MINAKO'S POINT OF VIEW

"And then I got pork ramen to celebrate with Irukei sensei ya know!" I said summarizing how I got my headband to my sister and Minato who were cuddled up on the couch. Kushina thought it was funny and giggled the whole time I was telling the story. Minato grinned at me, proud that I was able to pass because of his training. I smiled at my sister and pounced on her and Minato on the couch.

"Oof!" They both had the air leave their lungs when I jumped on them but they were smiling at me as if I was their daughter. Kushina had heart eyes and hugged me tightly. I cuddled up to my sister, feeling my heart fill up with love. My sister was everything to me, my mother, my sibling, my mentor...I would be lost if I didn't have her by my side. I loved Minato too. In the past year that he has been dating my sister, he was nothing but sweet and fatherly to me. I needed Minato in my life too...with him and my sister always being there for me, I never had time or room to grieve about being without parents.

"I love you Kushina!" I said to my sister and she smiled brightly at me, her violet eyes shining the same way.

"I love you too Mina! I'm so proud of you, ya know!" She gushed back. I turned and smiled at the blond sixteen year old next to me.

"I couldn't have done it without you Minato. I love you too, ya know." I smiled at him. He looked a little surprised that I told him I loved him, considering I never said it to him before. Minato then had a dazzling grin that seemed to put my sister in a trance.

"I love you too Mina. Now off to bed, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow!" I pouted and turned to look at Minato and Kushina's jonin vests laying in the corner.

"Wait, since you guys are jonins, doesn't that mean you are teaching the genin this year?" Kushina glanced at Minato but he sweatdropped and waved his hands.

"I..uh..I don't know.." He wryly grinned. Kushina flicked him on the head and he winced.

"Sorry.." He trailed off. He then looked at me while I gave him a raised eyebrow. Then with no warning, he picked me up and tickled me until I was giggling uncontrollably.

"Mi-na..to!! P-put me d-down ya know!!" I giggled. He continued to tickle me until he tossed me gently onto my messy bed.

"Bed time Mina!" Minato smiled at me. He then stood up to leave, but my small hand on his wrist stopped him.

"Wa-wait!" He stopped and looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Hmm?"

"Can I cuddle with you and Kushina until I fall asleep? I'm gonna be a real ninja tomorrow and won't be able to do it anymore ya know..." I pouted with puppy dog eyes. He sweatdropped and sighed before picking me up again and throwing me over his shoulder. He popped his head out of the hallway to see my sister laying on the couch, brushing her hair.

"Umm...babe?"

"Hmm?" She looked up. Minato had a shy smile on his face.

"Your sister wants to snuggle with us." Kushina grinned and hopped up towards us.

"Little Mina you are a trouble maker aren't ya?" I blushed and hid my face in Minato's hair.

"Someone likes you Minato." Kushina giggled. I then stuck my tongue out at my sister.

"Hey!! Back off ya know!" I protested with a big blush spreading across my cheeks. Both of them sat on the couch and I laid across their legs, cudding in with a blanket.

"Nighty night Mina..." My sister whispered.

~~

"NO WAY IRUKEI SENSEI! THERE'S NO WAY THAT A GREAT NINJA LIKE ME SHOULD BE ON THE SAME TEAM AS KAKASHI YA KNOW?!" I yelled in protest. I just found out that I am not on the same team as Tsume, Gai, or Asuma but I was stuck with Rin and Kakashi. I mean I was really excited to be on the same team as Obito... Rin was nice but he would be so focused on her that I would never have one on one time with him. I didn't want to deal with Kakashi...he was always better than me.

"MINA QUIET DOWN! THE HOKAGE HIMSELF MADE THESE TEAMS! NOW CALM DOWN!" I huffed then got back in my seat. Kakashi looked at me with an eyebrow raised and I raised one right back at him.

"What?"

"Why do you hate me?" Kakashi asked. He didn't seem offended or hurt but I felt a little guilty for being so mean.

"You always have to beat me in everything! I am never good enough ya know!" Kakashi looked at me and sighed.

"Well then you have to step up your game." I glared at him but he merely smirked. His onyx eyes were hard before going soft.

"It's on Kakashi." He smiled back at me.

"Good."

"Okay class! You guys are to meet your new senseis and your team! Dismissed!" Irukei Sensei quickly ruffled my hair before leaving.

"Good luck Mina."

"Thanks sensei." I smiled back.

~~

Obito, Rin, Kakashi, and I waited around the new training ground area for about five minutes until a flash of golden yellow moved around us.

"What was that?" Obito questioned with a kunai raised. I grinned as bright as the sun and placed my hands on my hips.

"Our new sensei ya know." I beamed.

"Hi guys! My name is Minato Namikaze and I'm going to be your new sensei." I raised my eyebrow at the jonin and held a small scowl on my face.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a team!? Especially the fact I was on it too ya know!" I yelled. He winced from my loud voice.

"Sorry Mina! I wasn't allowed to tell anyone!"

"Only my friends call me Mina, ya know." I pouted childishly. Kakashi rolled his eyes at me and Rin raised an eyebrow that I was talking to our sensei this way. Obito was playing with flowers. Why do I like that boy... *sigh*.

"Aww...Mina don't be like that." He gave me his own puppy dog look which was hard for me to ignore. I sighed before giving him a shy smile.

"Fine, but just this once! I hate secrets!" Minato ruffled my short scarlet locks before turning towards the rest of the team.

"Alright guys. How about introductions?"

"Can you give us an example sensei?" Rin asked.

"Okay... My name is Minato Namikaze. I like long walks and developing new techniques. I dislike those threatening the will of fire. My dream is to one day be Hokage and protect my family and loved ones. Now you, girl with the brown hair."

"My name is Rin Nohara. I like mochi and swimming! I dislike mean people and my dream is to be a great medic ninja like the sannin Tsunade." Minato nodded before looking at Obito.

"I'm Obito Uchiha! I like helping people...I dislike Kakashi! My dream is to be Hokage and make everyone's dreams come true." Next was Kakashi.

"Kakashi Hatake. What I like and dislike... I don't feel like telling you... My dream? I don't feel like telling you that either..." We all sweat dropped at Kakashi's bluntness.

"Uh... Okay then... Mina?"

"My name's Minako Uzumaki and I'm going to be a totally awesome ninja. I like ramen... well I love ramen, my sister, and my friends. I dislike being called names because of my hair... " Kakashi looked at me when I said that with a glance I didn't understand.

"My dream is to one day be Hokage so that everyone will respect me and see me as a real and true ninja. I want to be better than my sister and make her proud!" Minato smiled at us all before pulling out three bells.

"Alright, you guys are all different. Now onto the test."

"What test? I thought we already passed!" Obito protested. Minato snickered.

"You are all eligible to be genin but you aren't until I say you pass. The goal of this test is to capture these three bells. If you don't capture a bell by noon, then you fail. If you are the only one to fail, you're dropped from the program. If all of you fail, you all are sent back to the Academy." Everyone visibly stiffened.

"But sensei, there are only three bells and four of us. One of us will definitely be sent home!"

"Exactly. We start now. Ready, begin!" Minato yelled. Quickly Kakashi, Rin, and I dispersed and hid in bushes. Obito charged sensei head on. I sweatsdropped but knew that I couldn't hope to challenge Minato head on so I turned to Kakashi and Rin who were nearby.

"Want to team up ya know?" I whispered. Rin looked at Kakashi while saying no, hoping he'd do the same but he looked at me and nodded his head. I smiled at him and glared at Rin who was doing the same to me. Kakashi and I moved to another section of the training grounds after Minato trapped Obito. Rin was focused on rescuing Obito meaning Kakashi and I were the last survivors of the challenge.

Minato was standing in a clearing, looking around for a well hidden Kakashi and I.

"Ready?" I asked Kakashi. He nodded and we were off.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" I yelled. A hundred clones came out of the trees, attacking Minato. He fended them off easily but was surprised when there were multiple Kakashis coming from the woods as well. The real Kakashi threw a shuriken at Minato which he deflected. All of a sudden, that shuriken turned into me and I quickly grabbed the three bells off of his waist as I flew through the air. I landed on my back and skidded with scrapes all down my back. I visibly winced and felt some blood drip down and through my shirt. Minato stood with a proud look on his face as all of the clones disappeared, leaving him and Kakashi as the only ones standing. Kakashi ran over to me and picked me up but I hissed in pain from scraping my back. Minato quickly took over and held me without much pain going through me. He sat me down on a soft patch of grass, allowing me to rest.  Obito was leaning against a wooden pole and Rin was sulking next to him. When she saw Kakashi and me, she immediately perked up and looked at us with hope in her eyes.

"Did you guys get the bells?" I smiled at her and pulled the three silver bells out of my pocket.

"Y-yeah." She immediately chirped and hugged me tightly, I winced in pain but let it happen. She then froze and looked at Minato.

"One of us is eliminated... who are you going to choose Minako?" Rin asked. She looked sad because she was convinced I wouldn't give her a bell.

"That's right. Minako is holding all of the bells and she can choose how to disperse it or if she will disperse it. She could keep all three if she wanted to." I looked around as all three of my teammates looked at me curiously. Kakashi looked down at his sandals while kicking dirt. He probably thought I wasn't going to give him one to limit the competition and finally be number one. I tossed him a bell which he caught with fast reflexes. He looked at me in awe and I gave him a small smile.

"I give it to you, Kakashi, because you deserve it and you helped me." I then tucked one into Obito's pocket and smiled at him.

"To you, Obito, because I believe in your dream." I glanced to see Rin about to cry, looking at her sandals. I placed a hand on her shoulder and put the bell into her hand.

"And to Rin because it wouldn't be a team without her ya know." Everyone looked at me shocked... I was the one that was empty handed. I looked at my team sadly and gave them a little smile.

"But Mina! That means that you are dropped from the program!" Obito protested. I shook my head and let a small tear stream down my cheek.

"I'm young... I have alot to learn ya know. It's okay guys... I want you to all succeed." Minato placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Well since Minako doesn't have a bell... that means she will never be a ninja. Say goodbye to everyone Mina." I waved sadly but suddenly Kakashi placed his bell in my hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about sensei... I see a bell in her hand." Kakashi protested. My violet eyes widened... Kakashi...

Obito then threw his bell at me and I caught it. Rin followed suit and gave me her bell back as well.

"That's right, if anyone has more things to learn, it's us since we didn't get a bell." Rin commented.

"Besides... it wouldn't be fun without you Mina!" Obito yelled. I felt my heart go wild as I looked at the bells in my hands.

"You guys..." I then gave the bells back to Minato.

"Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded and stood next to Obito.

"Once a team, always a team! No matter where we are ya know!"

"Yeah!" My teammates said with me. Minato raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" We nodded in unison, preparing to fail together.

"You all... Pass. "