"So where are we going?" Suzume asked curiously. Minato had woken her up early in the morning, and after a quick breakfast made by Kushina, the two siblings left the house.

"I want you to meet my team. My students."

"You didn't tell me that you're a jounin sensei," Suzume sent her brother a judging look. "Spill."

Minato chuckled, "Well, I have a medic nin, an Uchiha, and a talented chuunin-level kid. You'll see them soon, just wait for a bit. I don't want to ruin their first impressions on you."

Suzume pouted, but nevertheless followed her brother towards the training grounds, "Talking about teams, will I join any?"

"You'll join mine until we can find another team. I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but the Hokage thinks that we'll need as many powerful shinobis as we can right now. He wants you to help me teach my other students."

"That... sounds like... war..."

Minato turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You don't mind, do you?"

Suzume shook her head.

The two soon reached their destination. Suzume, out of habit, took her place beside her brother, clutching the back of his vest, as he called for his students. The first was Obito, then a brunette, whom she recognised as Rin Nohara. But the last guy made her freeze in shock. She released her grip on Minato and clenched her fists in bitterness as the boy sent her his death glare.

"Alright guys, this is my little sister. She'll be a part of our team until she got assigned on her own, so be nice."

"As you probably already know, I'm Suzume Namikaze. It has been a while since we all talked, but I hope we can get along well." Suzume bowed slightly, smiling at the trio.

"Suzu-chan! That's really you?!" Obito rushed towards her, and within seconds, the youngest Namikaze was in his arms. "I missed you! You were gone for... how long?! Probably years!"

"Oi, don't cross the personal bubble," Minato muttered as he pulled the Uchiha off Suzume, but the boy ignored this and continued with his onslaught of questions and exclamations.

"Where have you been?! Man, you're taller now! And your hair is longer! You'll be my teammate?!"

"One by one, Obito," Suzume reminded with an awkward smile. She turned to Rin and gave her a greeting nod before her eyes landed on her last teammate, the silver-haired boy.

Kakashi Hatake. He hadn't changed much, apart from his clothing and his height. Still the same passive expression, but this time his glare was only directed towards her.

"Suzume."

Upon hearing her name, Suzume's gaze turned into a hopeful one, expecting the Hatake to finally acknowledge her as his comrade.

"Get lost."

It was as if all her expectations were shattered into pieces. But strangely enough, all she could feel was bitterness and a hint of anger.

"I'm not here for you, don't feel so flattered."

Kakashi scoffed and turned to Minato. "I don't want her in our team, sensei."

"But Kakashi-"

"I don't want to be here, either," Suzume retorted, returning his glare, "But just because you want something, doesn't mean you can have it. Grow up, Hatake. The world doesn't work that way."

"As far as I remember, you're the one who started all of this," Kakashi sneered at the blonde female.

Obito scowled at the silverette. "Oi, who do you think you are, huh? Mister I'm-So-High-and-Mighty! You can't talk to Suzume like that!" The Uchiha then huffed and patted Suzume's arm as he continued to glare at his male teammate, "She stays with us whether you like it or not! She's our friend!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Friend. Right."

At that, both the Uchiha and female Namikaze clenched their teeth. Rin Nohara awkwardly looked between the group with confusion and worry.

The behavior of his team forced out a heavy sigh from Minato, stress obvious on his features.

"Enough of this; you are ninja. Don't complain about petty things and accept who your allies are. All of you are teammates and therefore allies," he said sternly, gazing at the younger shinobi.

All four looked down due to the scolding from their otherwise carefree sensei. Minato rubbed his neck and flashed an awkward smile to ease the tension.

"Seriously. Enough of that. I actually needed to tell you something, we will have to leave for a mission soon."

Everyone immediately stood on alert. Suzume narrowed her eyes at her older brother. "Mission?" Her voice had an edge to it, both curious and serious. She wondered if her suspicion was right and if this mission was connected to it.

"It's nothing too difficult, I believe you all will be able to handle it well. We need to bring an important scroll back from Iwagakure."

"So this time we're going out of the village?!" Obito asked in excitement, "That's so cool!"

"How childish," Kakashi commented, but everyone could see how interested he had gotten. Rin smiled at the boys, feeling hopeful herself. She then turned back to their sensei.

"When are we leaving, Minato-sensei?"

"In three days, Rin. For now, we'll do more training."

Suzume only eyed her brother in scepticism.

•×•×•×•×•×•

The days passed before Suzume realized it, and now, here the team were, in the training grounds not long before sunset.

"Okay, guys, that's all for today. Remember to be here at 5 in the morning. We won't wait for anyone who came late," Minato gave Obito a meaningful look, but the Uchiha doesn't realize it. "You can go home now. Pack your things, get enough rest. See you tomorrow!"

Kakashi walked off immediately, Rin waved at the remaining three before doing the same.

"If you're late, I'll drag you out of Konoha. I mean it, Obito."

"Don't worry, Suzu-chan! I'll be the first one to arrive!"

Suzume watched as the ravenette left with a grin on his face. Still with doubt, she turned to her brother and quietly said, "I think I should pick him up myself."

"Yeah, you should," Minato nodded, "Come on, we should get back. It's getting dark."

The blonde followed her brother back to their house, where his girlfriend had been waiting for them.

"How's the training today, dattebane?" Kushina asked, looking at Suzume, "Is Kakashi still asking for trouble? Do I have to beat some sense into him?"

"No, no, don't worry. Training went fine," Suzume lied smoothly. Minato, too, decided not to say a thing, knowing that Kushina really wouldn't hesitate to beat the Hatake up for real.

"Great! There's no problem so far, right?"

"Everything's good," Suzume confirmed, "I can take care of myself, Kushina-nee."

"But I'll still take care of you until I can't do it anymore," Kushina grinned, as she rose from her seat and made her way to Suzume, only to pinch the girl's cheeks. "I love you and your brother more than anything else in this world. You're like a sister to me, Suzume, I demand you to tell me if anything ever bothers you, because I'm always here for you no matter what happens. You got that, young lady?"

"I'll keep that in mind, Kushina-nee." Suzume smirked mischievously, "If you're calling me a young lady, does that mean you're an old woman now?"

The girl snickered at Kushina's change of expression, and quickly ran back to her room, still laughing. She could hear Kushina yelling from the kitchen while Minato tried to calm her down, but soon after their voices faded into whispers. This sparked Suzume's curiosity, and she sneaked out of her room, hiding her chakra while she eavesdropped on their conversation.

"She's too young, Minato." Kushina sighed, "You can't take her. It's too dangerous, dattebane."

"I have no choice. I told you, the Hokage needs everyone. Suzume included. This mission is just a test. If they complete it, they will take part in the upcoming war."

Kushina's cheeks blanched before they reddened considerably. She looked at Minato incredulously.

"And you're fine with that?! I'd rather go to that war myself and take their place! I know Kakashi and Suzume are prodigies, and they will most probably pass the jounin exam next month, but Obito and Rin are just genins. They graduated just a while ago!"

"If I could, I wouldn't choose to let them go either, but it's not just about you and me, Kushina. It's about the whole village," Minato explained. "It's not about the Hokage, the councils, or anyone in particular. It's about everyone who lives in Konoha, and we're fighting for them. And if those kids find out about this, I know this won't stop them."

"They might die," Kushina tried again.

"I won't let that happen. I'll always bring them home, I promise."

Upon hearing the underlying tone of doubt in his voice, Suzume went back to her room.

•×•×•×•×•×•

"When will you learn to be early, idiot?" Kakashi asked, arms crossed in annoyance. Obito only cringed and rubbed his head when Suzume dropped him. She had broken into his house, woke him up, and dragged him to the team's meeting point under Minato's permission.

"Okay, now that we're all here, shall we leave?" Minato asked, swiftly interrupting the young Uchiha's rebuttal. "Iwa is pretty far from Konoha, we need to go as soon as possible."

The females of the team stood up and dusted themselves off and helped their male teammates off of the ground; Suzume with Obito and Rin with Kakashi.

The young Nohara nodded, "Of course sensei. We're ready now." Obito hastily opened his mouth to object before his blonde teammate elbowed his ribs.

"I packed some extra things that I knew you would forget since you sleep in a lot," Suzume whispered. "Just pay me back later."

Obito's eyes widened before a massive grin brightened his face. "You're the best Suzu-chan!" He whispered gratefully. The two shared a laugh, oblivious to the harsh glare from Kakashi upon seeing their carefree and close interaction. He scoffed.

Minato nodded and hoisted his bag onto his back as he gave his team a once over.

"Okay. If you're all ready, then let's go."

"Right!"

As the team made their way past Konohagakure's gates, it was surprisingly quiet. Even Obito, known for his boisterous personality despite being an Uchiha, was silent as they ventured past the gates. It was unsure whether the silence was comfortable or awkward for Team Minato. Only one thing was certain: due to the silence, each and every member retreated to their minds.

Suzume's eyes wandered between her team members as she trailed after all of them. Her big brother and sensei in front, Kakashi second, followed by Rin and Obito who walked side by side. Her sharpened eyes honed in on the individuals.

She sighed. She missed them, really. It'd be interesting to see how much they've all grown through the years she was absent. But Kakashi...

Suzume's gaze narrowed and saddened as she stared at the Hatake's back. It was almost as though their friendship never existed, and she wondered if things would always stay the way they are now between them.

She tensed when her gaze was suddenly met with a furious one from Kakashi who turned back around calmly. It had been subtle enough to not arise suspicion from Obito and Rin in front of her, but she knew that gaze well.

He wished she wasn't here. He genuinely hated her.

At that moment Suzume was unsure which burns more. The weather, or the feeling that pooled from her chest and stomach. Hurt? Guilt? Anger? Suzume couldn't pinpoint what she was feeling.

Suddenly Minato-sensei stopped, and the quartet of students followed suit.

"What is it, sensei?" Rin asked, voice low in almost a whisper. Minato didn't reply right away, Kakashi pulled out a kunai and Obito took a step closer towards his crush. Suzume was the first one to speak up.

"Rouge nins, a group of at least 5 chuunins. About half a kilometer from here, heading from northwest. We have two minutes."

•×•×•×•×•×•

Better late than never? Or better short than nothing at all? Well, that's bull, but I'M GLAD I'M BACK! How've you been? Not as busy as me, I hope?

I kinda also got drowned into another fandom (non-anime related) so yeah, it got me busy too. You know how fangirls/boys are, you're one too. We tend to obsess, so...

Anyways, sorry for the late update and thanks for still sticking around. How's the chapter? Feedback?

I love you guys.

- Rae

(Angel also sends her love, though she won't be here for a while - school's torturing her atm)

(I promised a certain someone a WIvD update, so if they see this: This one's done first and I know I have to publish something before everyone thinks I'm dead, sorry! I'm working on the said chapter too, bear with me a little more?)