Naruto Fanfic A Future Without You Chapter 43 [Hazzard;Uri's story part 2]

[Manicherryblossom33]

:T_T: Sigh... Finally. This chapter took so loooong to finish. And then I was unable to post it this week due to the recent holiday and my/ my mothers part time job. I want a car so bad! A nice car! With that NEW thing thats REALLY popular right now. What's it called? Oh, yeah. AC. XD Wonderful AC. It's super hot here all the time. I want to move up north. Snow... Snow... Snow...
Anyway, please enjoy.

Naruto Fanfic a Future Without You
chapter 42: Hazzard; Uri's story part 2

URI'S POV [KUMOGAKURE PRESENT DAY]
"The worst mistake?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head slightly. "How so?"

Gaara hit the nail on the head with one comment:
"They found you out."

Uri gulped before slowly nodding, his wide eyes averted.

"How?" Tsunade questioned. "Was it Minato? He was never a good liar."

"Not true." Uri argued. "If his life or the well-being of others depended on it, he could lie fluently. But, lets put that aside for now. I will come to it again later, after I've explained what happened between our arrival in Konoha and that dangerous advent we found ourselves in."

Uri blinked, as the tips of his mouth flipped up in a light hearted chuckle. This caused the others to stare at him quite unusually, as if they were concerned about his sanity and/or temperature.

"Well, then... To continue where I left off, after it was decided that we would enter the academy, we were escorted there by a squad of anbu black ops, and evaluated individually by the senseis." Uri spoke softly, remembering the smell of fresh paint that had filled the school. They had finished some remodeling, he recalled. "Minato was judged to be head and shoulders above the rest, even a few of the teachers. So he was placed in an advanced class, that is, a class with older students. Mikoto and I did not fair as well. We were told we would need to be top students in the next four weeks in order to catch up to everyone, and were placed in a class of our own age group."

"What about meeting up with Lady Kushina and Lady Mito?" Kakashi asked.

Uri shook his head. "I was told they were being kept under heavy guard, and that I would not be able to meet with them. I was deeply saddened about not being able to say my farewells to Lady Mito, and worried for my sister. However the third comforted me by saying I would meet up with Kushina soon. I had not told him we were twins. I am ashamed to say I lied and said we were distant cousins. Again, I had a feeling it was best to keep our connection a secret, even from my new freinds.

"After our examination, we were told we would start class in four days. We told the third Hokage that we wanted to stick together, and against the wishes of his advisors he granted our request and gave us a fairly large apartment to share." Uri chuckled again, unable to keep it in. "Our first night was a disaster, mostly because of Minato and I. I had never had to cook a day in my life, and Minato, though having tried a few times out of curiousity, usually ended up catching fire or making something explode. Mikoto was not much better, as she had mostly survived of BRE's (bentos, ready to eat), which had been given out during Minato's grandfather's reign. It was good that Fuji visited and stopped us in time or we would have all come down with a bad case of food poisoning. Not that he cooked for us. He was worse than Minato, and that was saying something. We ended up getting take out and calling it a day."

Uri had rambled on casually, and was slightly aware that most of those in the room were suppressing roaring, bellowing laughter. Yes, they would react that way.

"We used the rest of our money on neccesities, and waited, a little impatiently, for our first day at the academy to arrive." Uri continued. "Mikoto found a cookbook, and discovered she was fairly good at using it. Minato was so meticulous, so he handled all the housework. I was a jack-of-all-trades when it came to such things, and I was sloppy and clumsy so when I attempted to be of use I usually ended up breaking something. They were kind enough not to hold it against me, and in those three days we got to know one another, something we'd missed out on in our travels as our lives were in mortal peril the entire time. Minato was polite and possessed a slight teasing/bragging sense of humour. Lady Mikoto was much more level-headed and reliable than I'd first presumed.

"Living in Konoha was like a play. There was the beauty and the peace that allowed us to sleep in warm beds and eat decent food. But there was the shadowy background. Minato warned us we were being watched by anbu every second of the day and night. He bluntly stated that we shouldn't trust Danzo Shimura. And on top of that, the three of us were still mourning the loss of our hometowns and families..."


FLASHBACK STARTS HERE [KONOHA NINJA ACADEMY; OVER FORTY YEARS AGO]
Uri raced down the entry hall of his childhood home, beaming.

He'd never been this happy before. He couldn't wait to tell them! He was so excited. What would they think when he delivered the news! He almost didn't care about dinner, despite the mouth-watering aromas that had wandered his way.
He entered the dining room with gusto, panting and grinning from ear to ear. His appearance and lack of breath served as a more than adequate attention getter as his family, already seated around the dining table, looked at him curiously. Mother straightened up, having just placed a hot pot of fish stew in the center of the table, possibly the second time that night as everyone already had bowls which contained the very same stew. His sister and Uncle sat on one side, while his mother took her place beside father. At the head of the table was Grandpa, who sipped hot tea without taking his eyes off Uri.

"You're late, crybaby!" Kushina laughed, leaning over the table to get a better look at him.

He smirked. It was good she was here. He wanted to rub her face in it.

"My goodness..." His mother said, smiling in an affectionate, embarrased sort of way before taking a napkin and reaching out to dab at Uri's face. "You're covered in sweat. And where have you been? You're father was THIS close to going out to look for you."

Uri batted his mother's hand away, and she surrendered reluctantly.

He clenched his fists in front of his chest and bent his knees for emphasis.

"Guess what, everyone?!" He shouted with bravado. "I... made freinds!"

His mother chuckled, while nee-chan's mouth fell open. His father and Uncle smiled proudly at him. Grandfather put down his tea cup with a nearly inaudible CLANK.

"Congratulations." Mother smiled, looking even more loving and kind. She frwoned then, holding up a finger to get his attention. "But! If you're late again, then we'll ground you. For a week."

"Ha! From what?!" Kushina rebuked, earning scolding looks from both her parents, but choosing to continue. "From studying? Or from being a goody-two shoes?"

"One more word young lady and you'll put down those chopsticks and go straight to bed." Father warned. Kushina "humph[ed]"and went back to scarfing down food.

"Where are they?" Mother asked politely.

Uri beamed more, as if that were possible, his eyes shining. He turned and left the dining room, returning with two children. A little girl with dark hair, and a boy with a shock of blonde hair. They both smiled gracefully at Uri's family.

"Ahhh, how cute." Mother said, and Uri laughed. She thought all children were adorable. He watched as his mother reached out to pet Minato, her hand sifting through the blond spikes to rustle his hair.

"Come, sit down and have some din--" Father began, before being cut off.

Uri jumped, landing on his butt a moment before something slick and shiny cut through the air. HIs uncle, sister, parents, and freinds all split in two. Their blood filled the air and painted the curtains and cieling. The once appetizing dinner began to rot before his eyes, turning to maggots and flies. The corpses evaporated, becoming blood soaked skeletons.

Standing at the head of table, toting his sword on his shoulder, his grandfather laughed maniacally.

"URI!"

Uri's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, hearing abrupt laughter awake all around him. He looked around, startled, confused and slowly started to come around.

He'd dozed off in class.

He looked up at his sensei, who glared down at him, apparently ashamed. Uri gulped as he watched the sensei walk off, not bothering to stop the ongoing laughter.

Uri shifted in his seat uncomfortably before feeling a smaller, softer hand place itself on top of his. He felt the shame melt away and turned his head to see Mikoto, smiling as gently, warmly, and with as much love as his own mother used to.

"You okay?" She asked softly, making him blush. "You look really pale."

He nodded, but she continued to hold his hand even as she went on taking notes. Mikoto was ambidextruous.

He heard someone snicker behind him and turned to look at them warningly. It was a pair of girls, who blushed at having been caught and averted their gaze, choosing to look at their desk or the wall with false interest.

Uri shook his head and tried to focus on the lecture, picking up his pencil and summarizing the last three sentences.

He chose to ignore those who were still chuckling, but was unable to keep his mind from wandering. It jumped back to his examination, where he was told to produce a shadow clone but had instead tilted his head at the proctor. The man and the assembled sensei's nodded understandably, realizing the boy was from Uzushio, which according to rumors contrasted heavily with the other villages. They moved on, asking him to transform into the proctor. He knitted his brow at them. It was almost as if they were speaking a different language.

They continued, asking him to throw some shuriken in a straight line down a tree stump. Before he could ask what shuriken were, he was given a holster and realized: ah, yes, shuriken... "throwing stars" of course. So he did as was asked of him with surprising ease.

The teachers were impressed and begun to happily dot down points on their clipboards, murmuring excitedly to each other as Uri smiled proudly.

Things went downhill from there. Each and every jutsu they asked him to perform were basic, and yet he had never heard of them. He'd had to explain, after the tenth failure that ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu were not taught in Uzushio. Only fuinjutsu and medicine. The reason was that fuinjutsu could accomplish all that ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu did and more.

Or at least that was what he'd been told.

However, not knowing any ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu was unnaceptable in Konoha. The three were required in the academy, and thus he could not be a gennin without them, and anyway, since he was living in a foreign land he might as well take advantage of this opportunity to brighten his horizons.

Or so proctor said.

Mikoto had not suffered as much. She had not come from a powerful clan, and was a pretty young girl so they're expectations of her hadn't been high. They'd been very understanding when she explained she wasn't raised by ninjas but still wanted to become a gennin.

On top of that, she had become the class hearthrob in under .05 seconds, so at least the boys weren't teasing her. Uri was getting pegged by everyone as a walking, talking false advertisement.

Minato was not doing well himself. There was not a soul within the village that didn’t acknowledge his strength, and what an asset he could prove to be in the future. But this was acknowledged begrudgingly. No one had forgiven the loss of so many young prodigies/friends/ family. In spite of this, Minato seemed somewhat at peace. Or perhaps he was just putting up a calm exterior.

Everyone loved the pretty-boy prodigy from the Uchiha clan. The feeling wasn't mutual. Fuji seemed completely uninterested in the whole lot of them. However, by some stroke or ironic fate, he had grown used to Minato, and even seemed to enjoy his company.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE


URI'S POV [PRESENT DAY KUMOGAKURE]
"Unbeknowest to me," Uri sighed, "Fuji was suffering quite a bit at that time. His clan held him in contempt for bringing Minato and Mikoto to Konoha. His parents had not recovered from the death of their youngest son, and neither had Fuji himself. He had become fearful at the thought of caring for others, so how he felt about Minato and Lady Mikoto was... difficult to accept. On top of that, he blamed himself for the loss of his brother and freinds. He felt he was weak and powerless, unable to protect anything precious. He blamed Konoha for being vulnerable and lacking security in times of war. Anyway, as Minato had suspected, we were in danger now that we were within the village walls. Only Fuji knew the whole truth, so he was the only one who could act. He didn't want to see more children die in the war."

Ay looked down at Uri, stubborn and curious.

"Why did he care so much?" He asked. "He never seemed so soft to me."

"It was in his nature." Uri replied without thinking. "More than anyone... The one who loved his village and his freinds the most, the one who was most gentle, and the most understanding wasn't Minato. It was Fuji."

The group looked taken aback at this statement,and Uri smiled sadly. Yes, it would be hard to believe.

"Fuji became our fierce protector, and was almost like an older brother to Minato and I. Things changed as we got older." He explained. "But that was much later. First, there was that day at the academy, the very same day I had that accursed nightmare."


FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
URI'S POV [KONOHA NINJA ACADEMY; OVER FORTY YEARS AGO]
The sensei suddenly stopped mid lecture as the wall behind him shook. Those students who were sleeping awoke with a jolt. Those taking notes froze, and those chatting suddenly stopped midsentence.

The wall rumbled again, and the sensei nearly dropped his clipboard. Uri frowned as he heard some unintelligable screaming and roaring laughter coming from the classroom next door. Around him, heads began to turn as his classmates complained about the noise or asked who it could possibly be. No real ninja would be so rowdy.

While Uri thought quietly to himself that these people had no right to say how ninjas should behave, he heard the sensei call out across the room:
"Mikoto! Uri! Go and tell the cadets next door to quiet down, please."

Mikoto got to her feet immediately, and Uri followed suit. He stepped aside to let her reach the stairs and followed her out of the classroom. They entered the desserted hall and looked ahead at the source of the noise.

"What? It's coming from Minato's class." Mikoto said with an air of confusion.

Uri shrugged. "Even if he, Fuji, and Shiki are quiet doesn't mean everybody else is. Lets go get this over with."

He stepped around her and proceeded towards the sliding wooden door that hid Minato's class. It was a short walk that seemed to stretch out as he got closer to the door, his stomach filling with butterflies and his head feeling lighter than it had in ages.

What's wrong with me...? He wondered.

He came to a stop in front of the door, hesitating before sliding it open. Mikoto came up behind him and gasped just as his breath caught in his chest.

Minato's sensei was standing at the front of the room with a girl beside him, who was also younger than the rest of them. She was Uri's age. Her long red hair trailed down to her hips, and she was standing there begrudgingly accepting that YES the sensei's hand was on her shoulder and YES everyone was talking about her hair color, just as they had with Uri on his first day.

He only realized he was gaping when he felt Mikoto look at him curiously. He blinked, feeling tears coming but fighting to keep them at bay.

She... She...

"Quiet down!" The sensei ordered, suddenly reminding Uri of his original purpose for coming over here. Not that he cared at the moment.

Uri jumped as first some children in the front row noticed him, and then nee-chan herself looked at him.

Her eyes popped open, widening. He stared back, equally amazed and relieved.

Gulping, he sniffled. She... She really was alive. He wasn't the only one... There was another...

He opened his mouth, to call out to her. To yell "nee-chan!" at the top of his lungs, just as he had long ago, when he was little and easily frightened of bullies and thunder.

That was when she chose to throw a clipboard at his head, making everyone gasp when it struck him with full force right between the eyes.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE

URI'S POV [KUMOGAKURE, PRESENT DAY]
"I blacked out, and woke up a week later with a bad headache and some internal bruising on my skull." Uri stated nonchalantly, his head resting on his palm with his elbow braced against his knee.

Kakashi's smiley-eye had a twitching eyebrow. Mifune, Gaara, and Enoki's mouths had formed into straight, awkward lines, and Ay was sweating nervously.

All of them stared pointedly at Tsunade, who took offense.

"Quit glaring at me like it's my fault!" She snapped.

"She did it to protect me. However ironic that may sound." He added when they looked at him incredulously. "Although I didn't know it at that time, she saved both of our lives by pretending not to know me. But I was unaware of this, and assumed she had forgotten me, or had chosen to cut me out of her life. It hurt quite a bit, as I was left thinking she didn't want anything to do with me anymore. Each time she passed me by without a glance, each time she ignored me when I called out to her, it made me feel more alone than ever. But it helped that I had Mikoto and Minato with me. Nee-chan was different. Everyone saw her as a nuisance, or a threat, or an embarrassment. Thus she was either the 'red-hot habanero' who got into fights all the time, or the distant outcast.

"Meanwhile, our school days continued. Mikoto and I were quick to rise to the top of the class, and after winning all of our class sparring sessions, we were allowed to transfer to Minato's class."


FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
URI'S POV [KONOHA VILLAGE STREETS; EVENING, OVER FORTY YEARS AGO]
"Impressive!" Minato politely cheered.

Uri nodded in agreement. "That was truly amazing, Fuji. I can't believe you were able to produce a fireball so massive in front of the entire class!"

Fuji shrugged. "I would've made it bigger if we'd been outdoors."

True, Uri thought. But on top of the fireball jutsu, he was able to use tansformation, substitution, and even make shadow clones. He wove the signs so fast, no one had been able to see them, and was so intense as he focused at the task at hand that Uri had felt like a ghost.

"Anyway," Fuji crossed his arms behind his head, "We have to be that good if we want to survive. My father told me that the missions for cadets and gennin have a 60% chance of death these days."

A moment of awkward silence passed in which the three boys seemed to become one with their surroundings. The sun was low in the sky, casting scarlet hues through the clouds and over the village. The climate had been quite humane lately, not too hot or too cold, with winds that sent whole forests of leaves flying through the air. A good sign that fall was coming a little early.

At that time, many people were out including those who were drinking to their fallen comrades in the bars. Then there were those who were busy expanding the cemetary's land, and the old geezer who was tasked with carving the KIA names on to the memorial stones. Villagers walked about with their heads hung low and their heels scraping the dirt as they shuffled in and out of the flower shop, mourning freinds and fiances. Speaking of fiances, more and more people were proposing out of the blue, ninjas and non. Children played hopscoth or marbles or jumprope in the streets, laughing and chasing each other about, ignorant to the times. But there were other children in the academy, whose older siblings, mothers, or fathers would never come home. They were fully aware of the situation.

Uri came to a stop, noticing that the space between him and Fuji was now empty. Simultaneously, he and the older, Uchiha boy looked behind them to find that Minato was staring at the group of children playing marbles. His eyes darted to the hopscotch children, and then to the jumprope crew.

A singularly happy smile played across his lips and he turned, continuing on and passing his freinds up. Uri gave Fuji a curious look,which the Uchiha promptly ignored and proceeded to stalk after Minato with Uri at his heels.

They rejoined Minato's right and left sides respectively, and continued down the path that spanned the length of the neighbouring canal.

"Fuji?" Minato said.

"What is it?" Fuji replied, looking up at the clouds with an apparent lack of interest.

"Why do they carve the hokages faces onto the mountain?" Minato asked.

Uri's ears twitched. He'd been wondering the same himself.

Fuji's eyes rolled left to right, so it looked like he was staring at the houses across the canal. Blinking apathetically, he seemed to mull something over before opening his mouth.

"My father told me," He began, "That it is tradition to carve the faces of past and present hokage onto the mountain-side. This way, they can watch over the village from the afterlife."

"Really?" Uri piped, fascinated.

"Supposedly." Fuji answered, and there was a hint of hateful disappointment in his tone.

Minato, stone-faced and nodding, seemed to understand.

No doubt Fuji was thinking that if there were anyone watching over the village from the afterlife, they would have prevented this war, or saved his brother and cousins when Minato's clan abducted them.

Fuji turned, causing his friends to stop abruptly. They watched as Fuji approached a tea shop, giving them a curious look as he entered through the wooden doorframe.

Knowing better than to ask questions, the two followed him inside, noticing the tables and bar were both completely deserted. Fuji wasted no time in ordering three servings of mochi, three orders of dango, and three orders of black tea.

They took a seat just as Uri looked over his shoulder questioningly.

"Say... Where's Mikoto?" Uri asked, suddenly realizing how late it was. They'd stayed late to train on the school grounds, but he hadn't seen Mikoto in the past four hours.

"She went to the market to get some things for dinner." Minato answered casually, but the furrowed brow said otherwise.

"She'll be fine." Fuji stated.

"You kids!" The young, female shop owner teased. "It's really late you know. You're moms won't want you to fill up on sweets before dinner! Or did you come in here just for me?"<3

Fuji shot her a look so fierce she gulped and pushed off the counter, causing something to shatter behind. She “eeped” and ducked to clean up the mess, and Fuji went back to his tea.

"Ignorant swine." He hissed.

Minato suddenly became very serious. "Fuji, that's mean."

The Uchiha shot him a daring look, but Minato met him eye-for-eye while Uri leaned away in a nervous sweat. He watched as the two of them continued to stare at each other, and the air got even heavier the more time passed.

After a while, the shop owner reappeared with her back to them as she scurried off through the back door, and Fuji caved and sipped some more tea. Minato took another dango, and Uri sighed through his nose.

"What's wrong, Fuji?" Minato asked, causing his two freinds to freeze.

Uri began to sweat once more. Fuji looked up at Minato somewhat coldly.

But, Minato was one of Fuji's less dramatic friends. He would not apologize or sympathize or back down after asking a question. He would usually provide some useful insight or advice, and he was anything but coddling so you didn't have to worry about him feeling sorry for you. What Uri most appreciated was that he wasn't one to gossip, so talking about others was a flavorless pastime in Minato’s opinion. Uri had been able to freely tell him everything he'd seen and done on the day of his clan’s massacre, and Minato had listened and kept every word in confidence.

But if Uri was being truthful, he would say that no one, not anyone, was as close to Minato as Fuji. There was something about them. They balanced each other out. They didn't believe in no-win scenarios. They would never sacrifice their comrades. Bravery, loyalty, courage, valor. These were qualities they shared. Minato was a full two years younger than Fuji, but the respect and faith between the two was mutual and equal. And it was good that they were best friends, since Fuji was somewhat introverted. He spoke his mind yes, snapped often, but his emotions were so controlled it was like they were non-existent. Minato saw through this guise and read Fuji like a book. Fuji liked to pretend to be annoyed by this, but Uri could tell he appreciated it.

It wasn't good to keep every last tormenting tale and infuriating, frustrating memory to yourself. You could die of sadness...

"It's my clan." Fuji finally admitted.

Uri was taken aback, but Minato didn't seem fazed. He munched on some dango and sipped more tea as he waited for Fuji to continue.

"What I can do, what I’ve accomplished through hard work, is all their doing." Fuji continued, mindlessly dragging the wooden stake through the remaining sweet-and-sour sauce. "That is how everyone sees it. Even if I go without sleep for a week, or train until my bones crack and my hands bleed, all the credit goes to them. No one's surprised I can use the fireball jutsu at my age, and the same goes for the substitution and transformation jutsus, and my speed as well. Because I'm an Uchiha, this much is expected of me, and if I don't surpass my peers by the time I'm a gennin, people will begin to doubt me. Those Uchiha who were born with only adequate or under-average abilities and stamina are commonly referred to as duds. It was the same for my brothers and my friends. Everything we did just increased the length of the legs supporting the pedestal upon which our family name rests."

Suddenly, the plate cracked as Fuji inadvertently put too much pressure on the stake and simultaneously damaged the table by putting an inch-long hole in the wood.

He plucked the stake back out and tossed it overhead. It flew through the air and landed neatly in the garbage bin.

"It's frustrating." Minato stated.

Fuji simply closed his eyes.

"My mother... Stopped cooking dinner. She lies in bed all day and won't look at me." He admitted.

Minato sighed through his nose and gently placed it back on the table.

"It'll be okay Fuji." He stated, and his voice was devoid of any false encouragement. "You are your own person. You can protect everyone you love."

Fuji's eyes snapped open, and Uri flinched. That last bit was pushing it. Was Minato trying to provoke him?

"Stop that." Minato ordered, and Fuji shot him a cross look. Minato was stone-faced and serious as he spoke. "If you doubt yourself, you will lose everything. But you're tough. If you really want it that badly, you'll never lose."

Fuji slowly began to relax and straightened up, glaring pointedly at the now consumed food and drink. Uri noticed his and Fuji's cups were empty as well, and they hadn't even touched them.

Fuji narrowed his eyes at Minato, the vein in his forehead throbbing irritatingly.

"Pig." He stated, his tone venomous and regretful.

Minato smiled cheekily. "You know you shouldn't treat me."

"Duly noted" Fuji replied flatly, still very cross indeed.

Minato chuckled. "That's what you said the last time. I think you might be a tad bit forgetful, Fuji.”

Uri ducked.

"I assure you I have an elephant’s memory." Fuji snapped as the vein in his forehead picked up the pace.

Uri's eyes zeroed in on the plates and his jaw dropped. Picking one up, he continued to gape at it in shock.

"It's clean..." He looked at Minato fearfully. "When did that happen?"

Fuji groaned and put his elbow on the table, leaning his left eye into his now raised palm in a look of disgust.

"You're worse than Akimichi." He snapped, pointing at Minato's stomach, which was ever-tiny. "Do you have a black hole in there?"

Minato chuckled light-heartedly, coming to an abrupt end when Uri pushed his chair back and stood up, adjusting the straps of his pack and dropping the money to cover his share of the bill.

"It's getting late." He told Minato, who nodded. Given that they were still under heavy guard, it was probably not a good idea to stay out past curfew. “I’m going to find Mikoto, okay? You head home. And don’t cook anything!”

Uri noticed Minato make a curious expression and instantly became worried, but there was no time for that. Silently hoping that their place wouldn’t be smoking like a chimney when he returned, he dashed out the door and down the street, heading for the market place.

Moments later, he discovered she wasn’t there and instantly begun to imagine the worst. It was one of the worst things about war. If anyone was missing, or late, or in the wrong place at the wrong time you feared they were kidnapped or dead or a traitor. The third didn’t apply to Mikoto, who was so full of happiness and joy since coming to Konoha one would think she was being given the royal treatment. The days of running, hiding, and groaning in her sleep from hunger were behind her and she was in no hurry to return to them.

But she could still be kidnapped and murdered. Uri wouldn’t put it past the villagers, who were still looking at Minato and Mikoto as if they were inhuman beasts. The senseis and many of their classmates had retained their dislike towards the two northerners, however they were much more tame than the rest of the village. The Uchiha and Hyuuga were venomous towards them, casting them murderous threatening looks when they got too close and even jumping them if they got away with it.

Upon thinking this, Uri turned and headed straight to the forest. Several times now, Mikoto had come home with bruises or cuts, missing whole locks of hair or having cigarette burns on the back of her neck. Each time, Uri reported to the sandaime, who would then investigate and punish the perpetrators. But there were just too many people in Konoha who thought ill of Mikoto.

He dashed through thick grass, ducking branches and dodging boulders until he heard something that sounded eerily familiar to knuckles making contact with soft human skin. He’d heard it only too often in the academy.

He made a hard left and kept running until he came to a thick bush and peered over it just in time to see the Uchiha crest come flying at him. He ducked, putting his arms over his head and heard a crunching, breaking sound as a medium-sized tree splintered and fell over. At the base of the split trunk was a dark-haired young man whose eyes were spinning like tops. An Uchiha boy, Uri realized.

Behind the bush was another crunch, but this one sounded more rough, like a brick scraping against granite. He peeked over the shrub and saw a second Uchiha boy lying atop a ruined boulder.

He searched quickly for the source of the violence and was not surprised to see his sister standing across from the boulder-boy, her arms still outstretched and her feet planted firmly on the ground in a sort of “bring it!” battle stance. Behind her was Mikoto, who was still half-lying on the ground in a tangled heap.

She gripped the grass and looked at the boy ahead of her without much sympathy before her eyes trailed upwards, to Kushina’s back.

Uri knew the feeling. He had often been beaten quite savagely by his cousins when he was a child. Whenever it happened, nee-chan would come and save him.

But then…

Kushina whirled, as Uri knew she would, and looked down at Mikoto fiercely.

“What the hell was that?!” She asked in a demanding tone, and Uri was surprised to see that Mikoto didn’t even flinch. Instead, she glared back at Kushina and got to her feet, brushing dirt and grass off her dress. Then she shot Kushina a confident look of her own.

“I could ask the same question.” She replied, crossing her arms. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

Kushina jabbed Mikoto in the collar-bone. “Yeah, right! And what do you call just lying there like a wounded animal and letting these pricks beat the crap out of you, huh?!”
Mikoto turned her head halfway from Kushina. “What a foul mouth.”

“Like I care!” Kushina countered. “That was pathetic for a kunoichi whose supposed to be in the top ten of her year! I’ve seen you walk around all bruised and bandaged! So this is why! I’m disappointed! I actually sort of respected you, but that’s over now!”

“Respect? From you? That’s a first.” Mikoto narrowed her eyes. “You don’t respect anyone here.”

Kushina crossed her arms. “Why should I? Everyone’s the same here! A bunch of losers who gang up on kids! And brats who take it like it’s nothing! I should’ve expected this from Minato’s little groupie!”

Mikoto blushed furiously and shot Kushina a look of well-suppressed rage.

“Do not insult Minato! He’s a better ninja then you will ever be!” Mikoto snapped. “And a better person, on top of that! Someone like you has no right to insult him!”

“What do you mean someone like me, huh?!” Kushina asked, getting in Mikoto’s face. “You think he’s better than me? You think you are? You’re wrong! I’m the strongest kunoichi you’ll ever meet! I’ll be hokage one day!”

Mikoto leaned back, frowning at Kushina. “Someone… who is insecure and distant… and looks down on her ENTIRE village, and still thinks she is better than them has no business being hokage.”

Kushina glared at her, but she kept talking.

“I don’t fight them, because they are my allies.” Mikoto stated. “A few punches, some cuts and scrapes, these barely hurt at all!”

“Hah! You just wanted him to come and save you, right?” Kushina jeered. “You’re little ninja prince! You’re always hiding behind him!”

“ I was not waiting for him to come and rescue me, if that’s what you’re saying!” Mikoto shouted.
“Hmph! Whatever! You’re just like all the other girls in our class! ‘Minato-this’ and ‘Minato-that.’ ‘Oh, no, Minato was given another mission! It’s a really dangerous assignment!’ ‘Minato got the shuriken-throwing perfect again! He’s amazing!’ ‘Minato is oh-so-cool! He’s perfect!’ WHATEVER! I’M SICK OF HEARING ALL ABOUT HIM EVERYWHERE I GO! DON’T YOU PEOPLE HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO TALK ABOUT?! He’s not even that impressive! Just some flakey, girly, spineless, skinny little wimp!”

Mikoto clenched her fists. Uri gulped. Usually, Mikoto was a sweetheart and a lady. She never raised her voice and she was always kind to others, even those that didn’t deserve it. If someone needed a favor from her, she’d comply immediately. If someone was being bullied she came to their aid immediately. All the boys had crushes on her, and all the girls adored her, and everyone treated her with respect. Within the academy anyway.

She had ignored Kushina only because of how she treated Minato. When it came to him, Minato didn’t care who it was, she wouldn’t let anyone insult him. Minato was her irreplaceable childhood friend and savior who protected her and saved her in every way. You could tell she was very happy just being close to him, and outright furious when someone (Kushina) insulted him or hurt him in any way.

“Minato is the most wonderful person.” Mikoto said, angrily glaring at Kushina, who stood her ground. “He is kind, and good, and caring! He is strong and brave! And he cares about everyone here, especially you!”

Uri flinched at the same time as Mikoto, who stepped back and clapped her hands over her mouth.
She’d said too much!

Kushina stared pointedly at her, as if rerunning what she had just heard in her head before scrapping it as unnecessary, unimportant information.

“Whatever. You’re just saying that because you love him.” Kushina remarked, making Mikoto and Uri gape. What a dunce!

“Well of course I do, but not in the way you think!” Mikoto snapped, and Uri nodded.

He had been in their company for a long time now. Seen them glow in each other’s presence, go from being happy to content should the other leave, hold hands and run together, and even hold each other. So it was very obvious that they loved each other deeply.

And yet it was not a relationship based on romance or mutual attraction. But it was stronger than familiar or platonic love.

More like they were tied together in some way. It must have been a childhood habit. For a long, long time, Minato was the only person who cared about Mikoto’s well-being, and vice versa. As a result, they had an unbreakable bond.

“In what way then?” Kushina asked.

“How is it any of your business!?” Mikoto shouted.

“Well if you don’t want to tell me, then you must be all lovery-dovey! Not that that’s any secret!”

“How dare you! You’re being unreasonable!”

“Whatever, little princess—”

Uri flinched, eyes bugging out of his head as soon as Mikoto’s hand made contact with Kushina’s cheek. He waited, sweating through his clothes as Kushina looked back at Mikoto, and Mikoto met her eye for eye, both equally daring.

“Hmph!” Kushina said, clapping a hand over her cheek. “That’s more like it.”

Mikoto’s anger melted away, turning into confusion, and, just barely, awe.

“We are kunoichi!” Kushina declared. “There are enemies inside and outside the village! And if they come to you looking for a fight, then it’s your job to put them in their place, got it! Otherwise you’ll never be a real ninja, and no one will respect you! That’s how shinobi work! They fight back!”

Mikoto’s brow knit slightly, but Kushina continued.

“If you care about him so much, then you have to fight back! Otherwise he’ll keep coming to save you, and you’ll never be strong enough to stand on your own! If he’s your friend, then he’s bound to worry! If he fights in your place, he might get hurt! Is that what you want!?”

Slowly, Mikoto shook her head.

“Then you have to fight! If you don’t fight, you die. If you run, then you’re a coward who’s just leading the enemy home! I heard you in class! You said you want to be a mother someday, right?!”

Mikoto hesitated, looking away before slowly nodding.

“If you want that to happen,” Kushina said, her eyes gleaming, “Then you need to survive the war. If you don’t fight, you won’t survive. It’s a package deal, got it?”

Uri waited, and was surprised to see Mikoto lift her head as a gentle smile played across her mouth. Kushina was shocked as well, even taking a step back, but Mikoto reached out and took both of her hands in hers.

“What?!” Kushina asked, scandalized.

Mikoto beamed. “You’re… Actually a very nice person, aren’t you?”

“Wha—?!” Kushina squared her shoulders, trying to sound insulted but coming out clumsy and flattered. Uri laughed through his nose. She was even blushing, how rare.

“You are right. I’m sorry.” Mikoto apologized, surprising nee-chan so much that she took her hands back and begun to wring them anxiously.

“It’s fine! Just be careful next time!” She said as she stalked past Mikoto.

Mikoto nodded, still beaming. “Yes! See you at school, Na-chan.”

Kushina tripped and scrambled to get back to her feet, hitting a tree with her shoulder as she hurried away.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE


URI’S POV [PRESENT DAY KUMOGAKURE]
“That was when Nee-chan and Lady Mikoto became friends.” Uri said with a nostalgic smile. “The following day, Lady Mikoto began to approach her randomly, usually wanting to converse or eat together. They met up outside of school, and I soon saw that they were inseparable. Just like Minato and Fuji.

“However, Nee-chan still thought ill of Minato, and this would occasionally cause a fight between her and Lady Mikoto. She didn’t like Fuji, but this wasn’t a problem as Lady Mikoto disliked him just as much. In her eyes, the young, gifted, heir of the Uchiha was pompous, proud, and inflexible to put it gently. Thanks to nee-chan’s influence, Lady Mikoto started to stand up for herself and speak her mind more, and once she did it became obvious that Fuji was her least favorite person in all of Konoha.”

Tsunade sighed, and Uri believed she might have remembered this. She had been in and out of Konoha so much at that time that she was little more than a name in a text book to Uri’s younger self and his friends. However it had later become everyone’s favorite gossip when it was discovered that Mikoto, THAT Mikoto, Minato’s childhood friend and Kushina’s best friend, was marrying Fugaku Uchiha whom she had never gotten along with. This turned into even more of a scandal when it was discovered she’d had a baby so young, and yes it was an Uchiha baby, Fugaku’s heir.

“Nee-chan outright refused to be in Minato’s company, and she directed almost as much hostility at me. Minato didn’t seem bothered by this, and Fuji was completely relieved that he didn’t have to be in her presence.”


FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
URI’S POV [KONOHAGAKURE, OVER FORTY YEARS AGO]

Uri sighed. Beside him was Fuji, arms crossed behind his head, looking quite relaxed with his eyes shut. Then there was Minato, whose hands rested on his belly while his wide blue eyes were focused intently on the clouds. Uri frowned up at the high-hanging spring tree branches, the copious leaves successfully blocking out the sun. The three of them lay on their backs in the soft, green grass, with their heads connected. It was one of those times where Uri felt that life was little more than a dream, and he didn’t like it because it made him feel strangely empty.

“The exams are tomorrow.” He finally said, and felt both pairs of eyes shift to look in his direction.

Uri squared his shoulders, gripping some of the glass blades beside him between his fingers and ripping them out of the ground.

As usual, Minato caught on immediately.

“It’ll be fine.” He said, smiling confidently.

Fuji, on the other hand, was bossy and serious.

“Don’t fail.” He ordered. “We have to show them how it’s done. We need those headbands. These cadet missions only provide so many opportunities.”

Uri nodded. “But… Aren’t you nervous?”

“No.” Minato and Fuji replied casually in unison.

Uri frowned, his eyes narrowed in the sort of look that said “typical.” These two had nothing TO worry about. They’d be in and out of that exam room in five seconds flat, headbands proudly tied across their foreheads, and flying colors on their report cards.

Uri, meanwhile, was biting his lip in anticipation. How would he fare? He wanted to do well. He’d just made friends and he didn’t want to be separated from them. What about Mikoto and Nee-chan? The latter had had an especially hard time during the last exam, during which Uri had washed out and Minato and Fuji had purposely skipped so that they could learn a little more in the academy. Or so they said. Personally, Uri suspected that they might have stuck around to protect Mikoto and Uri.

But from what…?

Uri’s ears perked up as he caught the scent of sweat and sunflowers. Not exactly a pleasant aroma, but it was certainly nostalgic as it had been beside him for most of his childhood.

He and Minato sat bolt upright while Fuji sighed beside them. Simultaneously, they searched for the source of the smell and together their pupils zeroed in on the street at the bottom of the hill upon which their tall, old tree had grown. That street separated the training grounds from the village shopping district. But at the moment it was deserted except for one small girl, whose red hair swayed behind her as she marched stubbornly down the road, strong arms moving back and forth at her sides as she glared ahead.

Her knuckles were heavily bandaged and bleeding… Again. Uri’s heart sank as he saw the dirt covering her clothes and face. She must have been in yet another fight.

It pained him to see her like this. An outcast, unwanted and unloved. If only she would talk to him. He had so much he wanted to say to her.

But each time he attempted to approach her, he was roundly ignored.

Out of the corner of his eye, small, tanned, and skinny legs took off down the hill. Fuji pushed himself up with another sigh and cast Minato, who was descending at a fairly reasonable speed, an impatient glance. Uri simply frowned, confused. Why did Minato insist on doing this? He was usually very kind to others. Was he pitying her? Did he think he was being fair by acting this way?

Uri got to his feet and followed him a little too late. Minato had already reached nee-chan, and was now blocking her path with his entire body, which was just a fraction shorter than hers.

“You should take better care of your hands.” Minato advised, moving left to right as she tried to get around him. “You need them to weave hand signs.”

“Who asked you?!” Kushina lashed out, attempting to shove him as he stepped casually to the side then sidestepped back into her path as she tried to run. Uri noticed her hands were shaking slightly, and more blood was soaking through the bandages.

Nee-chan groaned in aggravation. “Move it, you flake! I don’t need your help! I'm super strong! I'll be the first female hokage, and then no one will mess with me!"

“No, I will.” Minato stated matter-of factly.

Uri flinched as nee-chan grit her teeth and lashed out once more, grabbing his collar and getting in his face. Uri opened his mouth to ask nee-chan to let him go, but hesitated. Minato’s eyes had such a clear look of certainty…

Kushina shook him furiously, closing the distance between them with an angry glare.

“A stupid, girly, weakling pushover like you could never, ever, in a billion years EVER be Hokage!” She spat.

Minato smiled resolutely. “But I will.”

Kushina stared him down for a while longer, during which Minato’s confidence never wavered. Uri was joined by Fuji, who looked perfectly at ease with his hands in his pockets as he watched the staring contest between the two would-be hokage candidates.

At some point, Kushina shoved Minato—“cheh!”— and continued on down the road. Minato turned and ran after her, jumping in her path again and annoying her to no end.

“DAMMIT! GET OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE I SLUG YOU, SCUMBAG!” She retorted.

Minato ignored this. “Kushina, when I do become hokage, would you marry me?”

Uri’s hair curled up as he jumped back, a terrible shiver shooting up from his toes to the top of his head. Nee-chan stumbled back, both scandalized and furious. Fuji dropped his head and let out his longest sigh yet.

“The hell I will!” Kushina replied. “I’d sooner marry a giant centipede! And there’s no way you’ll be hokage!”

She attempted once more to get around him by first feigning to the left before dashing to the right. As expected of Minato, he wasted no time in appearing in her path once more.

“Ugh! Don’t mess with me, bastard!” She threatened, pointing at his chest.

Minato smiled, crossing his arms behind his head.

“If you’re that certain then you shouldn’t mind making a bet with me.” He said all of a sudden, catching her off guard. Her anger wavered and she dropped her arm in confusion.

“What… Sort of bet?” She asked, obviously hooked.

Minato smiled. “If I fail to become hokage, then I will never bother you again. But if I do, then you have to marry me.”

Uri gulped. What in the name of the heavens was he THINKING?! This bet was a terrible idea! Nee-chan had terrible gambling instincts, she was sure to lose! And Minato’s luck with games and casinos was phenomenal! And when he won he’d have to marry nee-chan of all people! Nee-chan! This was taking the joke way too far!

Kushina crossed her arms. “If it’ll get you out of my life then fine! I accept!”

She pointed at him once more. “I never lose, got it! You better keep up your end of the deal, you stupid banana-head!”

Minato’s eyes widened in surprise. “’Banana-head…?’”

Nee-chan took the chance to dash around him and escape, yelling “Made you look!” as she disappeared, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

Uri ran over to him with Fuji striding slowly behind. Once he reached his friend everything he’d planned to say disappeared, and he just got caught staring down the road after his sister.

Fuji approached Minato and put his left arm, bent at the elbow, upon the shock of blond hair, bending over to stare after Kushina for a moment before looking at Minato, annoyed.

“I thought I asked you to pick another.” He said. “I don’t want to be stuck with her for the rest of my life, Minno.”

Uri was still so stunned he completely ignored the nickname that the older, taller students had affectionately slapped on Minato not too long ago. Minato just chuckled and smirked up at Fuji.

“Maybe I’ll pick Mikoto then, would that be better?” He teased, making Fuji glare at him.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little devious?” Fuji asked, making Minato smile sheepishly and scratch the back of his head.

Uri had no time to analyze this. He left them there and took off after her.

Why did Minato have to do this? Uri wanted them to get along as much as Mikoto did. And yet he insisted playing around like this. It really wasn’t like him! And Fuji sounded like he was encouraging it!

He skidded to a halt as soon as he saw Nee-chan walking ahead of him, having slowed down as soon as Minato was out of sight.

Uri ran, catching up with her before slowing to a walk himself.

“N-… Um, Kushina-chan!” He said on a whim. “Minato didn’t mean to offend you. He’s just playing around—uhhh, I mean, well he means well, really. He’s a good person. He really does care about you, though not in that way I’m sure, umm—”

“Shut up!” She snapped, looking at him momentarily for the first time in years. Uri was so mesmerized by this that he barely noticed her blushing, or the angry, prideful look in her eye, or how her arms were folded behind her back.

She looked away, ducking her head and chewing on her bottom lip.

“Dammit!” She cursed. “He’s messing with me…! He’s got to be!”
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE


URI’S POV [PRESENT DAY KUMOGAKURE]

“I was mistaken.” Uri sighe3d heavily. “We both were. Or maybe I knew he was sincere and didn’t want to accept it. I’m not sure.”

“… This is difficult to believe.” Enoki commented. “That brutish little red-haired upstart always seemed to respect the yondaime.”

Uri nodded. “She did. But not back then. At that time, I was either blind or in denial. And she was arrogant, to an extent, and self-concious the rest of the way. While the majority of the village loathed his presence, those within the academy were coming around. Many were stubbornly trying to hide it, but our classmates already respected him. He brought strength and intelligence to our frantic peers who feared for their families lives. He tutored the younger cadets. Contrary to his generation, he treated every girl like a lady, and they in turn became… Affectionate, to say the least. He united us, encouraged us and pressured us to do better. Really, even as children we were already prepared to follow him anywhere, even sacrifice our lives for him should the situation call for it. In other words, long before he ever put on that headband, long before he ever succeeded the third, he was already our beloved hero and leader.

“Nee-chan on the other hand was more or less a misfit. Her grades were terrible, her performance as a shinobi was lacking. Her only real friend was Lady Mikoto. Everyone knew we were from the same clan and often compared her skills to mine just as our parents had, saying she left much to be desired. It was just too difficult, impossible, really, for me to wrap my head around the notion of Minato loving her, even liking her. So I sort of decided that he must have been joking, and her own issues with him led her to think the same.”

Ay crossed his arms. “That had to end sometime didn’t it?”

Uri hesitated, not fully trusting himself to speak. But etiquette called him to reply. He decided to look at anything BUT the raikage and found himself staring out the window once more.

“Indeed. It ended when Kumogakure’s current Raikage decided to kidnap her.” He said.

Instantly, the atmosphere became very heavy. Uri’s decades-old grudge, while suppressed, still showed on his face. His brow was furrowed ever-so-slightly. His lids had lowered just barely. His mouth had formed a straight line, though not a tight one. His fingers twitched, wanting to curl. The muscles in his arms clenched.

He made sure not to look at the Raikage as he continued:

“After the Kumo ninja kidnapped her, naturally we panicked and search parties were sent out immediately. Night fell, and the situation got worse. At some point Minato had disappeared, but nobody noticed until he returned, carrying Nee-chan in his arms. She was hospitalized and the security tightened. This just so happened to occur on the same day that we graduated. We were divided into teams, with Minato, Fugaku, and a cousin of Chouza’s being placed in the hands of Jiraiya-sensei. Nee-chan, Kizashi Haruno, and Lady Mikoto went to Sakumo-sensei. I was cut off from the others and placed with strangers, but I enjoyed their company all the same.

“We entered the battlefield, gaining infamy as the most powerful gennin of our generation. Minato and nee-chan were closer now, and the five of us were a group. We risked our lives every day, and were thoroughly aware of how fragile life could be. Somehow this just made it all the more sweet, and we laughed from the bottom of our hearts, feeling free.

"However, the relationship between nee-chan and Fuji was always rocky. They were like oil and water, they never got along. They'd get into serious fights over minor issues. Minato and Lady Mikoto were easygoing, carefree, and airheaded. Nee-chan and Fuji were fiercely determined and carried themselves with the air of a commander. I was caught in the middle, I suppose, so while Lady Mikoto sat by and watched I was the one who usually had to break up their fights."

"I don't get it." Ay commented, looking both stern and confused. "What was their problem?"

"They had many problems." Uri answered with a shrug. "Nee-chan was hotheaded and rash while Fuji was precise and alert. Fuji would come up with strategies so effective they could destroy the enemy's entire stock of supplies and break up their formation, and Nee-chan would usually rush in and ruin said plans. But their main issues were Minato and Lady Mikoto."

"Those two? But why?" Mifune asked.

"Nee-chan was in love with Minato, and Lady Mikoto was like her sister." Uri explained. "Fuji was Minato's best freind, and he was attracted to Lady Mikoto from a young age. So basically they were in the same boat, since they shared their two favorite people. But nee-chan was suspicious of Fuji's family, who had tried to poison Minato quite a few times, and bullied Mikoto just as often. As for Fuji, he suspected that Nee-chan was in league with Danzo."

Tsunade gaped the most out of all of them.

"What?! That's ridiculous." She threw her arms out at Uri.

"Not really. If I were in his shoes, I would have suspected the same thing." Uri argued. "Fuji was scrutinous. He noticed things. Like how nee-chan always went home really early, or how she was pulled aside during her lunch break, or how the time it took for her to get from home to school was supposed to be a half-hour, but she was always an hour and a half late. He noticed that her eyes sometimes had a red tint to them when she was angry. He duly noted the fact that her strength was outrageous for a child her size. Given all this, he came up with two theories: 1) nee-chan had some mysterious power, and it wasn't a kekkei genkai because the Uzumaki don't have one. And 2) she was meeting with someone in the shadows, possibly someone who wanted to use that power. And when Fuji sat and thought about it, the only person he could come up with who would use a little girl just because she had power was Danzo."

Tsunade opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying anything.

"Unfortunately, it didn't end there." Uri frowned. "At that time, it was a case of two people both trying to protect the ones they loved from someone they thought would only endanger them. It changed as soon as Nee-chan lost control of the Kyuubi."

The group of people before him tensed, and he nodded in return.

"That day had been a very stressful one. Nee-chan hadn't slept well, because it was the anniversary of our clan's massacre. She wasn't feeling well, and she had trained herself into exhaustion. Regardless, she had agreed to meet up with Mikoto in one of the training grounds. Now all of this is second-hand, so I didn't actually see it. But from what Nee-chan and the others told me, I believe it went something like this:
"Moments after she met up with Lady Mikoto, some of Fuji's cousins, the same ones who used to beat up Lady Mikoto, arrived. They grabbed Lady Mikoto and insulted her and ordered her to come with them. Nee-chan was understandably furious, and her fatigue was taking its toll. Minato had been passing by and happened to see what was going on. Minato, who had been told by the third hokage what nee-chan was after he rescued her from the kumo-ninja. He and Lady Mikoto saw Nee-chan's eyes change color as her nails and teeth grew and sharpened. Instinctively, they knew they had to stop her, so they threw themselves in front of her and ended up being hit full force with her attack.

"It was just a chakra blast wave. Just a wave of her hand. But it was powerful enough to destroy the beautiful landscape, and injure everyone in front of her. She snapped out of it as soon as she saw Minato and Lady Mikoto, both bleeding, both hurt. Minato was fatally injured, and Lady Mikoto had heavy bruising and several broken bones.

"She stopped the bleeding with the reverse/containment seal and probably would have repaired all the damage. However Fuji had noticed the explosion first and rushed to see what was wrong. When he saw what she had done, he was livid. He lost his temper and lashed out at her, threatening to kill her if she didn't get out of his range of sight that instant. She already felt guilty, and this didn't help. So she ran to my house and told me everything. I was so confused, and also stunned. Nee-chan was crying even harder than she had when she was taken from our home village. I consoled her by saying all she had to do was tell the third everything, and he would protect her. So I took her to the hokage building. But on our way to the sandaime's office, we happened to overhear the three advisors talking behind a closed door. They had yet to hear of what had happened and were currently plotting something."

Instantly everyone’s expressions turned grim. Yes, they were familiar with Danzo's megalomaniac scheming.

"Danzo was insisting that they make a new jinchuuriki." Uri said, clenching his fists. "He wanted to extract the kyuubi from nee-chan, and put it inside Minato. The other two advisors did not like the idea of killing a little girl, one that Lady Mito had entrusted them with. But they were at war, and they needed... 'resources,' they said. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Nee-chan, who had been chosen by Lady Mito, dragged away from our home, forced to endure much ridicule and scorn, was now being viewed as damaged goods."

"... What did you do?" Gaara asked, though it was barely a question.

Uri looked him in the eye. "We ran. As fast and as far as we could. I couldn't allow them to kill nee-chan. And I wouldn't let them sacrifice Minato. And if the two weren't together, then they couldn't go through with their plan. So running was a good option. Or so I'd thought.

"In all the excitement, I'd forgotten that a war was going on. Once we were outside Konoha, running was not easy. We were ambushed, tracked, and nearly killed. We knew we had to get out of the Land of Fire if we were to have any hope of escaping Danzo's radar. So we managed to sneak into the Land of Rain with the ripple seal.

"That was where we met the Akatsuki." Uri said with a clever smile. "Not the terrorists you're familiar with, but the revolutionist militia who were trying to create peace. Yahiko was very kind, if not somewhat awkward and clumsy. He took us in immediately as soon as we told him we were survivors from the Uzushiogakure massacre. We hid our headbands on our persons, and kept our ties to Konoha a secret. It would be a fatal mistake to let them know we had been in Konoha since the fall of our homeland.

"We stayed with them for a month, and became quite close. Nee-chan and I realized immediately that Nagato was obviously a relative of ours. But we feared that mentioning it might bring disaster.

"Nee-chan finally allowed me to enjoy her company again, but still would not let on why she had been so distant towards me since she started training at the academy. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were kind to us, though it was clear that the two sides were mutually skeptical. Still, we were given room and board, and asked not to leave the hideout. The younger members of the Akatsuki really admired Nee-chan, and out of the three leaders, the one we were closest to was Nagato.

"Meanwhile, Minato was awake and hot on our trail. When he'd woken up to find Nee-chan and I missing, and the anbu dashing about in secret trying to find us, he nearly put himself back in the ICU with all his efforts. Lady Mikoto was already healed, thanks to the efforts of the medic nins, but Minato's injuries were too severe. Fuji, I presume, felt quite guilty and instantly told Minato what had occured between him and nee-chan. Minato couldn't bring himself to blame Fuji, and felt something much more serious was afoot. He later told me that he had wondered why Nee-chan had chosen to run away with ME, but decided that it was because we were 'cousins.' Instinctively knowing that there was no time to waste, Minato used fuinjutsu taught to him by nee-chan to seal his wound shut, even though he was aware of the damage this could cause to his minute cells. Minato then went with Mikoto and Fuji to the sandaime's office, and were joined by Kizashi Haruno along the way, asking for his permission to go after Kushina and bring her home. He was reluctant, but seeing Minato's desperation and the determination shared by the four of them, he nonetheless granted their request.

"As expected, the seal on Minato's side began to deal heavy damage almost immediately. As a result, he was forced to release the seal and take the sacred medicine that Nee-chan had given to Lady Mikoto in order to buy himself a few hours' worth of strength.

"He DID find us, and this led to a fight between his team and the pre-Madara Akatsuki. Nee-chan and I disguised ourselves and told our freinds to go back into the HQ while we led 'the enemy' away. Those," Uri said with much regret, "Were the last words I said to them. As a result of Danzo's and Madara's meddling, they died before we could reunite.

"After we led them far enough away from the Akatsuki HQ, nee-chan and I seperated. Minato pursued her, and I was pursued by the other three. Their hoods were up, so I had not known who they were, just as they were unaware of whom I was. Regardless, the truth came out when Fuji successfully tackled me and put a kunai to my throat, demanding to know where nee-chan was. Though he hid it later on, he was quite worried about her as well. Anyway, it was then that I realized who he was and revealed myself. He was, understandably, confused as to why I helped the Ame ninja. However, we were then joined by Minato and nee-chan, and were derailed by Minato collapsing. We took the time to locate a safe location, a cave in other words, where he could rest before explaining ourselves.

FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
URI'S POV [AMEGAKURE CAVERN; OVER FORTY YEARS AGO]
Uri, Fuji, and Kizashi sat in front of a roaring fire in a circle while the girls watched over Minato, literally. They were leaning over him with the most worried expressions, clearly wondering if he would be alright or not.

Uri's legs were folded to his chest, with his chin resting on his knees. The other two leaned back on their hands, watching the flames as they waited out the thunderstorm which had begun mere minutes after they reached the cavern.

"I feel like we've done this before." Uri said at last. No one had spoken since reaching the cave.

"That's because we have." Fuji replied, looking over his shoulder at Minato, who was sleeping rather peacefully.

"Yeah!" Kizashi grinned. "Shikaku told me about it. This is how it ended up the first time you met right? Trapped in a cave, Minato out cold, etc."

It clicked in Uri's mind and he nodded vigorously, now grinding his teeth.

What would happen now? They wouldn't be able to outrun these guys even if they wanted to. It was already decided that they would have to return to Konoha. And when they did, the advisors would be waiting for them. No doubt they were especially intent on replacing nee-chan now.

Uri gripped his wrist. What should he do? How was he supposed to keep the people he cared about safe in a situation like this?

"We need to talk."

Uri looked up. Surprisingly, it had been Mikoto who'd spoken. She had left Minato's side and was now standing over them, both concerned and resolute.

She met Uri's eyes somewhat sternly.

"What were you thinking?" She asked in a demanding tone. "Both of you. It’s not like you to runaway out of guilt."

Uri froze and slowly looked away, trembling. He didn't know how to answer her. Mikoto was a smart girl. The slightest hint, the most minute movement, and she would figure out exactly what happened. Fuji was even sharper than her, he might already be suspecting Danzo.

If he brought them into this there was no way he could prevent an internal conflict within Konoha. He already had Minato and nee-chan to worry about. Anybody else—

"Uri!"

He flinched when she slapped her hand over his cheek. Shaken, he looked her in the eye, seeing a figure in her he had not seen in months.

The kind, scolding eyes of his mother. It was enough to make him flinch.

"You too, Kushina!" She snapped, making nee-chan wince. "Both of you! I really can't believe you would do this! Running away... Entering the battlefield all on your own... Running from place to place... It really isn't like you. I know how much the two of you want to live in peace. Even what happened to Minato and I shouldn't have been enough to force you to flee the Land of Fire."

Uri and Kushina grit their teeth, barely looking at each other before going pale. No, they couldn't say it. They really couldn't. It was no mystery that Danzo wasn't fond of Fuji, or anyone within the Uchiha clan. Mikoto was still new to the village, like Uri and Minato were. Endangering them now might mean terrible consequences in the future.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Fugaku said, making Uri's blood run cold.

"No!" Uri yelled with far too much desperation.

Nee-chan shot him a cross look, and he begun to wallow in self-loathing. Why was he born with such poor lying capability?

Fuji narrowed his eyes. "I thought so. He's the only one who would cause enough trouble to result in this sort of situation."

"Who's 'HE?'" Kizashi asked, scratching his head as the gears in his head struggled to turn. "And how do you know how he would act?"

Fuji glared, his focus shifting from the present to the past.

"When the Namikaze clan started kidnapping Hyuuga and Uchiha children, Danzo interrogated several members of my family." He explained. "But no one from the Hyuuga. He thought we were trying to sap Konoha's strength by sending the strongest children to the North to start a new colony within Yuukigakure. He was forced to change his theory when it became clear the Namikaze were attempting to get rich off our genocide. He then pressured the council to have us locked up 'for our own protection' within his foundation, both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. In other words, he was taking advantage of our predicament to try and increase his power and influence over the village. He was dead-set against me going after my brother, and wasted no time in flinging blame on my parents for his loss. From what my uncle told me, this isn't the first time he's tried to tip the scales in his favor."

"But what does that have to with why Uri and Kushina ran away together?" Kizashi asked.

Fuji shot Uri a scrutinous look. "Good question. Out with it. What did he do?"

Uri's mouth sagged open as he shook his head, scooting back until he made contact with the wall.

"If you don't tell me, I will find out on my own." Fuji stated, putting his foot down. "That will be a lot more risky, and they might end up suspecting me of espionage."

Uri's eyes widened. No...

"Let's get something straight here." Fuji said, rising. "None of us can fight against that man on our own. He's on the inside, at the top of the food chain. The sandaime is his childhood friend, and tends to turn a blind eye to his schemes. If you want to protect us, you're only option is to fight with us. The more numbers you have, the better your chances. Even that man can't make people disappear and get away with it scot-free."

Fuji gently nudged Mikoto so that she stepped aside, and he proceeded to bend down, clapping his much larger hands on Uri's shoulders.

"I know you're afraid for us. I am too." Fuji admitted. "But let us help you. Or else..."

Uri felt Fuji's grip tighten around his shoulders and his eyes narrowed. He flinched, realizing once more just how humane this person was. Even Minato paled in comparison.

Uri looked at nee-chan, who was digging her fingers into the dirt. They met each other’s gaze and a silent understanding passed between them.

And slowly, they began to tell the truth, starting with their real relationship, and ending with why they had chosen to flee Konoha. As the minutes passed, the blizzard worsened, and Mikoto and Kizashi looked more and more surprised. Fuji absorbed all of this information stoically, although Fuji noticed both of his fists were clenched.

"Why him?" Fuji asked, looking at Minato, who was still resting.

Uri shifted, tracing a circle in the dirt with his finger.

"They're impressed with him." He answered sadly. "His chakra control and chakra levels are both impressive. He's perfect for a jinchuuriki. Plus..."

Uri hesitated, knwoing how he would react.

"Plus?" Fuji prompted.

Uri curled in on himself. "They said... They said that since he's so close to the heir of the Uchiha clan, there would be less of a chance of him going berserk. You could always stop him using your sharingan. But...it might be that Danzo's trying to provoke you, given what you just told us. He wants you angry at him, so you'll attack him. Then he could lock you up like he's always wanted."

Uri felt a rush of stabbing cold air blow in through the mouth of the cave and shivered. He looked up at Fuji, who seemed to be lost in the past again. Only now he looked absolutely bloodthirsty. In control, but furious.

"That still doesn't explain why you kept this from us." Mikoto interrupted.

Uri looked at her in confusion, and she blinked sadly.

"The two of you... Are twins?" Mikoto asked, looking from Uri to Kushina. "I always thought you looked alike. I thought it was because you were from the same clan. But... You two don't really act like siblings. I remember, Kushina. You used to go out of your way to avoid Uri, and he would take it pretty hard. I don't understand. If you're siblings, then why—"

"If they told people they were twins, he’d be at the top of the list to replace her." Fuji explained, looking Kushina in the eye. "Right?"

Nee-chan balled her fists over her thighs and glared at the floor. Uri whipped his head around to look at her, his brows knit together in sadness and shock. Fuji waited patiently for a reply.

He got one in the form of a stubborn nod.

Uri felt his eyes tear up. "Nee-chan—"

She whirled, furious. "Stop that! Jeez, you’re exactly the same! Always crying over every little thing!"

Uri flinched and immediately dried his eyes. "I-I wasn't crying! I was just—!"

"Whatever! You've always been a little crybaby!" Kushina jeered. "I remember you'd climb into my bed in the middle of the night, crying your eyes out because you'd had a nightmare! You cried during class and meals too! And all the other kids hated you more than me! You never made a single friend!"

Uri glared back, insulted. "At least I wasn't a clumsy troublemaker! You couldn't walk through a field without tripping over every single blade of glass! And you never had any respect for our clan's culture, family heirlooms, or the priceless historical texts in the libraries! You knocked down all the bookcases like dominoes!"

"That was an accident!" Kushina declared, getting to her feet. "And who cares about a bunch of stupid books anyway!?"

"You're so inconsiderate!" Uri accused, standing up and marching over to her. "And a bully, on top of that! Like how you made me eat a clump of mud! Or stealing my desserts at dinnertime! Or hiding all of my clothes when I took a bath in the outdoor hotsprings!"

A light-hearted, groggy chuckle got everyone’s attention. Uri leaned over, looking around nee-chan to see Minato, now awake, turning his head to smile at them wryly.

"I thought you were asleep." Fuji complained.

"No one could sleep in such a heavy atmosphere filled with noise." Minato explained.

"So you were just pretending to sleep?" Fuji asked, raising one eyebrow.

"In my defense, I was trying. But this conversation has been too exciting." Minato cheeked.

He looked away, attempting to sit up with much difficulty. Uri ran to help him, supporting his back with one hand. Minato ended up leaning over with one arm encircling his torso.

"So? What now?" KIzashi asked.

No one answered. That was a good question. What happened now?

It was Fuji, who was looking at the tired, sore, apparently relieved Minato who answered Kizashi's question.

"I have a plan."

URI'S POV [PRESENT DAY KUMOGAKURE]
"As soon as we returned to the village, Minato was taken to the hospital and examined by doctors." Uri continued. "Their analysis proved there was no internal or external damage, and that he was not to take any more suspicious medication in the future. He was then told to rest and was kept in the hospital overnight. Meanwhile, Fuji reported everything to the third hokage and requested he assign at least two squads of anbu to watch over Minato. This request was granted, but it wouldn’t end there. Nee-chan had killed two of the Uchiha boys. Powerful jounin on top of that. It wouldn’t be very hard for Danzo to get the council to rule in his favor. Nee-chan would be restrained and Minato monitored. However, Fuji made a certain proposition, and the sandaime believed that if everything went smoothly, both nee-chan and Minato would be safe."

Enoki knit his brow. "If what went smoothly?"

Feeling incredibly proud, Uri smirked.

FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
URI'S POV [KONOHAGAKURE, UCHIHA ESTATE; OVER FORTY YEARS AGO]
Uri tried not to breathe as he stood as tall as possible, his arms crossed behind his back and his head held high. Beside him, Mikoto was quite relaxed, though she stood up straight and was even brave enough to look one of them in the eye. On her left was nee-chan, arms crossed over her chest, looking very stubborn and impudent. It couldn't be helped really, given her nature.

But Fuji had asked them to be present, silent, and as respectful as possible. He needed them, he'd said. Their support was vital if he was to go through with it.

And indeed, he had.

Fuji sat on his knees in front of his father, uncles, eldest cousins, and the other elites of the Uchiha clan, all over twenty years old and all seated in two rows before him with his father at the head of the room. Those in rows sat side-by-side, facing each other and simultaneously ignoring Fuji, who braced both palms against the tatami mats as he stared straight ahead.

Uri looked down at him, barely able to see one of his brave, subtly anxious pupils. It gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight that filtered through the rice-stalk curtains on the windows. His mouth was trapped in a blank, fairly straight line that made it clear to Uri that Fuji was, in fact, afraid.

Uri gulped. Despite his fear, Fuji was still going ahead with this. Even though his clan was “not fond of” Mikoto or Minato, or anyone associated with them, and thus thought poorly of Fuji as well. To do this in spite of knowing that... Fuji was showing a boldness he never had before.

Fuji's father and clan members were looking either disappointed or unaffected, which must have stung. And speaking of his father, the head of the Uchiha seemed incredibly proud. He and the others were sitting the same way Fuji was, only their hands were on their thighs. The older man, who looked very much like Fuji, lacked all the things about Fuji that both Uri respected. Fuji was apathetic, serious, and by the book. But he was also flexible, kind, and open-minded. An irreplaceable friend and a good leader. He liked to bluff that he was merciless and without conscience, and yet that was as far from the truth as the earth and sky.

Fuji's father's hair was longer, though it didn't pass his collar bone, and a little shaggy so that it somewhat resembled Uchiha Madara's (Uri had seen many pictures of him in the Uzushio libraries). He wore a dark black haori over a plain white kimono. Very casual clothes, and yet it seemed no different from the formal robes that many of the elder Uzumaki of Uri’s clan would wear during formal celebrations.

Uri flinched as said man sighed heavily.

"This," Fuji's father (whom Uri remembered was called Uchiha Hotaka) gave his son a reproachful look, "Is a clan meeting. It is mandatory for the eldest of each line to appear, along with the head of the family. Children and outsiders are not allowed. But you are already aware of that, correct?"

Uri grit his teeth in anxiety. Don't curl your lips back, don't shrink away. Fuji is doing his best...

"I have a request." Fuji stated briefly.

Uri flinched as every other Uchiha switched their gaze to narrow their eyes at Fuji. Nee-chan shot him a cross look and he straightened up once more, though no one else seemed to care.

Hotaka waited impatiently for Fuji to continue, but he seemed to be leaving them in suspense.

"... Father." Fuji called, apparently surprising his clan. "I will be brief. Minato is in danger. Danzo threatens him."

At the name Danzo, many of the other Uchiha present, Hotaka included, tensed. Heads turned as some of the young men murmured to each other, only to be abruptly silenced by their elders. In moments things returned to their previous setting, with all eyes on Fuji who had not moved a muscle or looked away from Hotaka.

"This is classified information that I have obtained through my friendship with the two Uzushio survivors standing behind me." Fuji began. Uri made sure to seem as poise as possible even as he was mentioned and eyes began to flicker his way. "Konoha has been in possession of the Kyuubi since the era of the first hokage. They currently have it sealed away and under heavy security. However, given the state of affairs, that is, our shortage of man-power in this time of war, they plan on turning Minato into a jinchuuriki. Their plan is to have Uri and Kushina Uzumaki, who are already talented fuinjutsu users, remove the Kyuubi from its current holding structure and seal it within Minato, who has the chakra and the skill to keep the beast in check. However, this jutsu is taxing and neither Kushina nor Uri will not survive its execution."

The young men shifted, but were sure not to talk this time. No one moved, no one spoke. Hotaka and Fuji were locked in an electric staring contest. It was like a battle of wills, and then Hotaka spoke up:
"Say what it is you want."

Uri could have sweated through his short. Here it was. The moment of truth.

"The Sandaime has told me," Fuji started again, attempting to get all facts across, "That he will not allow such a thing to occur. He plans to fight it. But now that the truth has come to light, Danzo will try to save face by presenting his case to the council. They are currently quite desperate, so they might approve, and if that happens even the sandaime's will could be overruled. However, if one of Konohas more powerful clans were to step forth and announce their disproval of sacrificing children in such a way, then Danzo will have to back down as will any of the supporting council members. They won't risk inner-turmoil in these times."

"Say what it is you want, Fugaku." Hotaka emphasized through gritted teeth.

Fuji lowered his head slightly, making his eyes pierce each of his clan members' gaze. Uri stifled a gasp as his older, prouder friend slid his palms over the tatami mats and lowered his head.

"Help me shield them from Danzo." He requested.

Uri's stomach did backflips as the Uchiha clan's eldest, most elite fighters went stock still, their bangs casting dark shadows over their eyes. Their teeth were on edge, judging from the position of their jaws. Their hands curled into fists, making their knuckles pale over their thighs. Uri shivered in fear as just one eye, belonging to the fifth man on the right row, appeared from behind his curtained bangs.

Scarlet, three tomoe sharingan glared murderously at him. In that moment, Uri felt immense gratitude to Fuji, who had explicitly ordered the three of them not to make any sudden movements or show any fear. Because... He had no doubt that if Fuji were not sitting in front of him, every other Uchiha here would have killed him before he'd had time to think about it.

"While I'm against Danzo's scheme," Hotaka said placidly, "Why should I care what becomes of that vile creature? Or the murderess, now that you bring her up."

Uri heard Mikoto's knuckles crack as she clenched her fingers tightly over the skirt of her dress.

Fuji met his father eye for eye once more without flinching and something... Personal... passed between them. Something Uri felt he would have been wrong to intrude upon.

"Father I remember that time as well as anyone." Fuji began, scraping his fingernails on the tatami mats. "We have suffered a great lost. Indeed, the Namikaze clan was vile. They have wronged us, and our revenge would be justified.

"However, they have paid their retribution in annihilation. Minato, who was unwanted and unloved, has done nothing wrong. He doesn't deserve our loathing. And we are familiar with my two deceased cousins’ aggressiveness towards beautiful women."

Uri noticed the Uchiha council turn into an unbalanced mixture of high emotions. Some of them looked angry or resentful. Others paled or glowered at the wall opposite them.

Fuji lowered his head once more while keeping his back straight.

"I have done all that you've asked of me since I was small. I failed to protect your second son, but I have already begged forgiveness and done all that I can to atone for that. Minato alone, out of all of the Yuukigakure citizens, stood up to his clan to save our people, even though he knew he could not win. I ask you now to risk the same for him. Please father... Even if he is not blood... He, and these others behind me, they are my... Family. I value, trust, and respect them. I have faith in Minato. I believe he can change this village, and prevent that tragedy from happening again. I believe he can save us...!"

The hostility seemed to increase with every word out of Fuji's mouth. Uri was caught in the fatal gaze of one of the Uchiha once more and he did not dare look away for fear of showing weakness.

Hotaka frowned, looking away from his son.

"You count these outsiders as your family?" He asked. "You dare to imply that we need rescuing?"

Fuji did not reply, however his expression got his feelings across.

Several minutes passed by in suffocating silence. Every last one of the Uchiha council was glaring at the three outsiders, sharingan activated so that they seemed even more deadly.

"Father, even if you refuse," Fuji stated, "I would still defeat you. Then I would take our most powerful and eldest clan members, go to Danzo, and save Minato whether the rest of the clan complied or not."

Hotaka shot to his feet, making Uri's hair stand on end. He watched as the older man strode over to his son, who also got to his feet. Uri nearly jumped out of his skin when the two pointed their sharingan at each other.

"You DARE speak to me that way," Hotaka glowered, his voice raised.

"Yes." Fuji replied curtly.

Hotaka hesitated, his anger wavering. He raised one eyebrow at his young son, and deactivated his sharingan.

Fuji followed suit.

The two stared at each other once more as Uri felt a bead of sweat trail down his back.

"Very well." Hotaka decided, making Uri look up in great relief and shock. "We will appeal to the village council. However, speak to me that way again and I will teach you some respect."

"It is because I respect you that I speak my mind, father." Fuji countered.

Hotaka laughed through his nose and grabbed his son's shoulder.

"These two young girls," He said, referring to nee-chan and Mikoto, "Are brave to stand before our clan's strongest fighters without batting an eye. Do you intend to make one of them my daughter-in-law?"

Uri nearly swallowed his own tongue even before Fuji replied, quite bluntly:
"That is the plan, yes."

Uri gaped. Surely he didn't mean nee-chan?!

"Let's go, my brethren." Hotaka ordered, and slowly the Uchiha council followed him outside.


Hope you enjoyed that. The next chapter will be a little different. Part of it will be narrated by Minato (I will explain). I say this because i'm trying to avoid one of those flashbacks-within-a-flashback. I have already named chapter 44. To view the title, and the title alone, please click the spoiler button. I really like this name so theres little chance of me changing it. If by some chance I do, keep in mind chapter 44's current title is an actual line which will be used by one of the characters. So either way, it will appear.

Spoiler

Naruto Fanfic A future without you
chapter 44: How dare you!; Uri's story par 3

 

[ahmher]

great fanfic as always

 

[TheAncientJinchuuriki]

Amazing as always! =D

 

[Jinrou]

Wow..This was great. The Mikoto and Kushina 'almost' fight...The Minato, Kushina, Fuji and Mikoto thing..And of course, banana head xD. Kushina got a little bit too quiet towards the end though. Hope she talks more next chap. I love her badassery Lol.
Really awesome work as usual. Awaiting the next chap

 

[Osagyefo]

Thanks for the chapter, t'was refreshing...

 

[~Uzumaki~]

Just. Plain. Awesome. I could disagree with some of the plot elements. Like meeting Nagato, who had an active Rinnegan, without the dojutsu getting recognized. Or Minato being considered for Jinchuuriki when only strong Uzumaki bodies are deemed able to handle the most powerful Bijuu in existence, but you have your creative liberty. Your style is great. You're incredible at characterisation....Awaiting the next installment.

 

[amazing sasuke]

that was so cool!!! and i loved it so much.i wish there was more about minato and the rest that we could read...in short,really awesome!flowers

 

[Prog]

Nice chapter. Was really waiting for it. Glad it came. I'm liking this back story. But I wonder who Sasuke is going to meet? And I miss Naruto :'(. Anyhow, patiently awaiting Chp 44. Like the name too.