The three of us walked quietly down the road at a rather comfortable pace. Naruto lead the way, and I walked next to Jiraiya.

I glanced up shyly to my godfather. "I, um... I want to thank for you, you know... carrying me."

Jiraiya glanced back at me and gave another wide and friendly grin. "It's not an issue! I had no idea you were up there, truth be told. Some ANBU Captain informed me, and well, you know the rest."

I felt a small surge of affection for Kitsune and smiled at Jiraiya. "Thank you."

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish way. "Well... anyway, we should get going. There should be a resting point up ahead."

('･ω･')

There was a soft knock at the door. Naruto gave a sort of snuffling-snore before he rolled over in the bed, still sound asleep. I got out of the second bed, feeling understandably nervous. I opened the door quietly, not even glancing up before I slipped out of the room and closed the door behind me.

It was then that I glanced up and found myself staring into the obsidian eyes of Uchiha Itachi.

"Um... hello," I greeted quietly. "I don't suppose we could keep this conversation a bit quiet? Someone's taking a nap."

"Uzumaki Miwako," Itachi said blandly, "come with us."

I looked around Itachi's shoulder and eyed Hoshigaki Kisame.

"Sasukenii-chan says it's always polite to give your own name first," I said, stalling for Jiraiya.

Itachi gave no outward expression upon hearing his little brother's name.

Kisame gave a quiet chuckle. "It is the polite thing to do. I am Hoshigaki Kisame, and this is my partner, Uchiha Itachi. Come with us, Kyūbi brat."

I tilted my head, my palms growing sweaty. I knew Itachi wouldn't let me be captured quite so easily, but that would only happen if I could somehow work with him in stalling time.

"Just me?" I ventured.

"We only need one of you," Itachi said softly.

My eyes shined at that.

There. Crucial information. If they only needed one of us, then...

Then if worse comes to worse I could take my brother's place.

Which won't happen because we won't let that happen, right?

It's always nice to have options.

"... I doubt that you're ready for me yet," I responded quietly, my voice almost a whisper. "I would imagine that you need to capture the others first before coming for me. The only reason you're here now is because you have a half-hearted whim to capture me. If you truly wanted me you would have come in through the window and grabbed one of us before we could react. We are still Genin, after all."

Kisame laughed, his shoulders shaking. "It looks like we've been found out, Itachi-san. It would be far too expensive and too much of a hassle to really pursue you now. However..."

"Well, well... what a surprise. I wasn't expecting you, Sasuke..."

At Itachi's words, my head snapped down the hallway to find a furious Sasuke. His face contorted into an ugly snarl, his Sharingan flaring to life.

"Sharingan...? Who is this brat, Itachi-san?"

"My foolish little brother..."

"That's amusing, last I checked you were the last Uchiha," Kisame said, amusement tinting his tone. "Did you miss one? Though judging from the chakra in this one, I guess it just wasn't really worth it."

"Itachi," Sasuke hissed, shaking from anger.

I glanced between the two brothers, uncertain of what to do.

Do I stop them, and thus prevent Sasuke from slipping off into a horrific coma?

Or do I let the story unfold and not risk Sasuke's resentment and anger?

... That was actually a no-brainer.

I moved, flickering towards Sasuke's side and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. He didn't react.

"You're being an irrational brat," I told him.

Sasuke's head snapped towards me. He growled, "Let. Go. This is my revenge. He is mine to kill."

"And you honestly think you can do it? You had trouble against Lee," I said plainly, allowing my tone to hold a skeptical note to it.

Sasuke's eyes widened with fury before he jerked out of my grasp. He didn't say a word, though.

"Fight now, and get hurt or worse. I'm not going to sit by and allow a one-sided battle to occur, with someone precious to me on the losing side," I said.

Sasuke flinched, as if struck, by the one-sided remark and he paled considerably from anger by the losing side remark.

"Listen to your friend, foolish little brother," Itachi murmured, his eyes unreadable. "I can see from here you aren't strong enough. You lack power. You lack hatred."

"What good does hatred do him?" I retorted, unable to keep a snappish edge out of my voice. Oh no. I was not allowing things to head in that direction when it concerned someone I cared about. No way in hell was I allowing family to walk down that path. "Drive? Motivation? He has enough of that, thank you. What he needs is family, friends and closure."

"You know nothing."

"And neither do you," Sasuke snarled, glaring at Itachi. "I've done what you asked. I've lived, I've trained... I've done everything just for this one moment. I will kill you, Itachi!"

Kisame snickered at that, and I couldn't entirely blame him. I knew very well the vast difference in levels these two were on. It was laughable.

"Nii-chan," I sighed, irritation seeping through my voice, "think for a moment, please."

"Are you with me, or are you against me, Miwako?" Sasuke snapped.

I opened my mouth, preparing to answer when there was a sudden small explosion and smoke covered the hallyway. I coughed, and when the smoke cleared I found Jiraiya standing there. Jiraiya grinned and just as he opened his mouth to give his speech...

"You have no right to declare yourself a sage when you got sidetracked by a woman under a genjutsu," I deadpanned.

Jiraiya shot me a glare.

I only smiled, relief dominating most of me because I had stalled long enough and Sasuke hadn't attacked Itachi.

Goal: Accomplished.

('･ω･')

After Gai arrived and escorted a seething Sasuke—he was no longer upset with me and was instead angry at Itachi for running away, which I was perfectly fine with—the three of us headed out on the road once more.

We didn't travel very far before Jiraiya pulled us aside, mentioning it was time he introduced us to the technique he would be teaching us.

('･ω･')

"... And this is the technique I'll be teaching you," Jiraiya declared, holding out the Rasengan for us to see. Naruto's eyes widened considerably and he gave a gleeful shout. My brow furrowed, and I felt torn.

On one hand I was ecstatic. I was a pleased pickle to find out that my godfather was going to teach us that legendary move and that he wanted to.

On the other hand, I was reluctant.

It was Naruto's signature move and it felt way too much like copying if I learned it, too.

"Yatta! This will be awesome!"

With great reluctance, I sighed and shook my head. "No thanks."

Both Naruto and Jiraiya gave me wide-eyed looks.

"What? How come, Imouto? Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, his face showing sincere worry.

I felt my gaze soften as I looked at my brother, and my resolve in declining the move strengthened. "I want you to learn this. I think that this move would better fit you than it would me; besides, it doesn't really go with my style, you know?"

Naruto frowned at that. "... Are you sure?"

"Mm-hmm."

Naruto's brow furrowed and he seemed contemplative. "... But..."

I patted his head. "I'm not changing my mind. I want you to have this technique."

"But..."

"Then what am I supposed to teach you now?" Jiraiya complained, shooting me a mildly annoyed look. "That was the only move I prepared to teach you... damn it."

"You don't need to—"

Jiraiya gave me a dirty look. "I said I would teach you both a new good jutsu. I have the utmost intention in keeping my word. However finding a technique on an equal level to the Rasengan... damn it. I'm going to need to think about this."

I shifted, a little guilty that I was putting this much stress on my godfather. I looked down, feeling my cheeks warm up.

For whatever reason, Jiraiya seemed to soften a bit at my reaction. He gave a small sigh, patting me once atop the head. "Don't worry about it, brat. I want to teach you, alright?"

I looked up, unable to stop myself from smiling adoringly at Jiraiya. "Thank you!"

('･ω･')

"Alright, Miwako, come here."

I glanced up from watching Naruto train, frowning minutely as Jiraiya gestured towards me. I spared Naruto another look before I hurried towards Jiraiya. Once I reached his side, he patted me atop the head in an almost absent-mindedly affectionate way. He then began to walk away.

Confused and curious, I followed after him, making sure to walk by his side.

"Before the old man died, he filled me on what you two already know," Jiraiya said. "Well, what you know and what your brother knows."

I blinked up at Jiraiya, tilting my head. He continued, "You both are aware of your status, but only you are aware of your parentage. The old man said neither of you were supposed to find out about your father until you reached the Chūnin Rank and held that rank for a set amount time. I know you agreed to this."

I frowned. "... We agreed it was for the best...?"

Jiraiya let out a slow breath. "As you probably know, I was your father's teacher. As such he... felt compelled to leave me a few things to pass on to his children in case... in case he couldn't. One of those things, was the technique, the Rasengan."

"... Okay?"

Jiraiya stopped and it was then that I noticed he had led me to a very secluded place. I couldn't help but feel a little anxious then.

"I am going to teach you a technique that you are forbidden from using until you and Naruto are Chūnin unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you understand?"

Jiraiya's stern tone and harsh gaze, made me hesitant.

"I—I do—but... why?"

"You're too young to properly defend yourself against all of Minato's enemies, and we won't always be able to protect you," Jiraiya said, his tone breaking no argument. "Not to mention this technique holds many risks in learning it. Minato is the only one alive who has ever mastered it enough that he could use it alone, and well enough."

I fell silent. "... What are you going to show me?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I can't show you anything. I never learned this technique. However, I do have Minato's notes, written specifically for... for his children. I know you've studied in fūinjutsu at least on the side, and that you've focused mostly on genjutsu and ninjutsu. That stops now. A majority your studies will be in fūinjutsu, agility and evasion. Genjutsu on a side note, and ninjutsu last."

I blinked, surprise coloring my features. "H-Hai."

Jiraiya then pulled off the massive scroll he always kept on his person.

"Wh... What are you going to teach me?" I asked as Jiraiya unrolled it and summoned seven more scrolls.

Jiraiya pointed towards them. "Everything you need to know about the technique are in these scrolls. They're blood-sealed, so only you and Naruto will ever be able to open and read what's written in there."

"... What is the technique?"

Jiraiya gave me a calculating look. "Flying Thunder God."

('･ω･')

My head was pounding.

Kurama was being uncharacteristically nice and sending his chakra out to soothe my throbbing head. I had spent the rest of the day—until the sun had set—studying fūinjutsu. Jiraiya was a wonderful help, though he warned me that I would largely have to study on my own and could only come to him if I had absolutely no idea what to do next.

Minato... Pa... Pa... Papa... was very organized. He labeled each scroll in order of what to read first. I had unsealed the first scroll, eying the contacts with anxious excitement. Jiraiya warned me that because it was a blood-sealed scroll, he wouldn't be able to read or understand whatever was on there, so I was on my own for learning the technique.

Mina—Papa was very detailed. He laid out exactly how much fūinjutsu I needed to know before attempting this technique, how fast I had should be, how strong I should be, how large my reserves were, etc. My fūinjutsu was, naturally, behind the necessary mark, but I found myself pleased that my speed was very close to the mark. A tenth of a second off, to be exact.

I hadn't read further into the scroll, choosing instead to focus on reaching the marks before even attempting to learn the technique.

Jiraiya had plenty of fūinjutsu scrolls that he carried around for keeping up and furthering his own studies in the art. However, the only scrolls he carried around were advanced fūinjutsu scrolls. If I could pick a level for my fūinjutsu, I would say... above average. Not... well actually, maybe proficient. That was only if I was being nice. The point was though, that the difference between what I was studying and my actual skill was... urk.

For an example. It would be the equivalent for a child that just finished understanding multiplication and division... and then giving said child a book on trigonometry and physics and telling them to complete and comprehend it.

That was what I was dealing with.

It was so difficult to wrap my brain around on why this does that or why that did this and how that turned into this and...

I wasn't a genius.

I had spent the entire day puzzling out the first two passages, breaking down the jargon and contemplating on it. It helped—tremendously so—that Kurama was feeling particularly bored today so he was there to puzzle along beside me. Not to mention his vocabulary was so much more vast than mine and he had more experience dealing with seals that he knew enough to be above-proficient at understanding them.

He, however, wasn't the best at teaching me this (hence why I preferred to study on my beforehand and didn't ask for his assistance) as he lost his temper too easily and couldn't very well convey what he was trying to say.

It was... difficult. Difficult enough that the appeal of learning the Flying Thunder God lessened enough that I didn't particularly want to learn it anymore.

I knew how complicated the sealing art was. From the very basis of it, to the tiniest scale-up detail, sealing was complex.

The fundamentals of sealing all relied on the power of words. I remembered even back in my world, some believed words held powers of their own—names and whatnot. In this world, it was a fact. But it wasn't really the words themselves (or in most sealing cases—drawings), as much as the intentions behind them and how they were created. It was metaphysical.

Then there were all the little exchanges and balancing going on between each line, each drawing inside the seal. The intertwined with each other; they always ended and started together. There were tucks and turns and loops and rolls... In nearly all cases each drawing contradicted another.

But there was a pattern. An unexplainable pattern that when I mentioned it to Jiraiya, he had only given me a (warm) smile.

Seeing that pattern is what separates a master from a mimic. You either see it, or you don't. It's all instinctual. I know it's hard now, especially as I don't have any materials around your level, but the fact that you can see it... means everything.

I sighed through my nose, rubbing my head and rolling over on the bed.

This is going to take forever.

There is a way to... significantly speed things up, Kurama purred.

I closed my eyes, feeling myself slip away before I soon found myself standing before Kurama. His hot breath blew over me and I opened my eyes.

... Okay. I'm listening.

Shadowclones.

No. That's—That's too much like copying—

I've had enough with your stupid reasons. You lost out on a powerful move because of that stupid reason. I saw no objections from you 'copying off' of Sasuke for the Chidori. You are a kunoichi. You need every tool available to you and a kunoichi that is too hesitant to use a needed move is a dead kunoichi. Do you understand, brat?

I was silent.

Do you understand, brat?!

Y-Yes.

I can still feel your hesitance and you're reluctance so I am going to make this perfectly clear to you. Your brother taught you that move for the specific purpose of you using it. He wanted to share with you, just like he wanted to share the Rasengan with you. You are being selfish in not wanting to share and I have had enough of it. The Shadowclone technique is no different from you creating the explosive and storage seals your brother uses. You share those, so why not share this when he so obviously wants you to?

I hesitated before sighing, feeling more than a little stupid at that moment.

... I'm sorry.

Kurama snorted, his tails swishing back and forth.

I slipped through the bars of his cage, moving closer.

"What do you suggest I do?" I asked aloud in my mind.

"Send clones back to Konoha, henged as someone else. Have them study over the materials necessary in fūinjutsu. Use the rest of the clones to look over every scroll Jiraiya has. Study them in groups of five so that they can work through it on their own," Kurama replied aloud.

"... I'm glad," I said softly.

Kurama's red eyes locked on to me, and my eyes trailed downwards.

"I'm glad that I told you. I don't think... No, I know I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. So... thank you, Kurama. Thank you very much," I continued on softly.

Kurama was silent for a long, long time.

Finally, he gave a sort of sigh, his hot breath washing over me once again. "Whatever... brat."

I found myself smiling.

If I didn't know any better, I would have said he held a tiny affectionate tone at brat.