What was the real purpose for everything they did? The fighting, the killing. Was there really no way to stop and ignore differnces in opinion, maybe appearance, and save the lifes and sanity of many people called ninja? Minari had always wondered what the point was. Why do the villages fued? Why do they go to war? Because of some petty difference. And though they might say that the loss of one affects few, the loss of many affects everyone. Minari knew that all to well.
It was a strange feeling for her as she sat in front of Zabuza and Haku's graves. The two people she never thought she would have to say goodbye too...
"Is that really it Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, kneeled in front of Haku's grave. "Is that the ninja way? To use and be used by people like tools?"
As she stood and walked back to the group, Kakashi gave what he thought would be a suitable answer. "Shinobi are all merely tools in the hands of destiny. No point in wondering whether it's right or wrong. It just is. It's the same in the village hidden in the leaves."
Naruto turned to face his sensei, a saddened expression playing across his features. "Well if you ask me, if that's what being a ninja's all about something's out of whack. Is that why we go through all this training? Just to end up like them?"
"What is the reason for that?" Sasuke asked.
Kakashi sighed as he tried to think of an explanation, but nothing really came. It's one of those life questions that has many answers, but at the same time, has none. "Well," He started. "That's a question without an answer. And that is something we ninja have to deal with everyday of our lives. Like Zabuza... and the kid."
Minari hugged her knees tighter. "But there has to be a better way..."
A better way, Naruto thought. A different way that didn't lead to thoughts like Zabuza and Haku had. A way that had a place for everyone and everyone was looked at as a person, not a tool to be used and tossed aside for a new one once worn. "Okay!" He said, gaining the attention of his team. "I've just come to a decision. From now on, I'm finding my own ninja way. A way that's straight and true and without any regrets. From now on, I'm following the way of Naruto!" The young boys words caught Kakashi by surprise, but he smiled non-the-less at him, proud in a way.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all began the walk back to the village to rest for the night. Tomorrow was the day they would be leaving for Konoha once again. But Kakashi noticed that Minari was still curled up in front of the graves, looking to the sky. No matter how she tried to look like she was alright with Haku and Zabuza's deaths, Kakashi knew she was suffering inside like when Kibrom and Caraki died. He took a seat next to her and leaned back on his hands, enjoying the colors of the setting evening sun.
"How are you holding up?" She only shrugged. "You know Minari, it's okay to be upset. They meant a lot to you and when someone precious is gone it's only natural to grieve. I won't judge you for that."
Minari sniffled a little, know what her Father said was true and leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder and letting a few stray tears fall. "I know." But there was something else that had been eating at her heart since this mission started. And that thought made her tears fall harder and a sob to choke her voice. "I'm so sorry Dad."
"You have nothing to be sorry about."
"Yes I do. I should never have left home. I should have stayed with you and trained in Konoha and stayed away from making the connections I have now. This won't be the last time we leave for a mission and will have to face someone I care about and once called family. I can't take feeling like this, like part of my world has been stolen from me. I should have stayed home with you and we could be a normal family, just you, me, the dogs, and the picture of mom on the table. I'm so sorry Dad."
Kakashi was stunned by her words. Had she really been keeping these thoughts and feelings holed up inside for so long? But her words made him think back... to when it began.
Kakashi made his way home, grocery bag in one hand and book in the other. It was getting to a very interesting part and he wanted to get a few more pages in before arriving home. Minari would be fine on her own for a little while longer. After all, she was very mature for her age, a trait he was almost certain came from her mother. She looks like her more and more everyday... except for that hair.
Never had Kakashi thought he would be a Father at his age, but he made a promise. And Minari really is such a good kid, always quiet and happy to read a book or go outside and play with the girl across the street. He had made sure she could read well at a very young age. As far as she knew, she always knew how to read. The other five year olds she knew would come to her and ask her to read to them during the day if they became bored. And she was happy to do it.
The house came into view and he could see his daughter in the front yard with the neighbor girl, but there were two unfamiliar boys with them as well. As he got closer, he realized something that made his heart drop and his breath speed up. Minari was standing in front of the girl with her arms up, protecting her from the boys who were throwing rocks and dirt clods at them. Everything became narrowed to him though when he watched one of the boys push his Minari against a tree, causing her to cry out in pain.
Grocery bag and book forgotten, he rushed over and grabbed both of the boys, taking them by surprise. "You two! I would suggest going home and staying away from these girls unless you want me to talk to your parents about what you've been up to!" Both boys, once released, ran screaming down the road, but not before Kakashi was able to put a tracker seal on their shirts. He would talk to their parents anyway.
The neighbor girl had gone running as well, leaving Minari huddled on the ground at the base of the tree, shaking and crying. Kakashi easily scooped the small girl into his arms and carried her inside, holding her protectively. She clutched his vest tightly and continued to sniffle and whine, rubbing at her eyes. He gently set her on the kitchen counter and got a wash cloth, going to clean the dirt from her face but stopped when he saw blood smeared across the side of her face and on her hand. Upon closer inspection he realized when she hit the tree she caught on something, and that something had cut her pretty deep from the corner of her eye to her collar bone.
He gently cleaned the cut and her face and bandaged her up. "What happened?" He asked.
Minari was quiet for a moment and looked down to her dirty shoes. "Kari and I were playing and those boy started making fun of her so I told them to go away, please. And then they started throwing things so I tried to protect Kari."
Kakashi let out a short sigh as he packed up the first aid kit. "Minari, I'm proud of you for trying to protect your friend. But in a situation like that, you need to run and come find me, alright?"
She looked up to her father and very boldly stated, "I want to be a ninja."
"No." Came Kakashi's immediate reply.
"Why not!"
"Because it's dangerous and I don't want you becoming a ninja. End of discussion."
"But that's not fair! You're a ninja! Mommy and Satoru were ninja's. Why can't I be one?"
"Your mother and father were ninja's, yes, and look what happened to them. I'm a ninja, so I know how dangerous it is and it's to dangerous for you."
"I can be strong! I can! Let me try!"
"That's enough, Minari."
"If I try hard enough I can be an information ninja!"
"Minari!" Kakashi snapped, ending the little girls pleas. "I said that's enough! Your not becoming a ninja, and you certainly won't be an information ninja! That is the end!" Minari looked to her father, big brown eyes quickly filling with tears as horrible heart retching sobs flew from her throat. Kakashi watched as she ran to her room and slammed the door. A sigh found it way out of him. He hates it when she cries. ANd he hates it even more when it's his fault.
He knows she wants to be like the mother she never met, have the strength of the father she does not know, and the power of the one she does. But he doesn't want to lose her. He's lost so many who were dear to him, and thought of never seeing his sweet daughter again was terrifying.
After a few hours, Kakashi took a plate of food into Minari's room, knowing they needed to talk about this. She sat on her bed with her arms folded on the nightstand, sadly gazing at the picture of her mother that he had given her when she was three. He sat the plate on the stand and sat next to her. "I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." Minari only continued to gaze at the picture. "It's not that I don't trust you or believe in you. I just don't want you to get hurt is all."
"You think I'll end up like mommy... or Satoru." She said sadly.
"Come here." Kakashi reached out his arm and brought Minari to his side, gently rubbing her arm. "What happened to your parents are two worst case scenarios that I am afraid to have happen to you. But that's because I love you, Minari. I want you to stay safe and healthy and live a full life. And as a ninja there is no guaranty of that. That's why I don't want you becoming a ninja."
Minari looked up to her Father with saddened yet determined eyes. "Give me a chance, please. I know I can prove myself."
Prove herself... Kakashi thought for a short moment. What could be the harm in letting her train in the yard and show she could learn how to do well on her own? Either she found she couldn't do it or she proved herself able in his eyes. "Alright." Minari's eyes grew wide. "If you can train and prove to me that you can be a great ninja, I'll let you attend the academy and become a shinobi."
"Really?!" Her eyes sparkled in joy and Kakashi nodded with a smile. He loved to see his daughter happy. Her tiny arms wrapped around his neck and he hugged her tightly. "I love you, Daddy." Minari said.
"I love you too, Minari." He let go of her and stood. "Eat your dinner and get some sleep, alright?"
"Okay. Goodnight."
He took one more look at her before he walked out the door and smiled, still seeing her grin and laughing when she made a face at his cooking. "Goodnight." It had been the next morning that he got up to find Minari gone.
Kakashi held his daughter to him in a comforting way and rubbed her arm. Maybe if he told her... she could fight on. He had started out never wanting Minari to enter this world of fighting and death, but she had made her choice and now he could never see her as being anything short of the best. Everything she written in her journals... she had become something he had never thought possible.
"I never wanted you to be a ninja." Minari looked up to her Father, tears beginning to dry up. "Really, the day I told you to prove yourself, I was joking in a way. I was hoping you'd practice throwing a kunai in the yard and have enough of Satoru in you to become frustrated and give up. In my mind, there was nothing you could do to prove to me that you could be any form of a ninja." Minari sighed and looked down at the ground. "But..." Her head snapped up again. "You proved me very wrong. The morning I found you gone I thought for sure I'd never see you again. That one day someone would find you dead and I tried very hard to find you before that happened. But months passed, and then years, and I couldn't help but think that you were somewhere in the world becoming very strong and proving me wrong by ten-fold. And the day you came home... I knew you had."
He looked down to his daughter with a small hidden smile. "You are far stronger than I ever thought you would be. Not only physically, but mentally as well. All of the people that you have met in your life have given you something precious, whether it be knowledge or love. People in our lives come and go, it's a given in the world of shinobi. We aren't guaranteed a long life and that's a fact we have to accept. But as long as you still hold that precious gift given to you by your friends, even if they leave this world, they will never leave you."
A soft feeling began to bloom in Minari as she listened to her Fathers inspiring words. She felt better in a way. A lot better. And a weight had been lifted off her heart. "Now I'm not saying I'm happy you left home for so long, but I can see the good it did you. You've learned way more than you could have throwing kunai in the yard." Kakashi chuckled.
Minari gave a short breathy laugh. "I can't throw a kunai to save my life." Kakashi only laughed again and held his daughter closer.
After a few more minutes he stood and began down the path to Tazuna's house. "Don't be out here to long, we're leaving early tomorrow." She nodded and looked back out to the sky, unaware of the eavesdropped not to far in the trees behind her. Sasuke had been watching the exchange between Kakashi and Minari and was left with a strange feeling from Kakashi's words. He remembered his mother once saying something similar, about those how have passed still being with us in our hearts and minds. If that was true, his family was still very much alive. And he didn't know what he felt. Sadness, peace, anger, he didn't know. But like the girl who sat before him, he also felt strangely better.
He was about to step out from his place and speak with Minari himself about the matter of those loved and lost, knowing she shared a similar pain to his, but he stopped the moment he saw Minari pull a kunai from her holster.
Sasuke watched with increasing horror as Minari pulled up the sleeve on her right arm and put the sharp blade to her skin. With the sun where it was he couldn't see very well, couldn't tell what she was carving into herself. But he did notice that she never flinched as she ran the sharp tip across her skin, blood running off her arm and onto the ground. Soon, she set the kunai down next to her and did several fast hand signs, ending them with holding her arm out parallel to her chest. Her lips were barely moving as she chanted something he couldn't hear.
Slowly, two dark, inky blotches appeared on the ground on the graves, growing and forming into two bodies. They were both pitch black, one significantly taller than the other, and reminded the raven haired boy greatly of the shadows Minari had called on in battle. She stood slowly and held out her arm to the two black shadows. "Will you join me?" She asked. The shorter shadow nodded slowly only once, shortly followed by the taller one.
Both stepped to her and grasped her arm, becoming a vapor and entering the cuts Minari had made. Now she flinched and gritted her teeth as the shadows entered her body. Once the vapor was clear and absorbed into her arm, Minari fell to her knees and panted harshly, letting her sleeve fall back to her wrist. Sasuke stepped out of his hiding place. "What did you just do?" He asked, aware of the surprise and fear that laced his voice.
Minari jumped and looked to Sasuke wide eyed. Had he seen? She crawled back a bit as he came closer. But the jutsu had made her weak and dizzy. Sasuke continued to step closer to her, wanting to know just what she had done and what was on her arm. With every step Minari tried to push herself up and get away but it was no use. She was drained from taking on two new shadows. Finally Sasuke was able to reach down and grab her right arm. But she fought him hard. "Let go!" She cried, tugging at her arm.
Sasuke grabbed her hand and with his other pushed the sleeve of her shirt up her arm, freezing at what he saw.... Horror... yes... horror... that's what ran through him as he looked upon her arm. Scars. thousands of scars marred her arm, long, short, thick, thin, jagged, clean, burn, and weapon. But what caught his eye were the seven black outlined scars on the inside of her arm. Seven names were carved there, small and outlined in an inky black. Sora was the first name, followed by Atsushi, Rin, Caraki, Kibrom, and the last two... Haku and Zabuza.