Overtwisted

“Hold it like this,” Hikari instructed, adjusting Naruto’s grip around the practice kunai in his hand. The little boy nodded, an expression of intense concentration on his face as he listened to his sister and eyes focused on the target set up a few feet away. “You’ll hurt your wrist otherwise.”

“Okay! Can I try to throw it now?”

Smiling at her brother’s eagerness, Hikari nodded and stepped back. “Go for it.”

Naruto made sure that his hand was still in the correct grip and threw it as hard as he could at the target. It hit the wood with a low thud, before falling to the forest floor. The blond child wilted; though the kunai had hit the target, it was nowhere near the centre.

“Hey, that’s actually pretty good,” Hikari noted with some surprise as she studied the target; the wood had chipped off where Naruto had struck it with the kunai. He certainly had a lot of power in his throws.

“But it didn’t hit the centre,” Naruto pouted but perked up almost instantly, running to fetch his kunai. “I’ll practice more!”

“You do that, Naru. Oh, I’ll tell you a secret.”

Hikari gestured for the boy to come closer and whispered into his ear, “When I first threw a kunai, I didn’t even hit the target.”

Blue eyes widened in shock and Naruto stared at his sister, blurting out, “But you’re so good!”

“Lots of practice,” Hikari replied with a grin, ruffling the blond locks before nudging him back towards the target. “Keep trying, Naru. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay!”

Leaving the boy to his own devices, Hikari looked around, taking in everything that was happening.

Karin was nose-deep in a book, Manami seated next to her with a scroll of her own. The girl was studying up on chakra, while her mother was delving into the basics of Fuuinjutsu. A little to the side was Minato, discussing something with Yashamaru; Hikari assumed it was either regarding supplies or their next destination.

She let her eyes drift, spotting Obito with Gaara, the Uchiha watching carefully as the little redhead worked with his sand. Kakashi was also close by, teaching Kankuro how to make better use of chakra strings in order to help with his puppetry.

That left Temari.

The eldest of the Sand siblings was all by herself, a deep frown on her face as she tried to wield it. But it appeared that something was wrong with the weapon, as it didn’t even open.

“Is something wrong, Temari?”

Said girl startled upon being addressed, looking up with wide eyes. When Temari saw that it was only Hikari, she relaxed and hesitantly held out her fan, “It seems to be jammed somewhere.”

The older girl took the weapon, turning it around in her hands before trying to open it herself. True to Temari’s observation, it was jammed, the metal plates not budging even the slightest bit. “We might need to get it repaired.”

“Oh…”

Temari’s expression dropped, sadness visible in her teal eyes. Since winter had passed, the adults had agreed to let the children train and she didn’t want to be left out because of a malfunctioning weapon. Temari had been looking forward to training just for the sake of it, too.

The change in mood did not go noticed and Hikari placed a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, smiling when the latter looked up.

“Up for a trip to the nearby village, Temari?”

“Huh?”

“You can’t train like this, right?”

“Yes, but…is it okay?”

“Of course!”

Hikari beamed when Temari brightened; sealing the fan into a storage scroll, she called to her father, “Dad, Temari and I are going to the village!”

Minato looked over at the two girls, pausing his conversation with Yashamaru. A blond eyebrow rose in question, “Sure, but what for?”

“We need to get Temari’s fan looked at, and I thought I’d pick up some snacks too.”

“You’re spoiling the kids, Hikari,” Minato shook his head ruefully. Hikari hoarded snacks and little treats like precious gems, bribing the other kids with them or flat-out indulging them. Although…the adults were the same. “Alright, but be back before dusk.”

Yashamaru nodded in agreement, smiling gently at his niece when Temari looked to him for permission. “Be careful, Temari-sama. Oh, and if the two of you are alright with it, could you get these as well?”

Hikari took the list the man held out, finding that it was a list of supplies that they were running low on. “I thought we needed more stuff? There are a few items missing on this list.”

“Yes, but we decided that they can wait until we reach a larger village. Quality goods are better, after all.”

“True,” the redhead shrugged and tucked the list into her pocket. Grabbing Temari’s hand, Hikari waved goodbye, “We’re off!”

Just before they entered the village, Hikari stopped behind a tree. Temari stopped as well, looking at the older girl with questioning eyes.

“Is something wrong, Hikari-nee?”

“No. I just thought I’d change my looks,” Hikari replied thoughtfully, twirling a strand of red hair. Whenever they stepped foot into any village, the family always changed the colour of their hair and occasionally, their eyes. Too many of them had eye-catching shades.

Slanting a glance at the patient five-year-old next to her, Hikari grinned.

A quick sequence of hand-signs later, the colour of her hair and eyes changed.

Temari blinked. “You look like me.”

True enough, Hikari now had long sandy blond hair and teal eyes. Anyone looking at the two girls would call them sisters.

“I thought it would be nice to match,” the older girl said, watching Temari’s face for any sign of discomfort. “Does it bother you?”

Temari shook her head, slipping her hand into Hikari’s and saying, “I think it’s nice too. I like your red hair though.”

“Maybe we’ll make you a redhead next time!”

“Maybe.”

With that, the two girls walked into the village, quickly blending in with the crowd. It wasn’t a very large village, but there were many caravans that passed through the place, so there was a lot of activity. It wasn’t strange for two young girls to be walking around by themselves.

The blacksmith’s shop came into view and Temari subconsciously picked up the pace, dragging an amused Hikari behind her. A man with a grizzly beard looked up when the girls approached him.

“What do you kids want?”

“Can you fix this?” Hikari asked, pulling the battle fan from the storage scroll in her pouch. She held it out, waiting for the man to take it.

The man raised an eyebrow but otherwise showed no surprise at the sight of a kid using storage scrolls. Hikari assumed it was because he had likely seen quite the assortment of people in his shop. In any case, the blacksmith wouldn’t give them any trouble.

Humming as he inspected the battle fan, the man took in the fine workmanship and the quality. It wasn’t something the average traveller owned and a quick look at the kids told him that they were probably either part of a mercenary group or wandering shinobi.

“Some of the gears are worn out,” he grunted. “Need to replace them.”

“Oh. How soon can you fix it?”

“Couple of hours, tops.”

“Awesome,” Hikari grinned and shelled out the advance payment for the repairs, Temari sighing in relief. “We’ll be back later then, old man!”

The blacksmith chuckled at the waving girls and turned back to his work.

Odd pair of sisters, those two were, unflinching in front of a hardened man like him.

Hikari looked over the list in her hand, ticking off the last few items on it with a satisfied smile. ‘Temari should have gotten her fan by now,’ she thought, tucking the list and a storage scroll into her pocket. The two girls had split up when the allocated time had passed, leaving Hikari to finish their shopping while the younger girl ran off to the blacksmith.

‘Best to use Hiraishin to get back,’ the disguised redhead thought as she headed in the direction she sensed Temari. ‘We’ve spent too long here.’

All of a sudden, unease crept into Temari’s chakra, making Hikari frown and speed up. She switched to a full-out sprint when the discomfort exploded into fear, anger and panic, weaving between the people on the streets.

“Let me go!”

The little girl’s shrill voice reached Hikari’s ears before she saw her, filled with so much agitation that fed the fury building within her. Whoever was scaring her little sister was going to pay.

“Come on, kiddo, I just want to ask you a few questions.”

Bells rang in the back of her head at the strangely familiar voice but Hikari ignored it, breaking through the crowd of people that had gathered at the commotion.

‘Is that…?’

A tall man with long, spiky, white hair, dressed in green and red, was holding onto Temari’s wrist, expression guileless as he tried to convince the adults surrounding him. Mainly, it was the blacksmith who was glaring at him and holding his hammer threateningly.

“Let the kid go,” the grizzly man ordered, eyes narrowed at the strange man who had grabbed the little girl out of nowhere. He wasn’t convinced that he was the kid’s relative, not when the girl was casting a vicious glare at the man, hand clenched around the battle fan on her back.

“Hey, I don’t want any trouble.”

“Then let the kid go.”

By then, the crowd was clamouring for the oddly-dressed man to let go of the girl. The man barely glanced at them, eyes flickering between the blacksmith and the girl in his grasp.

Movement on his left made him jerk, a shock running through his arm a moment making him hiss and drop the girl’s arm. Looking at his arm, he found a seal tag stuck to his sleeve, crackling for a second before bursting into flame.

“That’s for daring to hurt my little sister,” a slightly older girl, sharing similar features to the other girl hissed at the possible kidnapper furiously, backing away rapidly from the squawking man.

Grunting in approval, the blacksmith made a shooing motion at the girls, “Get out of here and go home, brats. We’ll deal with him.”

Hikari nodded and tore her eyes away from the man, wrapping a hand around Temari and ushering into a nearby alleyway. “Thanks, old man!”  she called over her shoulder at the blacksmith, spine stiff and expression tense.

She waited for a moment to memorise the chakra signature of the white-haired man, triggering the Hiraishin when she was satisfied, whisking herself and Temari away from the village.

Jiraiya mentally cursed as the two girls disappeared from sight, before turning his attention to the menacing form of the blacksmith and an assortment of other adults.

He knew that harassing a little girl would never sit well with anyone, least of all civilians.

But when he had seen the girl who bore a striking resemblance to the Kazekage’s daughter, he knew had to investigate.

Jiraiya might have been a little too overzealous in his attempt though.

Directing a cheeky salute and bow to the advancing adults, he used a Shunshin to disappear from the scene. Jiraiya appeared in a tree some distance away, but still within the village.

“Hmm, those two girls did look like sisters,” he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “But the Kazekage had only one daughter, not two…”

Truthfully, Jiraiya had no real interest in the Kazekage’s missing children. If it wasn’t for the fact that one of them was the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, he wouldn’t have bothered to approach the girl.

It might be far-fetched, but he hoped that there might be a connection to his godson’s disappearance.

Scouring Hi no Kuni had turned up nothing, so Jiraiya had extended his search to the rest of the Elemental nations. Finding the Temari-lookalike was the first clue he had gotten; even if it was fruitless in his search for Naruto, returning the Kazekage’s children might earn some brownie points for Konoha.

“Alright, time to hunt down some brats! Wait, that sounded wrong somehow…”

When Hikari and Temari appeared without warning right in the middle of their camp, Minato shot to his feet, ready for anything.

“What hap-”

“We need to get out of here, now!”

His daughter’s interruption confused him, even more so when the girl dispelled her Henge and rushed Temari towards Yashamaru. Noticing the whirlwind of activity, the others gathered around as well.

“Sweetheart, what happened in the village?” Minato asked his daughter, even as he gestured for Kakashi and Obito to pack up, Manami and Yashamaru herding the children towards the middle of the camp.

“Jiraiya is in the vicinity,” came the terse reply, making Minato and Yashamaru stiffen. Manami did not know the significance of the name, nor did the children. But there was a muffled curse from Obito and a sudden tenseness in Kakashi’s movements.

If anyone could put the pieces about their identities together, it would be Jiraiya.

Should the Sannin even get a glimpse of their group, he would be on their trail like a bloodhound.

That would bring Konoha and possibly Suna down on their heads, something they wished to avoid like the plague. They were doing just fine without the villages’ interference.

Yashamaru proceeded to begin removing the traces of their presence, questioning as he worked, “How did he find us?”

“I doubt he’s on our trail, actually. It’s more likely to be a coincidence. I didn’t disguise Temari and he might have recognized her,” Hikari replied in a distracted voice. “Thankfully, my Henge was made to look like her and he might be thrown off by our similarities.”

“But that will buy us only a little time,” Obito pointed out, dumping the folded tents into a storage scroll. “The man might act like a giant idiot but he’s earned his reputation.”

Minato shook his head. “Even so, he would not think the girls could have travelled such a long distance in a short time. I suspect he’s still searching the village.”

Hikari confirmed his suspicions, some of the panic leaving her expression. “I memorised his chakra signature. I can track him now and Dad’s right; he’s still in the village. I give him fifteen minutes before he heads into the forest in pursuit.”

“Who’s Jiraiya?” Manami interrupted when it seemed like the others were calming down. Behind her, the kids were staring at the adults with curious eyes, Temari being the only one who had any idea what was going on.

Minato was the one to reply, voice strained.

“My Genin instructor…and Naruto’s godfather.”

The last part was said in a whisper, so that only the woman could hear. There was no way he was letting that little piece of information reach his son’s ears; at least, not yet. The boy was only just building up confidence and self-esteem; if he found out that someone who was supposed to take care of him had abandoned him, it might lead to a relapse.

By the way dark eyes hardened, Minato knew that Manami had understood the implication.

“Alright. I’ll keep the children distracted until we’re ready to leave,” the woman said, giving Minato a look that said she wanted more information later. “Where are we going now?”

“We were thinking of Ame or Taki. Considering the season, Taki would be better.”

The knowing smile Manami was giving him told Minato that he wasn’t subtle and he chuckled sheepishly, Yashamaru hiding a laugh behind his hand.

“Minato-sama, if there is something you need to do in Ame, you don’t need to wait,” Yashamaru told the older man, turning to sort through the storage scrolls that contained all of their supplies. “We know that you have plans that are unknown to us.”

“Well…”

Obito marched up to the trio at that moment, Kakashi at his heels. “Sensei’s right that Taki is better. We don’t have much information on Ame and we are not going to head in unprepared.”

“Besides, it will be dangerous for the kids,” Kakashi added, raising an eyebrow at the group of children who were trying to eavesdrop. “A few of us going in as scouts would be recommended.”

“That’s all well and good, but are you guys done?”

Startling at the irritated voice, they turned around to see Hikari with her arms crossed over her chest and tapping a foot against the ground impatiently. When all of their attention was directed at her, she continued, “Jiraiya’s left the village and while he is heading in the opposite direction, it’s only a matter of time before he circles around. I’d prefer to be long gone by then.”

“Quite right,” Minato agreed with a sheepish expression, casting a look around at their campsite only to blink in surprise when he found that it had been cleared of all marks of human presence.

“You were taking so long that I just finished by myself.”

“Sorry, Hikari. So, Taki?”

“Sounds good. We could Hiraishin to that village we marked near Kusa before crossing the border into Taki.”

Jiraiya gave up his search for the two girls three hours later with a disgruntled scowl, more certain than ever that the younger girl had been Sabaku no Temari.

There was no other reason for them to up and vanish completely.

Whatever it might be, the forest was clear of any campsites and the village inn had no one the same age as the girls.

‘No point in pursuing it further. The Kazekage’s brat has no relation to Naruto. I’ll send a message about her to Sensei but that’s it,’ Jiraiya thought, whipping out a small scroll and a brush. Hiruzen had not needed to order his old student to keep him updated about his search. The information about Temari might interest him, even if it was unrelated to Uzumaki Naruto.

As he scribbled out the message, Jiraiya absently thought about everything that had happened since his godson’s disappearance.

The two strangers who had committed arson in Konoha.

The assistance from Kuro, as nicknamed by Shikaku, during the Hyuuga incident.

Kakashi going MIA.

The disappearance of the Kazekage’s children and brother-in-law.

‘And now a kid far away from home,’ Jiraiya mused, rolling up the scroll and summoning a messenger toad to take it to the Sandaime Hokage. ‘Could they be all related?’

The toad puffed away, leaving the Sannin by himself in the gradually darkening forest. It would be night soon, but the man wasn’t bothered. There was nothing amongst the trees that he couldn’t handle. His last thought as he decided to find a place to stay for the night was one of dismissal.

‘Nah, that’s just too far-fetched. What would anyone want with high-risk kids anyway?’

Once Manami and Yashamaru had disappeared into their tents with the younger children after training, dinner and explanations, not necessarily in that order, Minato turned to his daughter and students.

“I thought we could scout Ame tonight.”

None of the three looked surprised.

“Thought you might say that,” Hikari commented with a smile. Ame was a place of interest because it was where the Akatsuki had its headquarters. At least, that was how it had been in the other dimension.

“Kakashi and I will go in,” Obito declared, his tone of voice leaving no room for arguments. Next to him, said Hatake looked amused at being included so decisively without his own input. He didn’t protest though, simply shrugging when two pairs of blue eyes focused on him.

Minato raised an eyebrow, “Is it because you had spent a lot of time in Ame, Obito?”

“That, and I can easily get in and out using Kamui. I know what to look for as well.”

“And you’re taking Kakashi because he could use the practice,” Hikari tacked on to the Uchiha’s words, grinning when he rolled his eyes at her. “Dad, can you lend Kakashi-nii your katana?”

“The chakra-conducting one? Sure,” Minato replied, a knowing look on his face as he reached for a specific storage scroll in his pocket. He unsealed a beautifully crafted katana and held it out.

Kakashi took the weapon carefully, reverence in his touch as he drew it and took in the seals carved into the metal. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why do I need it?”

Obito snorted and shook his head, knowing full well what the redhead was aiming for. “You could use a weapon, especially for your Raiton. Sensei’s katana is designed for Fuuton and Raiton; the brat wants you to test it and see how well it works for you in a combat situation so that we can get something customised for you later.”

“That sounds nice. Thank you.”

Hikari grinned and waved a dismissive hand at the two amused teenagers, “Now, shoo, go!”

Minato fluttered around their new campsite on silent feet, applying various seals around the perimeter. As much as none of them were against strangers, it was better to be safe than sorry when there were so many kids. Gaara was the only one who had a good defence and while the rest could fight to a certain level, it was too dangerous for them.

Hikari didn’t count, not even to Manami and Yashamaru.

“Dad?”

When Minato turned to see the very girl currently occupying his thoughts, he received a slight smile that made him blink. “What is it?”

“You’re agitated.”

“Ah…is it that noticeable?”

The redhead shook her head, her ponytail swishing with the movement. “No, but Obito-nii, Kakash-nii and I know you too well to not pick up on it.”

Minato stared at his daughter for a long moment, expression blank. It was near impossible to read his thoughts and emotions, only detectable by the most observant of people and that too only by the faint flickering of his blue eyes.

Shoulders slumping, the blond man managed a weak smile. “I can’t hide anything from you, huh?”

“I should hope not,” Hikari snorted, sidling up to lean against her father. “Want to talk about it?”

“Do I even have a choice?”

“Nope, unless you promise to not mope.”

Minato sighed. He knew that he would be sulking for a while if he didn’t vent and he didn’t want to inflict that on the others. As it was, they would already be on edge for the next few days, all eyes out for people who would be likely to disturb their preferred lifestyle.

Picking up on her father’s depressing thoughts, Hikari poked him in the side before pressing even closer to him. “It’s about Jiraiya.”

“Yes.”

“So? Spill it, Dad.”

“It’s just…” Minato threw his hands up in frustration, traces of anger on his face. His blue eyes darkened, giving him a frankly threatening appearance. “I’m mad at him.”

Hikari didn’t interrupt, sensing that her father needed to voice his innermost thoughts.

“Both back then and now, Jiraiya abandoned you guys. You didn’t even know about him until you were almost thirteen! And after that, he refused to involve himself with you until you forced him. This is a different Jiraiya, but he also abandoned Naruto. For all we know, he wouldn’t have come into Naruto’s life until much, much later.”

Hikari hummed. “You feel betrayed.”

Wasn’t that the crux of it?

Minato and Kushina had trusted Jiraiya as the godfather of their precious child and so had their counterparts.

But the Sannin had failed spectacularly.

“Yes,” Minato whispered as the fight drained out of him, leaving him boneless and half-draped over his daughter. He hugged her close and buried his face in her hair, murmuring, “He left you alone, Hikari, and I don’t think I can forgive him for that.”

Returning the hug, Hikari patted her father’s back in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

“I didn’t know Jiraiya was my godfather until you told me,” she stated, tightening her grip when Minato startled and tried to pull away. “Ero-sennin never brought it up and I had no reason to suspect anything. Sure, I knew the two of you were teacher and student but that was it.”

“…why aren’t you angry at him?”

“Because for the time I knew him, he cared for me. He trained me, helped me grow. For that, I love him. And well…if I were to hold a grudge against all the people who wronged me, I’d have to spend all my life hating pretty much everyone.”

Minato didn’t have to see the helpless smile on Hikari’s face to know it was there. His daughter’s heart was truly gentle and strong. “But I can’t think that way.”

“You don’t need to, Dad. You trusted Jiraiya and he let you down. Even if this is not the same Jiraiya we knew, he’s already not off to a good start.”

“If it’s about you, you hardly care, but if it’s for someone else, you’re indignant. If I didn’t know you, Hikari, I’d be concerned. Back to Jiraiya…some might say that his desperate search for Naruto could absolve him.”

Hikari snorted, the derisive note in the sound proving she was just as upset as Minato at Jiraiya. “It shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.”

“That’s true.”

Minato finally pulled away, the redhead’s grip on him loosening. It felt like something within him had settled; coming to terms with Jiraiya’s failures had eased some of the turmoil in his heart. He wouldn’t be forgiving the older man just yet, but they had time.

Their paths would eventually cross again.

“Hey, Hikari?”

“Yes, Dad?”

“What are you expecting Obito and Kakashi to find in Ame?”

“Oh, answers about this world’s Obito, the original Akatsuki…”

“Hmm. Was Hanzo defeated yet?”

“Ehh…no clue?”

“…”

“What?”

“You do realise we just sent the boys into what is probably a nation currently embroiled in civil war?”

“It’s Obi-nii and Kashi-nii. If anything, it’s the Ame nin who should watch out.”

“…are you planning to take over Ame?”

“Nah, I’ll leave that to Nagato and Konan.”

“So you really are planning it.”

“Ha! No comment!”