Thanks for waiting, everybody! I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Disclaimer: This story has multiple mentions of trauma, death, and blood. So if it's not your cup of tea, please use discretion.

As a clarification, I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. However, I do own the plot so :D

Word count: 6731

'Thoughts...'

"A physical speech..."

"Kurama talking..."

"Past memory..."

Enjoy!

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"What does this purply one symbolize?" The young cerulean eyed teen pointed towards bright magenta petals, curiosity filling his sad eyes after long months. Ino always managed to make the simplest thing magical.

"The Kalmia or spoonwood symbolizes perseverance." The girl flipped her blond hair onto her other shoulder, stretching at the fabric of her purple sleeve.

The teen ran across the spacious flower shop, taking in the abundance of flowers the girl managed to gather in the short time she had moved into the place. Her old home had become debris, leaving her and her family in search of a new haven. And so they found 143 Arkime road, a tiny home with a large shop on the side. Perfect for the flower-loving family.

The younger squatted next to another patch of flowers."How about this one? It's a Daffodil, right?"

"Wow, you actually know one of the names. What a surprise." She replied sarcastically, smirking at the male's deflated face. "The narcissus Daffodil represents rebirth; to start anew. Pretty cool, huh?"

Another speck of purple caught the teen's eye, dragging him closer and closer towards it till-

Slap.

"Don't touch the flower, Naruto! I told you this already."

"But it's so pretty"

"And your ugly hands will ruin it if you touch it."

"Nuh-uh."

"Ya-huh." Ino let out a puff of air, sending her hair spiraling upwards. "The purple hyacinth is one of the saddest flowers I know. I don't really like it that much."

"What does it mean?" The whiskered teen inquired, attempting to touch its petals once more only to have his hand slapped again.

"It asks the person for forgiveness, to express sorrow and loneliness."

"Huh." Naruto sat on the floor, watching In's facial expression change into what one could only call grief and pain.

"My dad used to give it to me after every fight. And I would accept his apology without a second thought because of how pretty they were. Such an exquisite but delicate thing."

"Sorry about your dad Ino. I wish I could've done something more to save him"

The girl smiled sadly. "It's not your fault, dobe. No one can stop nature. His sickness was incurable. Not even Sakura knew what to do before she died."

Silence overtook the flower shop. "It'll get better." The blond grinned. "Don't you worry about it. I promise you one day. All our sadness will fade to fondness and we'll be happy again."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Leaves of every color flooded the dull forest. Declaring it fall with as much fury as possible. It was cold. Freezing cold. But no one was going to admit that.

Mouse rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to make herself warmer before walking towards the burning logs.

Aka rushed through a few seals, clearing the fire and effectively making mouse mad. He cut her off before she was able to mutter a word. "Ok. Let's get moving again. My clones are sensing some enemies up ahead again."

"Again?" Mouse groaned. "Why is there so many Iwa-nin?"

"I don't know, Mouse. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we pissed off the Tsuchikage." Sloth flung his bag over his shoulder before retreating to the trees once again.

It had been five days since they last saw civilization. Five days of continuous traveling and short conversations. They were supposed to be home by sundown but with the constant battles they fount along the fire border, Aka doubted they would even make it by noon tomorrow.

Onoki was mad. That was obvious. Why he was mad wasn't so obvious. The most obvious conclusion would be Aka's siding with A and the attack on their shinobi. Sure, that would make the most sense.

But it was foolish for the elder to send so many of his soldiers to Konoha in a time of their power. Konoha was quickly forming alliances and making allies that protection came easy. And yet, Onoki continued to send shinobi to their end. Whether it be imprisonment or death, Aka wasn't sure, but he was damn sure that the war hadn't ended as he thought. He was stuck in this for the long run. Or at least till the bickering of Kages ended.

Sloth spoke up. "I see 7 targets up ahead. It seems that 3 of them are low-level chunnin and the rest are either chunnin or jonin, it's not to clear. Almost like its fuzzy."

"Chakra blockers most likely." Kinuki sighs. "It's fine. With what we had so far, none of the Iwa-nin have been above mid-jonin. If anything, I'm here to help you two."

The two masked ANBU nodded, continuing forward with as chakra induced agility. To the eyes of a trained shinobi, flashes of black could be seen as they moved. But a civilian could only hope to one day see the trio.

The month had been harsh to Kinuki. Pieces of memories continued to pop up, forcing him to try to forget the things he hated most one again. The death of his friends is the only thing he truly hoped to forget. It only served as a reminder of his continued failure over the years. He loved them, he truly did. Every day was a blessing when he had his childhood friends caring for him as he grew with power. Envying him, but only helping him move even further with their combined efforts.

The death of Konoha only propelled him forward, to travel to the past to the first place. It was the only memory he could never forget; he would never let himself. He accepted the failure for his village, it was out of his control.

But why was it so hard to accepted the death of his loved ones? He knew that he came to the past to correct his mistakes, but every moment without them drew long and grieving breaths out of him. It couldn't happen again. He would never allow it.

That's why, when he saw the iconic Ina-Shika-chou trio sitting defeated against a tree while their joinin instructor fought off 3 foreign nin, did he dare to strike first.

Slowly, the three ANBU broke the dull thumping of kicks and punches with their own fist. Symotaiously, the three Iwa-nin dropped to the floor, alive but surely unconscious for the time being.

"Shozaburo-san, are you hurt?" Sloth asked immediately, pacing towards the man as he allowed mouse to check the chunnin.

"No," the joinin replied, cracking his back. "A couple of bruises here and there but I'll be fine."

"How about the children?" Aka questioned quickly.

"They'll be fine. They fought diligently until I was able to arrive. I applaud their continued efforts through these strange times. They really are improving."

"Shikaku." Chouza's small hand reached for his friend, whispering quietly as to not alert the strangers his sensei talked to. Mouse raised an amused eyebrow at his efforts. "Shikaku?"

"Shut up." The pineapple headed child quickly replied. "It's him."

"Wha- huh? Who?"

"The endless red you idiot." Shikaku paused, peeping his closed eyes open only to see pure blue eyes staring him straight in the face. "Damn."

"Are you three alright?" The lion mask replied, his bright hair intimidating the children. Shikaku could only look at it as though it be a shining fire.

"Pretty," Inoichi said softly, his face flushing when he heard the ANBU's light chuckle.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Mouse pat the top of Inoichi's head. "Are you four on a mission or something? It's dangerous to be out of the village now that the Kisukage in pissed."

"Yes, we were sent a backup for team Kakashi" The sensei replied for them. "This was supposed to be their first mission on their own but the Hokage decided to intervene after someone blocked communication."

"Strange, huh? I bet it's nothing though. Those three sure are strong."

Chouza picked himself up. "Without a doubt! They were so awesome in the chunnin exams! I can't wait till we could go on our own missions too!"

"This generation is coming up on 13 years old, right? I bet you'll be on your own very soon. Savor the time you have left as a team, Chouza. I left my team when I was around 13 and it was only then that I realized how much the connection we had meant to me." Aka's eyes saddened. "They were my best friends."

"How old are you now?" Shikaku asked quietly.

The lion smiled. "18."

"So you haven't seen them for 5 years?"

Aka paused. When was the last time he had seen the four of them together? When did he last see a cheerful Sakura and a broody Sasuke and a very punctual sensei? He can't even remember that time anymore. A time where he didn't have to comfort Sakura about Sasukes betrayal. To spar with Sasuke with a smile on his face.

"..I guess you can say that."

"5 years?" Inochi rose a brow. "I can't go 5 hours without seeing these fools."

Chouza nudged the top on Inoichi's head. "You be happy about that, stupid! We'll all be together forever! There are no take-backs."

The ANBU team chuckled at the team's antics.

"Let's get moving, team." Shozaburo-san picked Chouza off of Inoichi. "We got work to do. Thank the ANBU and let's get moving."

"Aye, Aye sir." The trio said slowly. "Thank you for helping us."

Mouse scratched the back of her neck. "It was nothing. You guys be safe, now."

"Yes, ma'am."

And then, they were gone. Silent as the moving leaves, the scene that was once bizarre, disappeared under the ANBU's influence.

The team themselves couldn't wait to slip into a hot bath after weeks of long work.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A frantic Minato paced the gate of the grand Konoha village. Taking sharp strides as he moved from right to left contimpating the condition of his team. They had to be ok, right? They wouldn't die foolishly. And even if Obito managed to mess something up, Kakashi and Rin were there too. They would be able to stop him in time.

"Minato!" The blond turned towards the source of the voice, smiling as he meet the eye contact of a familiar redhead.

"Look who it is. The infamous Endless Red. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Aka groaned at the name before turning back to his team quickly. "You guys go home and rest, I'll hand in the report. Good work you two."

With a nod, the two ANBU disappeared within the village quickly.

"The last time I saw you the sun was still trying to cook us alive. Where have you been all this time?"

" I'll tell you later when there isn't anyone around. How's the team? I heard that they went on their first real solo mission."

Minato's face dropped as he quickly remembered his earlier fuss. "Yes, and we lost communication with them halfway through. I'm not really sure what happened and Hokage-sama refuses to let me go after them." He sighed. "I'll I can do is hope Obito didn't do anything stupid."

Aka chuckled dryly. "They'll be fine, Minato, don't worry. I'm sure Rin wouldnt let the two of them do anything crazy."

"I know. But I'm still worried."

"It's justified. You just got to let your little chicks fly away from the nest" Aka put his hands behind his neck, leaning against them lightly. "I gotta go to the Kage's office to report our mission. Join me? Maybe It'll take your mind off of the team."

"Sure." The duo began to weave through the whispering crowds, eyeing them as they took short steps before jumping to the rooftops. For a spy who's been gone for years, Kinuki knew the rooftops like the back of his hand.

"How about we all go for a celebratory Ramen when the team comes back home?"

The blond grinned. "Definitely. Team Kakashi will be more than happy to see you again."

"It's still your team, Minato"

"I know, but Kakashi is captain for the time being. Might as well call them that. I got to let them go, like you said."

The whiskered teen gave the other a sad smile. "You'll always be their sensei, though. Never forget that. My sensei will always be my sensei. As will yours."

Minato smiled, not leaving the distraught expression go unnoticed. He was right though, Jariya-sensei will always be Jariaya-sensei. And little did Minato know that the ANBU was thinking the exact same thing.

"Aka-sama, Namikaze-sama, I've been awaiting your arrival. Please follow me." The assistant at the front desk of the Kage's tower rushed toward the two before bowing swiftly. Practically running, the jonin entered the full conference room. The council halted past conversations as their eyes met the masked mans.

"Ah, Aka-san." The Hokage greeted. "Right on time. Please take a seat."

"Uh, should I be here?" Minato inquired.

"There are topics of your team that have to be addressed, so yes, Minato-san." The blond felt sweat rushing down his forehead. "And don't worry, they are on their way back, safe and sound. It is not a bad discussion."

Aka sat next to his Kage, pulling the chair out and in with the creak of the floorboards. Next to him, Minato sat quietly.

Hokaru spoke first. "Congratulations on the Bingo book placement, Aka-san. It's a mighty achievement."

"It must be troublesome." The Nara representative pushed his hand into his cheek and leaned his elbow onto the hardwood table. "Sudden fame can cause stupid rumors and theories. Half the village is scared of what else you can do."

"Does anyone actually know the full story?"

"No. But that's why rumors exist."

"Troublesome, indeed. But, what can we do about it?" Aka sighed."What's up Jiji. What happened? Does this have anything to do with the increase in Iwa soldiers?"

"The Tsuchikage has continued war tactics against A and Konoha, as I'm sure you've heard."

"Yes, I was part of one of the battles there recently."

The kage let out a puff of smoke. "You'll brief me on that in private."

"Understood."

"Onoki is mad that you broke your promise. He believes the villages are trying to team but against him. And he is trying to increase his odds by decreasing out forces. Although none of his soldiers are causing us damaging harm, it is leaving us mental scars. On top of that, there is a problem within Konoha's citizens. Let me just be frank, the village is scared of you."

Minato spluttered, pointing toward the redhead. "Of this harmless guy?"

"Not so harmless considering the dent in the Iwa forces after his outburst. No one knows how to react. On one side, the civilians believe that you are a strong force and are proud to have you on our side." Sarutobi took a deep breath. "The rest demand banishment."

Chatter filled the council room.

Aka remained silent before turning towards the council with a frown. "I'm a strong ninja to have on your side. It would be foolish to push me away. My strange power shall remain classified within me and the Kage's discretion, but it is only a boaster in desperate situations. I have many other strengths that do not rely on that chakra."

"I say we have some shinobi supervise the man," Hokaru suggested. "Till proven safe at the very least. I can have some of my men do so immediately.."

"It is a time of war," The Kage reminded the council. "Powerful Ninja are needed to fight against powerful enemies."

"It would only be for a short period of time-" Hokaru was cut off.

"The clan heads would like to suggest an alternative." Hiashi stood from his chair, gaining nods from all the clan heads. "We heard of Hatake Kakashi's request to be put in ANBU and we all consider him as a serious candidate. Putting the village known prodigy under Kinuki's command would increase the village's trust and train him to become stronger. "

The council considered the bargain. It was a good plan, truly. But was it worth it thrusting a mere 13-year old into battle?

"Aka-san?" The Kage questioned the redhead.

"I agree to those terms. I've been considering that myself. Kakashi is a strong kid. He has to move up sometime. Besides, team 007 needs an additional member anyway."

"Is it really a good idea to put a 13-year old into ANBU? An emotionally distraught one at that." Minato fiddled with his nails. The odds were not in his favor. He was surely going to lose Kakashi. "How is the rest of the team going to function without him?"

"They'll manage." The elder replayed quickly. "It's decided then. ANBU Team 007 will remain under Aka-san's command with the addition of a new member. On other topics, Jariaya has requested team 007 to join him shortly to identify the increased death's caused by a man named Pein. Jariaya believes you may have some helpful information on the topic after your last spy mission."

"Yes, I understand." The teen nodded, pushing further. "But what about Onoki? What are we going to do about him?"

"For now, there is little we can do but wait for how this will turn out. I will send a request of information to the lightning village on recent attacks, but there is no rush for now."

"Wouldnt it be beneficial to officially end the war as quickly as possible?" Aka scratched his chin. "I should be able to convince him by talking to him. He would understand."

"I doubt it." Homaru shook his head. "The man is stubborn, I'll give him that. I doubt he'll back down even if we offered our best men."

"But if we just-"

"Aka," Sarutobi spoke strongly. "This is a conversation for another time. Thank you, the is council dismissed. Aka, stay."

The room emptied quickly, leaving the two to stare blankly at each other.

"You know I want to end the war as quickly as possible, right?"

"I know."

"And yet you suggest we put off finding a solution? How is that going to help anyone?"

The elder let his cigar die down. "If we are too brash, we will damage our relationships with Kumo, and make everything worse. Is that what you want?"

"Well no but-"

"Tell me about your mission, Kinuki."

Aka sighed. "Fine, old man. Your move."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When Naruto finally entered his house after months of being stuck in Kumo's council room, the most noticeable part of his dusty apartment were the purple flowers on the dining room table. They themselves gathered the dust of everything around them, but still managed to brighten up the whole room.

Naruto smiled. No doubt this was the antics of Ino. He walked up to the floors, floorboards squeaking with every step, and read the small post-it she put on the vase.

It starts, 'Hey Naruto, welcome home. I hope you had a safe trip. I'm placing these flowers in your house before a really hard mission so wish me luck!"

He mentally noted that he had to give her a thank you present in return, running the options down in his head before realizing there was an envelope on his kitchen counter.

He opened it, slowly, recognizing Ino's handwriting immediately.

"I asked for Kakashi-sensei to place this note in your house next to the flowers if something bad ever happens to me.

As I'm sure you remembered, the purple Hyacinth asks for forgiveness. I don't ask for forgiveness much but, as I'm sure you know, but it's a time of war and accidents happen.

If you're receiving this note, I died Naruto, I'm so sorry."

Naruto sprinted towards a wastebasket, dry heaving his empty stomach into its empty bag. Once he regained composure, he started reading further.

'I know I'm leaving you alone again, Naruto. I understand your pain after seeing so many of our friends die. I hope you can forgive me like I did my dad.

You're a social butterfly, you bafoon. You depend on the presence of others to feel whole yourself. Once this is all over, you'll make new friends and move on and that's ok! That's just who you are and we just want you to be happy.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should never give up. Don't give up on the village or yourself. Keep going, even after all hope seems lost. You just gotta push through it.

I'll see you soon! But hopefully not too soon,

xo Ino'

And that was all Ino left. Pieces of broken memories and a note.

Later in the day, the Kage took a single Hyacinth to the girl's grave trying to accept the fact that she was truly gone. The sweet girl, who had brought joy to everyone through her flowers, left a hole in his heart. Just like the rest of his friends had.

Would she forgive him if he just gave up then and there?

"Naruto," the blond turned towards the silver-headed male. "Let's get going."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"And there was this huge guy who scared the bejesus out of us and sucked in out chakra and everything!" Obito waved his hands around frantically. "Thank goodness I was there or we would all be dead."

"As if!" Rin hit the boy in the back of the head, causing a noodle to get stuck in his throat. "Kakashi did all that, Obito! You just stood there pissing your pants at how big he was." (A/N That's what she said)

"But you guys are alright? No injuries? Mental scars?"

"If you count the mental scars that Obito left me than dozens of scars are up there." Kakashi shivered.

Minato chuckled. "First time as team captain and I already have to let you go, huh? What a shame."

"Let me go?" The grey defying hair turned quickly towards Kinuki as he connected the dots. "Why would you have to do that? We didn't fail the mission, it just took to long because Obito was an idiot."

"Not let you go, let you go." The blond glanced at Kinuki and that was the last dot that Kakashi needed.

"I'm going to be ANBU?"

Kinuki pushed his Ramen bowl to Obito as he took a deep breath, smirking slightly. "Kakashi Hatake," He began. "In accordance to the council, I am authorized to give you a test of entry into ANBU. If you pass, you get to join my team. ANBU team 007."

Kakashi's eyes lit up in joy.

"But if you lose, you will never be allowed to join ANBU ever again."

The team stood silent. "I accept."

Kinuki smiled. "Good cause you never really had a choice in the first place. The test will commence at 10 am tomorrow on training ground 7. Teammates are welcome to jo-"

"What! No fair!" Obito spilled his ramen over his lap after he stood up too quickly. "How come he gets to join ANBU but I can't!"

"I wonder," Rin muttered sarcastically. "You got to prove yourself worthy first, Obito! You nearly ruined our last mission so how would you even join a real ANBU team?"

"I've fought in the war! I have experience!"

"That's true," Kinuki pushed his long hair into a ponytail as he spoke. "But Rin is also right. You need to work on solo jobs. You have plenty of skills to your disposal but you need to work on utilizing them. Otherwise, the enemy will strike quicker than you can even think."

"I know," Obito grumbled. "But it doesn't hurt any less, y' know?"

"I know."

"What does that mean for our team sensei? Are we still going to even be a team?" Rin gave a panicked gaze towards her sensei.

"I'm not entirely sure. We may receive a third member or you'll just join me on mission's until you turn jonin. Although, I doubt we were going to be a team for long anyway. Most chunnin start solo missions after the age of 14. You guys are close to the finish line. You don't really need me anymore."

Rin and Obito teared up before bursting out. "Yes, we do sensei!"

Tecachi banged a spoon against a pot asking for silence.

"Sorry, Tecachi-san." Kinuki sighed. "I know it's hard to split the three of you up but we'll make sure to visit whenever we can, y' know. It's not like Kakashi is dieing. He'll still be around and may join you on missions in the future."

"I guess." Rin fiddled with her skirt.

Obito lifted his third bowl of ramen into his mouth, drowning his sorrows with the warm liquid.

"I'll be coming for you, Kakashi!" The raven said with a full mouth of noodles. "Just you wait, me and Rin will be faster and stronger than you the next time you see us!"

The said teen squinted. "Sure Rin will be, but you?"

The Uchiha frowned at his rival before standing up harshly. "In fact, I'm going to go train now!"

"Obito dont!" Minato warned the teen ran out the stand. "You just got back from a mission! You should rest!"

"No!"

Kinuki snickered. "We should get going too. You guys need to rest after such a long mission."

"So do you!" The blond scolded. "You just got off a mission that lasted 5 weeks. You look like death."

"No, I don't. I look normal."

"If normal is dead! And you still didn't tell me what the mission was about anyway."

The team began towards their home, separating as they crossed paths. Leaving the two future kages on a stroll by themselves in comfortable silence.

Kinuki opened the door to his house, only then realizing that the blond had followed him to his doorstep.

"Uh, Minato?" The blond hummed as his head drooped up and down. "You good?"

"Yup."

It was clear as day to Kinuki that after days of stress, the young sensei must be on his last legs. Leaving him tired after days of anxious puking.

He sighed. "Come in. I don't want you mugged on the way home. Besides, I'm sure that if you even walked a couple of steps, you'd fall face first."

"No, it's ok." The man rubbed his eyes. "I'll make it home. I just wanted to make sure you're safe first."

The teen squinted at the older for longs minutes before he finally gave in and walked through the open door.

The house was, as expected, dusty after weeks of not being used. But otherwise, it was just as he remembered it. The small apartment was cozy, he'll give him that. Rugs and blankets were placed in every available space and plants, that were now wilting, covered the window sills.

Kinuki reached into a cabinet, revealing a pretty blue vase with various shapes and sizes. Gold detailing wrapped around the figure as it filled up with water and was placed onto the kitchens countertop. The teen pulled up his sleeve, placing an open hand over it when beautiful pink flowers fell into his palm.

"It's a Kalima flower." He answered the older's unsaid question as he placed the flowers in the vase. "It symbolizes perseverance. I found some on the way back home and it reminded me of a friend."

Minato unzipped his flank placing it onto the couch before sitting down next to it. He leaned back into the couch, trying to ignore the back cutting springs.

"You really gotta get a new couch." He said eventually as the teen took off his katana and weapons pouch, unzipping his own vest so that he could breathe clearly once again.

"I know." Kinuki walked towards a closet and pulled out a blanket before opening the door to his bedroom. He threw the blanket at the blond. "You can sleep on my bed, I'll sleep on the couch. But before that, I got to take a shower. I'm filthy!"

"No, it's fine! I'll take the cou-" The slam of the bathroom door cut him off.

And then, Minato was alone in his friend's house. Minato glanced at the bedroom door before going through it, blanket in hand. Sure, he was tired. But he wasn't going to miss an opportunity to try to learn more about the mysterious man.

He glanced around the room, taking in the mess of papers that filled the entirety of the floor. Open books and textbooks were covered with colored sticky notes and writing. But the most distinguishable part of it all was the seals.

The future kage glanced at the textbooks, identifying them as medical textbooks and level 13 sealing books. Which was strange because last he heard Konoha based books only went up to level 8. It was the reason why he settled for improving on his own. Maybe he could ask Kushina later.

Circles with cuts and lines were redrawn over and over again before being thrown aside in what was most likely frustration. Just what was he working on?

With former knowledge, Minato tried to identify the pieces of the seals that he knew. There were several tiger and hare seals written in a mix with some other seals. Did Jariaya know about these seals?

"A dragon seal?" He muttered to himself.

"Yeah, its a combination of dragon and tiger with a hint of wolf. See, it balances each other out."

"Huh, yeah I see that." The blond paused, quickly realizing that Kinuki was here and placed the seal down as quickly as possible. He glanced at the teen, who's wet hair dripped slowly onto the floor, smiling apologetically. Through his pagama top, Minato could see bones sticking out clear as day and unconsiously made it an aim to fix his tiny frame. "Sorry I didn't mean to snoop around."

"Don't worry about it."

Minato picked up the seal again. "What is this anyway?"

Kinuki began picking up the scattered papers, placing them on the lone desk. "It's a healing circle me and my teammates made a long time ago."

"What does it do?" The other began helping in the cleaning process. He placed the open textbooks on top of the desk, making sure that the last page was marked.

"When you place it onto it person with blood, it should speed up the healing process by 50%. It heals a person whos on the verge of dying. At least thats what it's supposed to do." He looked down. "She died before we could complete it. I don't have enough knowledge about healing to finish it."

"Maybe Rin could help?"

Kinuki shook his head. "I just need to wait for Tsunade-sama. Maybe she could help. It was derived from her work after all."

Minato sat on the bed, realising instantly that it was far more comfortable than the couch. "I wanted to talk to you about Kakashi."

The redhead looked him dead in the eye. "You're scared for him, aren't you?"

"Well of course I am. He's like my son. You know, after his father died, I tried to substitute the missing affection in his life. But I know that he never thought much of it. He loved his father too much to ever replace him, no matter how hard he tries to deny that fact." He sighed. "You have to promise to take care of him, ok?"

"Of course," Kinuki placed a hand on the kages shoulder. " But you have to make sure that Rin and Obito also stay out of harm's way, alright?"

Minato stayed silent. "Why do you care so much?"

He was left with no response but a small hum.

"I mean, yes, we've known each other for a while now but I barely know you, Kinuki. You're such an enigma. And I want to write it off as kind-hearted but-"

"It's because you guys remind me of me. Or at least the old me, y' know. I used to have this wonderful team. A bright as the sun medic, a broody but smat prodigy, a never punctual sensei and, me. We were just a bunch of bafoons at the start and we quickly grew apart, but after a while, we were inseparable. Of course, that is, until they-" He put his head against the wall. "Died." The word left a dull taste in his mouth.

Minato's heart grew tight as he regretted the question that made his friend so- dull.

"Who were they? They sound like really good people. I feel like I should at least know them."

Kinuki smiled. "A bunch of brilliant fools, I swear to you. But now, let's go to bed, we gotta give an ANBU an inauguration tomorrow."

"Sure." The blond threw the blanket over himself, laying down on the soft mattress alongside the younger. He brightened as he heard the soft chuckle that came from the other's mouth before he stood up to turn off the lights and whisper a small 'Goodnight' as he exited the room. Maybe he hadn't just ruined everything after all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I'm telling you, we can't do anything about it! He is too crucial to the battlefield. We can't just take him out of it!"

"But we're talking about a soldier's health here!" Miasaji threw a fit against the Kage's words. "Kinuki is unstable and he needs to stay in the village to heal! Heck, Hiashi can even back me up on this!"

"She is righ-" Hiashi got cut off for the third time that day. He pushed his hair back in frustration.

"I know your right! I knew that from the moment he returned to Konoha. But currently, he is our only chance is winning this war or even leaving this war unscathed. He is the one who studied the battlefield for years! He is the one who could best interpret the next move of our enemies!"

"He could help from Konoha! Better yet, he could stay at the gates and monitor everything that happens in the village."

"He would end up losing himself even more!" Jiraya intervened this time. "He is a man of action, not of loose words and thoughts. He has to move around, save some people or he feels like he is useless to the world. That's the only purpose he thinks that he has."

"I know that." Miasaji kicked at the floor. "I've known that for weeks now. But I'm just worried. The doctor in Kusa really did seem concerned about his sanity. I just think if you gave him a break for at least three months, something would change in him. Give him another purpose."

The two elders glanced at each other before sighing. "After his mission to Ame, we'll consider it, alright? Right now, he is needed out there. He made too much of an impact on the world to just disappear from it suddenly."

"Thank you." Hiashi forced Miasaji to bow down with him. "That is all we ask. Have a nice day, gentlemen."

The Hyuga basically dragged the other out of the room, opening the grand door before closing it gently.

"What was that! That's not all we wanted! We want him out right now! Not in a couple of weeks!"

"We have to take what we can get, Miasaji! We were getting nowhere and it's already 0900! We've been there for over three hours talking about the same thing! Besides, we have to go meet our new member in twenty minutes. Kinuki said that we have to check his skills through a test first and I mean, I'm not missing out on a chance to watch that man do his magic."

"You shouldn't want to watch him 'do his magic' when he's in no position to do any 'magic'. I really feel like you should care more about this, Hiashi." 

"You heard what they said, didn't you. Kinuki is a key player in this!" Hiashi made vigorous hand movements. "You and I knew that even before Jiraya-sama and Hokage-sama told us. Everyone knows him now. He's just that kind of person." 

Miasaji turned away from the Hyuga, refusing to listen to the other as they enter the ANBU training field a few mere feet from the Hokage tower.

The girl's face fell further as she saw the white fang's son right in front of her.

"Pardon, are you-" Kakashi was cut off quickly. 

"No way, you!" Miasaji made large steps through the muddy grass until she was right in front of the young boy's face. "Your Minato's boy!"

"You know sensei?"

"Of course I know your sensei! He's my drinking buddy, silly! He talks about you all the time. He always-"

"That's enough, Miasaji." Kinuki cut off the women as he entered the training ground alongside Minato's team. 

Miasaji noted the deep scowl that etched itself into the young Uchiha's face and the slight pout of Rin's cheeks. They were jealous, a toddler could see that from a mile away.

Miasaji grinned. "So it's Minato who's joining the team, huh? I thought you said that you would never join ANBU. Too gruesome or something or another."

"No, actually." Minato chuckled. "It's Kakashi who's joining the team today."

"This little twerp?" The girl pointed aggressively. "You think HE'S fit for the team, Kinuki? I can't believe I have to doubt your judgment." 

The redhead pat the younger's head. "He's not someone to underestimate, Mou- I mean, Miasaji. It was the council who even offered Kakashi this position." 

Kinuki looked down at Kakashi, trying to ignore the dull pain in his heart that desperately begged him to try to find an alternative option. He wanted to push this Kakashi away from this path, not toward it. On the other hand, he could use this forced closeness to improve his mood and make the boy less pessimistic about the world. 

And in the end, he choose the latter. 

The Jinchuriki bounced across the training yard, pushing himself into a stance. 

"You ready to show Miasaji whatcha got?"

Kakashi lifted his arms, taking in the environment as he took a deep breath. 

"Ready." 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Dun dun dun. That's it for now, I'm afraid. Thank you for your patience, everyone! It's been harder than I would've ever expected to be in art school, you know? Too many projects ;^; On other notes, this chapter feels a little rushed, but I wanted to get it out to everyone as soon as possible. 

I just wanted to say, and this is important, future chapters are going to be shorter. This is only to provide all my new viewer's more consistent updates and events. In that way, I can focus on expanding upon small events instead of trying to slave away with more than 5 scenes per chapter. I hope ya'll are ok with that. 

Also!!! Please draw your attention to Ino's flashback because that is going to be very relevant in the future! 

ƭɦαɳҡร ƒσ૨ ૨εα∂เɳɠ! ԋαʋҽ α ɳιƈҽ ԃαყ,

Aɳԃ ԃσɳƚ ϝσɾɠҽƚ ƚσ ʋσƚҽ αɳԃ ƈσɱɱҽɳƚ!