Rayana'Te

- 22 - Don’t go chasing waterfalls -

It was a warm, sunny day when they set out with their client. They placed Tazuna in the middle of the group. Asuma took the lead with Hinata and Sasuke at his sides. Naruto was supposed to protect Tazuna from the left while Choji was on his right side. Minaru and Shikamaru were behind him with Kakashi guarding the rear.

“Tazuna-san?” Minaru asked after a few minutes.

He sighed. “What?”

“You’re not from the Land of Fire, right?”, she asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”, he asked.

Before she could continue, Hinata butted in. “A...are there no Shinobi i...in your Land?”, she asked.

Minaru shook her head in his stead. “I read that most of the other Lands depend on the Five Great Nations and their Shinobi to protect them and they give their missions out to them.”, she explained.

Asuma nodded. “That about sums it up. The Five Villages and their Kage’s are the ones who teach and lead the Shinobi of the world. So there are no Shinobi in most other Countries. Well, unless you count the rogue Shinobi.”, he explained.

“But don’t worry, there won’t be any Shinobi encounters on a C-Rank mission.”, Kakashi said to Hinata who smiled with relief. Because Minaru was walking this closely to Tazuna she was able to see him hide his flinch. Right. He was very much hunted. And not only by gangs of bandits.

Very soon after this they neared the first danger. The puddle glimmered in the light of the sun, when they approached it. Minaru cleared her throat and tugged on Asuma’s sleeve to get his attention. “Sensei?”

He looked at her over his shoulder. “Yes, Mina?”

“When’s the last time it rained in this area?” She pointed out the puddle to him. He turned forward again and she could see him readying a kunai. Two more steps and he launched it right into the water. A puff of smoke followed and one of the rogue ninja jumped out of the puddle and into the next tree with a curse.

“Should have checked for that. But I didn’t expect a child to notice something like a puddle on the ground.”, the man conceded, his eyes fixed on her for a moment. There was a glove with metal claws attached to one of his hands and a long iron chain lay on the ground.

“Hey! Who are you?!” Naruto cried.

Minaru hissed under her breath and threw her Kunai as the man started to move the chain. It caught the end and lodged itself deep into the wood, trapping the chain in place. She reached for Tazuna and Naruto and hurled them out of the circle the two ninja had created with their chain around them.

At this moment the second one came rushing out of the puddle and towards her. She tried to turn her body in a way that he wouldn’t hit her vital spots. Nevertheless she couldn’t suppress the small sound of pain when she caught his claw with her Kunai, her feet digging into the earth beneath her feet.

“Didn’t think you would notice me.”, he said with a cruel smirk.

“When your partner jumped out of the puddle, it shrinked but stayed on the ground. It’s gone now though.”, Minaru huffed, her breathing going in puffs. Her eyes scanned her surroundings for a second. Kakashi and Asuma were busy with the second ninja that still evaded most of their attacks, he had cut off his end of the chain. Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru had gone after them to help, Hinata and Choji had stayed behind and were trying to reach her. Had the two of them been this good last time around? She was pretty sure the Brothers had been on a low Chunin-level the last time, now one of them led two Jounin and three Genin on a merry chase around the forest.

“You’re good, girl. Dangerous at your age.” The man hissed, his arm pressing further in. She could barely keep him in check anymore, her arm shaking badly from the strain.

“Cho!”, she yelled desperately and could already feel his Chakra building up. The earth wall closed around herself and threw the man off her. The rogue ninja vanished into the forest that surrounded them.

Hinata turned immediately and threw a Kunai into the forest, her Byakugan active. Minaru crouched down and launched herself at the man once he jumped out of his hiding spot again. Spinning around herself she managed to land a good hit with her knee right at his throat and the man went down. She fell to the ground as well, breathing heavily.

“Mina!” Shikamaru skidded to a stop right in front of her, his eyes frantically looking over her form.

“I’m fine.”, she said, but let him check her over anyway.

Asuma and Kakashi rejoined them and Asuma smiled at her. “Good work noticing the second one, Mina-chan.” The two Jounin then turned to look at Tazuna. “Now to you, master Tazuna. Seems you weren’t completely honest in your file. Rogue ninjas weren’t part of the agreement. It said to protect you from bandits and gangs until you are back home and can finish your work.”

Tazuna swallowed visibly. “I…”

Minaru got up with a little help from Shikamaru and dusted off her dress. “May I risk a guess, master Tazuna?”, she asked without really looking at him.

He blinked in shock a few times before nodding at her. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

“You drink alcohol to cover up for a lack of food. And the tools in your backpack... you’re no merchant but a worker. Something with wood I would guess, you have wood splinters covering your clothing even after you’ve washed them a few times on your travels. You have a big project that will benefit your home, a poor land that has a problem with false leaders or other authority figures. But many of the other citizens are too scared to help you. That would explain the rogue ninja from Kirigakure.”

Tazuna’s mouth hung open. “How…”

Asuma scoffed. “Minaru’s mind simply works like that. So. Is she right?”

The bridge builder nodded. “Yes.” He bowed slightly in front of her. “I’m building a bridge that is supposed to connect the Land of Waves to the continent. There are a few mighty business men who don’t appreciate that fact.”

Shikamaru looked at him. “No wonder. They would lose one of the bases of their power over the land.”, he said.

“So you deliberately lied when filing for this mission.” Kakashi drawled.

“I doubt his land has enough money to afford an escort that is better fitted.” Minaru stated.

The copy ninja looked at her then at the man. “You will tell us everything you know tonight. Then we can decide if we go back or if we continue.”, he said.

“Understood.” Tazuna said and bowed his head.

They had decided to continue on with the mission. With both Shikamaru and Minaru as analytic talents on their sides, Hinata’s already developed Byakugan and Sasuke close to awakening his Sharingan they were definitely better equipped to help Tazuna against Gatou than last time.

Two evenings later team 10 was training a bit under Asuma’s watchful eyes - they couldn’t go all out since they needed their strength to protect Tazuna during the days. Minaru could feel the gazes of team 7 on them as the boys practiced waterwalking on a pond next to the road and she went through some of her taijutsu stances. So Kakashi-sensei hadn’t started to really train them yet. She should have guessed it. Well, she surely hoped he would come around soon. They would need it against Gatou’s men. She stretched after she finished her next set of moves and got up to ask Choji to send one of his earth walls directly at her. The Akimichi looked at her in clear surprise. “Wha… why?!”, he asked.

She smiled. “Akane-oba showed me something I want to test out, if you don’t mind helping me.”, she answered.

Choji blinked a few times then he conceded with a shrug and gathered his Chakra. He hit the ground with both hands balled into fists. The earth then formed something like a wave that rolled towards her. Minaru crouched down and twisted her body in a sharp roundhouse kick, her foot connecting with the earth wall coming her way.

The middle part of the wall exploded into several sharp rocks that shot out in a wide ring around her and Choji. The Akimichi’s mouth fell open. “That’s an awesome technique, MIna-chan! I thought you couldn’t use Chakra! Was that a Taijutsu-move?! It looked more like some sort of Ninjutsu.”, he said and raced over to hug her.

“That was no Ninjutsu and no Taijutsu either..” Asuma-sensei came over to join them, a cigarette in his mouth. He smiled softly at Minaru. “That was a form of Senjutsu. Never seen someone use it like you do but I’ve seen Jiraya-sama in action often enough to recognize when someone uses it.”

Minaru shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s a Rayani-technique. Akane-oba said I should still be able to use these.” But she couldn’t hide her pleased smile. After going through the basics together, Fang and Claw had started to train her in the Rayani-techniques for about a month now and she had itched to try out that one. It would make her less of a liability to the others. Especially since she couldn’t use her lightning techniques without hinting at the fact of her double life.

“Teach that technique to me.” Sasuke suddenly said from right behind her.

Minaru narrowed her eyes and turned to him. “Would you just teach me about the Sharingan or your Great Fireball technique?”, she asked back. When he spluttered in offense she crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised one eyebrow. “Then why in Kami’s names do you expect me to teach you one of the Rayani’s techniques?”

“That’s different!”, he hissed at her.

“How so?”, she shot back.

“If it’s not a Clan-technique it’s not protected by our village-laws.” Sasuke balled his hands into fists.

Shikamaru and Choji had joined her by now. Choji snorted loudly and shook his head but it was Shikamaru who said: “Are you really this stupid, Uchiha?” Sasuke’s head snapped towards him and he scowled at Shikamaru. The Nara heir simply wrapped his arm around Minaru’s waist and pulled her against his side. She could feel his Shadow rattling at the bars of its cage. Ever since he had learned of her past, Shikamaru and subsequently his Shadow had become cautious of the Uchiha. “The Rayani are not only a Clan but the Clan that rules the entirety of Taiyo no Kuni.”, Shikamaru explained.

Minaru could see Sasuke pale so fast it was a little funny. She scoffed and shook her head. “I still don’t get these rules. Why are the techniques a Clan invented worth more than the ones that for example someone like Sakura could come up with?” Raising her hands she stretched. “If we are done with this discussion, I think dinner will be done in a few minutes.”, she said and wandered over to the little fire Kakashi had built up with Hinata and Naruto’s help.

The copy ninja sent his two Genin away to collect a little bit more wood and some water.

“Interesting point of view.” Kakashi said and stirred the stew without looking up. “Is there a reason you picked out this girl? She’s not part of your team or ours.”

She sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest. “I like to analyze people around me. Sakura is smart. Not as smart as Shika but smart enough. And her Chakra-control is nearly perfect already. She also has more strength hidden in her than most of the boys I know. I think she will be a force to be reckoned with once she finds the area of expertise she’s good at.”

Kakashi tilted his head and looked at her. “That’s some pretty deep running analysis you’ve done on her.”, he said.

She laughed lowly and lifted her eyes to look at him. “I was Inoichi-san’s apprentice for five whole years. And he wasn’t the only one from T&I to teach me, I worked together with Anko and Ibiki-san as well. I learned quite a few things during this time. I’ve analyzed pretty much all of my classmates.”

She felt Shikamaru and Choji approach them and shifted her seating position in a way that Shikamaru could lay down next to her, his head in her lap. Choji sat down next to her and pulled her head against his shoulder.

-Asuma-

Asuma looked at the way his Genin-team was huddled closely together near the fire. Choji’s back was leaning against a tree, one hand buried under the hem of Minaru’s dress to rest on the skin of her hip. Shikamaru had his head placed in her lap and his fingers intertwined with hers. It had surprised him at first how the three of them always seemed to seek skin to skin contact whenever they had some downtime. But he had gotten used to it over the weeks. Shikaku and Chouza had not told him much when he had asked them about it, just that it was something that had to do with both Shikamaru being a Nara and Minaru being a Rayani that caused them to act like this.

“Your team is not acting like they graduated only a month ago.” Kakashi said as he sidled up to him. “And they are relying on each other way more than is normal.”

“Their dynamic is curious, that’s true. I asked the Clanheads of the Trio-Clans about it once because I wondered as well. They told me it was totally normal for them to act that way.”, Asuma said and dragged on his cigarette.

Kakashi sighed and looked over to where Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto were bedding down for the night. Asuma followed the line of his gaze. The Uchiha boy scowled whenever the other two got too close, Hinata was shivering slightly because of her shyness and Naruto was trying to get the two of them to actually stay a little closer together. “I don’t get how you do it.”, the Copy Ninja mumbled. Asuma looked at him and raised one eyebrow. “You lost and risked so much already in your life and now… to have these three kids depending on us. I’m not sure if I can do it.”

Asuma let out the smoke in his lungs before answering him. “I can only tell you how I do it. I was more than unhappy to learn that I would have to deal with three Kekkai Genkai users.” He saw Kakashi’s eyes widen at that information. “But I went with the flow, every day anew. And that’s how I learned that I can depend on them in more ways than I thought possible. Minaru is able to notice people or animals approaching in a radius of about 50 meters around herself because of her heightened senses. Not to mention how her brain works and takes up bits and pieces that most others don’t even notice. Shikamaru takes every information he gets from her and immediately comes up with ways to solve the problem at hand. And Choji doesn’t need to be told much to help them out either, one word normally is enough. They balance out each other. Choji pulls the two of them out of their heads whenever they need it. But he can rely on them to notice when something is off. Minaru’s inability to form Chakra has made quite a few people think lowly of her but she more than makes up for that in taijutsu and that new training of her Clan-techniques that don’t rely on Chakra. And the boys cover her up so that she doesn’t need to use ninjutsu.”

Kakashi hummed under his breath and looked over at his own team. “Maybe I’ll try something tomorrow.”, he conceded.

Asuma laughed lowly. “You do that. I’ll get some sleep. Wake me when it’s time for me to take over nightwatch.” He waved lazily at him and went over to his three Genin to lie down at their backs. Minaru sighed softly in her sleep and rolled over to press her back against his own back. Shikamaru shifted in his sleep so he could throw his arm over Minaru’s waist and Choji was curled up near her head. Asuma suppressed a chuckle. If they were a little older they would look like there was a pretty strange love triangle thing going on between them. But he would worry about things like that later if they kept relying on direct contact this much in a few more years.

-Minaru-

A few days after their run in with the two rogue ninja they were wandering through the thick misty forest that was the standard vegetation on the islands of the Land of Waves. They had split up and Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke had left with Asuma-sensei to deliver the two shinobi - brothers, Asuma had mentioned. She had tuned out the rest - back to a Konoha outpost. They would rejoin them once they were done there.

That left Minaru, Shikamaru and Choji to protect Tazuna with Kakashi’s help. Kakashi was reading his Icha Icha Paradise while the three of them talked to Tazuna. Minaru missed one step and her nostrils flared at this moment. The scents of metal, steam and blood assaulted her sense of smell and she shivered lightly.

Shikamaru looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “What’s wrong, Mina?”, he asked in a whisper.

“Enemy.”, she said in a low voice, her eyes trained forward stubbornly. “Smells of blood, steam and metal. Weaponsmaster, I guess from a land with a lot of water.”

Shikamaru cursed under his breath and took his place on Tazuna’s right side. Choji switched places with Minaru so she was at Tazuna’s left side. The bridge builder shot her a curious look but she just smiled at him brightly and asked a question about his work.

A high pitched hissing started and she immediately reached for Tazuna and pulled him down to the ground with her, when Kakashi yelled for them to get down. Looking up she saw that Shikamaru, Choji and Kakashi had managed to dodge as well. She never understood how someone managed to throw something as big as this sword. It was now embedded in a tree next to the road and a man was standing on its handle, a man she knew. He was tall and muscular, his skin had a light gray sheen to it. He didn’t wear a shirt, just a black belt that reached over his torso, his pants were baggy and he wore matching leg- and wrist-warmers. The bottom half of his face was covered by bandages and his black hair was kept in short spikes. He wore a ninja headband with Kiri’s wavy lines sideways on his head. 

“Zabuza Momochi.”, Kakashi said, not taking his eye off the man. “Everybody stay back and leave him to me. He is on a whole other level.”

“No complaints from me.”, Minaru whispered.

The Demon of the mist just smiled. “Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja of the Leaf. I didn’t expect you to be taking missions like this one. Hand over the bridge builder and your little friends won’t be hurt.”, he said with a smirk that was visible even through the bandages.

“Who is he?” Choji, who was standing next to Minaru, asked in a whisper, his hand shaking visibly where it clutched his Kunai. She understood it, she could feel the fear from Shikamaru as well. It was their first run-in with someone who could emit KI like Zabuza did right now. She suppressed a sigh. Without her memories as Naruto it would have been way harder for her, too. Living through six years of war and watching everyone you knew and loved die did that to you, she guessed.

Minaru reached over and pulled Choji’s shivering hand down to his side. “His nickname is the Demon of the Mist. He’s a high ranking missing nin from Kirigakure.”, she said, citing from the Bingo Book what she could. She shifted her stance a bit when Zabuza turned towards her.

“Smart kid.”, he said without letting her out of his sight.

“I like to read.”, she said defensively and pulled one of her feet back a little bit. Since she looked at him this closely she was able to see when he shifted his stance to charge at her. She pushed off the ground and backwards to topple over Tazuna with her once more. Zabuza landed behind them only to come face to face with Kakashi again.

“Forget about her. You face me, Zabuza.” Kakashi reached for his headband and pulled it up, revealing his Sharingan.

‘That’s a Sharingan.’ Shikamaru stated in their link.

Minaru suppressed a scoff. That would definitely give her away. ‘You don’t say?’

She could feel him roll his eyes. ‘Why does Kakashi have a Sharingan? He’s no Uchiha.’, he asked.

‘It was gifted to him by someone who was very important to him once. I can’t tell you more without putting you in danger.’, she explained, still holding in her laughter.

‘Sasuke is going to freak out even more once he finds out about it.’ Shikamaru said.

Minaru lifted her head a little, her senses filling with the now well known smell of a summer storm. ‘Well, we might find out about that in a minute.’, she stated in the link. Zabuza seemed to have noticed the approaching group as well because he filled the whole area with fog with his Hiding in Mist technique and then fled, going by his smell getting further away from them. 

Kakashi approached Minaru. “Is he gone?”

She nodded and squinted her eyes to try and see something through the thick fog. “Yes. He’s going towards the west. I guess he was able to sense the others.” She pointed her head in the direction from where she could sense Asuma-sensei coming closer.

Kakashi cursed and pulled his headband down over his eye again. “Hey, what’s going on?” Asuma asked as soon as he landed next to Minaru. Team 7 landed next to him, confusion on their faces.

She pushed up to him and weaved her fingers into his shirt. Shikamaru and Choji joined her soon after. Asuma put his arms around them and looked up towards Kakashi. “We have a problem. There’s a high ranking missing nin after Tazuna.”

Asuma clenched his teeth. “Who?”

“Zabuza Momochi.”

“The Demon of the Mist?!”, Asuma spluttered in shock. He pulled his team further against his hip, turning his head downwards to look at them. “You’ve done well. Your client is well and you are alive. That’s all that counts now.”, he said soothingly.

“He’s going to come back to try again, isn’t he?” Minaru asked Kakashi. They had reached Tazuna’s home by now and they were guarding him and his family while he was working on the bridge. Naruto, Minaru, Kakashi and Sasuke had joined him on this day while the others had stayed with his daughter and his grandson.

“Huh?” Kakashi asked.

Minaru suppressed the offended huff. He didn’t know her that well, of course he would be careful to share information. “Zabuza I mean. He doesn’t seem like the type to give up this easily.”, she clarified. She was balancing on the railing of the bridge while the two of them watched Naruto and Sasuke try out tree climbing at two trees next to the bridge.

Kakashi was silent for a few minutes before he finally answered her question. “No he isn’t, you’re right.” He watched as Naruto fell off the tree once more. “If I had to guess I would say he has backup somewhere and has gone to get them and instruct them about our team.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “Great…”, she mumbled.

Kakashi laughed lightly. “Don’t worry, kitten. I’m positive that between Asuma and myself you and the pups have nothing to fear.”

She looked at him. “Why do you call me that?”

He showed her an eye smile. “I’m a Hatake, little one. I can smell the Cat in you.”, he answered.

She snorted. “Kiba couldn’t do that. And he’s an Inuzuka.”, she said.

Kakashi laughed lightly. “He’s young and he’s known you for a very long time, that sometimes clouds our senses. I’m sure his mother or his sister would be able to smell it without any problems.”, he said.

A yelp made them look over to the two boys. Minaru smiled lightly. “I think you should give them a tip.”

He looked at her. “And you?”

Her smile widened. “I want to test out something my aunt told me before we left.” She waited until Kakashi had joined Naruto and Sasuke before she sat down with crossed legs and put her hands on the ground, palms down. Breathing in and out deeply she connected to the Nature’s Energy, something she had learned with the Toads in her last life. But now she was able to feel every single leaf on the trees surrounding them. She felt every little wave and rippling in the water under the bridge. A small fox was lurking in the woods near Naruto. Two Crows were circling high above them and she had to suppress a smile. Shisui was clearly worried about her, it was not normal for him to send them here to watch out for her. It was cute in its way.

You okay, Chick?, Raya asked in her mind.

‘Yeah. Just thinking.’, she answered.

About what?

‘Zabuza and his pupil, Haku. I think they would leave this life behind if we were able to show them another perspective.’, she said. ‘They aren’t the Demons the stories made them out to be.’

Raya hummed low in her throat. There might be a way…

‘Really?’ Minaru perked up at hearing that.

It’s just a chance, a thought game we entertained when we first met the people who would later become the Rayani. I’ll need to contact Akane to verify if it’s possible. But you can try to get them on your side in the meantime. If it is possible they need to agree themselves, no force is to be applied. She could feel Raya leave her own mindscape to travel over to Akane. It was a long way for her, having to jump through several mindscapes on her way there.

Minaru hummed once she was alone again. “Allright. That’s not going to be hard at all.”, she sighed and slumped over, shaking her head. How in the Spirits’ names would she convince these two to agree to change their lifestyle as rogue shinobi if she didn’t even know what she could offer them? “Just hurry, Raya. This will be quite the task as it stands. I certainly could need your help.”

The next day Minaru begged for a change of plans to ‘gather some herbs she needed for her meditations and other exercises’. Asuma-sensei and Kakashi looked at her with suspicion but conceded.

“Keep your connection to Shikamaru open. And if something feels even remotely off you call for help, you hear me?” Asuma ordered before leaving towards the bridge.

She nodded and hugged Shikamaru and Choji tightly. Choji lifted her off her feet for a second and buried his nose in her shoulder before he set her on her feet again without saying anything. He nodded at her once and turned to run off towards the bridge. That left Shikamaru and herself alone.

“I know that you need to do this alone but if you are in danger please do call for help, yeah?” Shikamaru asked and placed a hand on her cheek to rest his forehead against hers.

She smiled reassuringly at him. “I will.”, she promised. Reassured, he turned and went to join the rest of the team on the bridge.

Minaru herself turned towards the forests and started looking for the clearing Naruto had met Haku in the last time. It was already nearing noon, when she saw the bright flowers and noticed long black hair in the middle of the petals.

While she was trying to come up with a way to convince him that she meant no harm to him or Zabuza he suddenly looked up. His eyes narrowed slightly, when he looked at her. “Who are you?”, he asked. His initial shock was immediately hidden behind a kind smile but she had seen it and something about him smelled… off.

She blinked a few times, looking around the clearing. There was a second smell in the air… well hidden, most likely because Kakashi was near, but now that she was standing this close to Haku there was no mistaking it. She fixed her eyes on Haku again. “I’m not the one you expected to meet here.”, she guessed.

The way he tensed up for just a second showed her that she had guessed right. “I don’t understand.”, Haku tried to deflect.

She smiled brightly. “Oh, but I think you do, Haku.” She looked towards Zabuza’s hiding spot. “I think both of you do.”

Zabuza jumped down right next to his pupil and looked at her with wary eyes. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. “Who are you?”, he asked.

She smiled brightly at them. “We have met before. But in another form.”, she said.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes. “I think I would remember a girl like you.”, he said.

Haku shook his head. “She said something of a different form. And she knew that I would be here in this clearing, so she came looking for me for some reason. Which only leaves one possible conclusion.” He approached and looked her up and down. Then he smiled softly. “You have changed, Naruto.”

She scoffed, but her lips twitched in a fond smile.. “You don’t say. But that’s a price I was willing to pay in order to save everyone.”, she said and shrugged.

Zabuza approached as well and looked at her searchingly. “That’s definitely something the Naruto we knew would have said.”, he said and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She raised one eyebrow at him. “So you know that he’s different?”, she asked.

Haku shrugged before nodding. “We’ve been keeping an eye on him from the moment we remembered. Got us into quite some trouble with Gatou, but it was worth it.”

Minaru sucked in a breath. “Trouble with Gatou?”, she asked.

“Yeah. That freak got a hold of a little of our blood and is using that to ensure our obedience.”, Zabuza said with a growl coming from his throat.

She cursed under her breath. “Dang. I actually wanted to try and convince you to let Tazuna be and maybe try a different path in life.”

Zabuza huffed and looked over at Haku with a soft look. “Believe me, kid. I would very much want to. But he has absolute control over the two of us.”

Minaru bit into her lower lip and started chewing on it. “I will have to try to find a way to free you. I don’t want you to have to lose your lives because of this maniac again.”, she mumbled.

Haku laughed softly and approached her, his arms embracing her softly. “I would definitely appreciate that, but Zabuza-sama and myself accepted that we wouldn’t be worth saving a long time ago. But maybe we can help you guys in your fight with Gatou. Even if just a little because of the control he still has over us.”, he said.

Minaru grumbled but returned his embrace. “That’s not true, Haku. You deserve happiness just as much as anybody else.”, she answered, her face half hidden in the fabric of his Kimono. Then she turned slightly and extended a hand to pull Zabuza into the hug as well.

He stumbled over with a surprised yelp until Minaru and Haku steadied him.

Haku laughed lowly at Zabuza’s disgruntled face. But after a while he simply sighed and put his arms around the two of them. Minaru closed her eyes with a low sigh. They remembered, which was good. But she would need to find a way to get them free and she somehow guessed that would be even harder than convincing them to switch sides. Before she had a faint idea and her experiences from her last life to go by. Now she had nothing to help her along the way.

A week later Tazuna had made good progress on his bridge with their help. But on this day Minaru couldn’t shake off the bad feeling when they left the house. Naruto was still sleeping, having overdone it the day before and Hinata had stayed behind to look after him.

Shikamaru noticed as well and came over to comb his hand through her hair, trying to calm her down. “What’s the matter? You’re unsettled.”, he said and moved one hand to the back of her neck.

Sasuke shot a look at them and scoffed with a shake of his head. They ignored it. Most of their classmates had never understood their connection and they had never bothered to explain it to them.

“I am.”, she conceded and rested her forehead on his shoulder, grounding herself in the present, in the feeling of having him and Choji near. “I have a bad feeling that I can’t seem to shake off.”

Shikamaru hummed lowly. “So you think something will happen?”, he asked.

“Yes.” ‘Something that didn’t happen in my Before. The last time I had a feeling like this we stumbled right into the mess with the Uchiha.’ She had told him about a few of the things they had managed to change over time - like the Uchiha massacre.

Her nostrils flared as soon as they neared the bridge. Asuma looked at her. “What do you smell?”, he asked.

“Blood.”, she whispered.

Tazuna flinched hard and they spread out to leave the bridge builder in their middle. They arrived on the bridge to see the workers passed out, most of them with bloody wounds. But they were alive and would stay alive as far as Minaru could tell. Tazuna cursed and ran to one of his workers. “What happened?!”, he asked.

“A… monster.”, the man coughed out.

Minaru froze. ‘Monster... Could he mean…’ Just as she finished this thought mist started to rise from under the bridge.

“Long time no see, Kakashi.”, Zabuza drawled. “I see you’re still with the old man. Shame that you still are a thorn in our bosses side. Look at that brat. He’s shaking.”

Minaru swallowed her curse. So they were still under Gatou’s control. The mist cleared a little to show several clones had surrounded them.

“I’m shaking from excitement!” Sasuke scoffed.

Kakashi smiled. “Do it, Sasuke.”

A minute later a ring of water rained down around them, Sasuke having destroyed the clones.

“Hmm. He has seen through the water clones.” Zabuza said, coming out of the mist. “Seems like you could have a rival in him, Haku.”

“Indeed it does.” Haku answered.

And they weren’t alone. Two Samurai were accompanying them. Minaru looked at Zabuza and subtly raised one eyebrow. He answered by tapping his fingers against the blade of his sword once. Gatou didn’t trust them. Well, he had a reason to distrust them, but it made it even harder for them.

Zabuza looked at Haku. “Go.”

The boy nodded and vanished, only to appear again right in front of Sasuke, ready to strike out at him. Sasuke barely managed to dodge his hit. But he was able to keep up with Haku’s speed. “I don’t want to kill you. But you won’t just back off, won’t you?” Haku asked.

Sasuke scoffed. “Don’t be foolish.” He waved to Shikamaru for backup.

Minaru heard a metallic hiss right next to her and twirled away, just barely out of the reach of one of the Samurais’ attacks. “Hmm. Lighter on your feet than I thought.”, the man said.

She clenched her teeth and scowled at him. Why did these guys like to talk so much?! She didn’t get it. And they were too predictable.

Fire and light filled her mind and distracted her for a moment. She hissed at the feeling of a small cut low on her left leg. I’m back, Chick. We have found a solution.

‘I’m a little busy right now, Raya.’, she shot back and narrowly dodged the next strike. Frantically she looked for an opening. Curse her smaller and weaker body.

Let me help.

-Kakashi-

He hadn’t expected Minaru to be able to surprise the Samurai like she did. And boy, she surprised himself as well. When the Samurai she faced off against made another strike, she reached out with both hands and caught his blade between her flat palms. The samurai's eyes widened almost comically. Kakashi didn’t feel any traces of Chakra from her which meant that she had to have used something else when she stopped the blade of his Katana with her bare hands. And then she twisted her hands and the metal bent and then broke with a resounding crack, small metal parts falling to the ground at their feet. She still had the tip in her right hand when she turned around herself once only a moment later. The man looked at the broken blade in his hands in absolute horror, having lost his focus on the girl. A fatal flaw, but he would notice that soon.

The metal in Minaru’s hand twisted and stretched in a way Kakashi had never seen and formed something like a whip that she was able to throw at her opponent. It wrapped itself around the man’s neck and closed tightly in a knot. The samurai coughed, his hands grabbing at the metal band wrapped around his throat tightly in an instant. 

Kakashi was distracted by her abilities so much that he didn’t notice the second Samurai creeping up on Tazuna, the small Akimichi and himself. He would have liked to hit himself over the head for that once he did notice the man attacking the Genin.

The Akimichi boy was able to hold three blows before he went down, a cut on his right arm. Right behind him a gurgling sound told Kakashi that the second Samurai had most likely met his end. He hadn’t expected her to actually kill him, but it became clear what was the reason for it, when she rushed past him to reach the Akimichi. “Cho!”, her voice sounded panicked.

The samurai turned her way with a cruel smirk. She ducked and slid under the Katana that swung her way and sent a kick at the Samurai that sent him flying backwards a few feet. Kakashi blinked in shock. How much strength did she hide in that small body? Then she knelt down right next to her teammate. Frantically she wrapped a handkerchief she had pulled from somewhere around his wound. 

When the Samurai got back up she froze and Kakashi couldn’t suppress a shiver. Something was totally wrong. The air seemed to press down on him and it had gotten almost completely silent around them. What was happening?

The temperature was rising steadily, steam rising around them in several places like pillars flowing to the sky. Minaru was breathing heavily, her back shivering violently.

“Shit!”, he could hear the Nara heir curse loudly. “Get out of my way, Ice-freak!”

A high pitched screech sounded in the air and then Kakashi saw the second Samurai run his way with terror in his eyes. Minaru was right on his heels. She jumped over him and stopped the man in his tracks. And Kakashi totally froze for the second time this day. Because he had caught a glimpse of her eyes. Bright golden eyes with two blood red rings separating the Iris. 3 red Tomoe were spinning on the rings.

When she reached for the man’s throat the heat intensified ten times. “You will pay tenfold for what you did to him.” Even her voice sounded different. A little higher maybe. Definitely much angrier than he had ever heard her.

The man shivered and tried to scramble away from her. But she held on tight.

A loud crack shook the bridge and a moment later the Nara heir jumped by him and caught a hold of Minaru, wrapping both arms around her chest, so she had to drop the Samurai. He pulled her away from the man who had fainted by now. Since when did Naras move this fast?! “Enough, Raya. Let go of her. We’re safe. She’s safe.”, he said and looked directly into her eyes. What did he mean, safe?! There were still two… wait. Kakashi sent out another sensory pulse, to the same effect. Zabuza and his pupil were gone. But why the hell did he call the girl Raya? What was going on?

Minaru scowled a little, her head tilted to the side. “That man hurt Choji.”, the other voice said.

“And I’m pretty sure Asuma-sensei will be more than happy to punish him for it.” Shikamaru said. “We don’t need you for that. You’ve had to do enough already. Go back to sleep, Raya.”

The other voice looked at him for a few more minutes, a silent battle going on between them. At that time Asuma and Sasuke joined him. All of them looked at Minaru with wide eyes. So Asuma didn’t know what was going on, as well. Somehow, that relieved Kakashi a little.

The other voice - he still didn’t know how else to describe it - looked at them before sighing. “All right. But I need to do one more thing.” She turned toward the foot of the bridge and raised one hand.

When Kakashi followed her gaze he cursed. Dozens of Ninja and Samurai were gathered there and at the front was… “Gatou.” Asuma whispered.

The temperature rose again and Kakashi turned back towards Minaru. A tear that seemed to be made of flames had appeared over her hand. Then it began to move. Wings unfolded, flames running over the entire body of the bird. Several long tailfeathers swaying softly in the wind. Kakashi had to suppress a whimper. His father had told him about beings like that. “A phoenix.”, he mumbled. “A protector of life.” The bird’s golden eyes - the eyes that Minaru had had - turned to him for a moment before it faced forward again. Then it spread its wings and with one beating of the wings and a loud screech, it rushed at the group of enemies that stood frozen at the base of the bridge. A wall of flame erupted and bathed the group on the bridge in orange light.

Minaru slumped to the ground, taking Shikamaru down with her.