm. I love dogs, I guess. I own five of them. Other than that, I enjoy eating. Oh, and drinking boba. I don't want to be a ninja, but I have no choice, so… Slay.''
Kimi burst out in laughter at the last part. ''Slay queen.''
Aoi cleared her throat. ''Aren't you close with Sasuke Uchiha?''
Minako's expression immediately hardened. ''Not anymore. We haven't been for over five years. So, if you think I would tell you anything about him - there is nothing for me to tell you about.''
Aoi scoffed a little. ''Oh, come on. You must know something! How to get closer to him, for example.''
''Stay out of his way, and also out of my way if all you're going to do is ask about Sasuke. I don't want to have anything to do with him.'' Minako stated.
''Alright, that's enough. As much as I love drama, I don't feel like it today. How about we go eat something, my treat, and get to know each other better? I'm pretty sure we will be getting a mission tomorrow, so…'' Taiyou got up from the bench, but Kimi just smirked at him. ''Ugh, what?''
''I'm pretty sure that your wife will be the one paying,'' Kimi said with a cocky expression written all over her face.
''You know what - you are not invited anymore.'' Taiyou laughed as his old braincells tried to think of a reason why Kimi was so invested with his wife. This was going to be a long couple of years...
''Can we go?! I need to make sure I can meet up with Sasuke!'' Aoi said out loud, and shortly after, everyone followed Taiyou to the BBQ restaurant to enjoy some good food and good company - well, mostly some good company.
