A/N: All characters and places belong to Kishimoto…. except the ones that don't.
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Chapter 5 - Consequences
-Minato-
When the door opened, Arashi came in with Bear and Kakashi.
He raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's apparent appearance. He was pretty sure that he only sent Bear to bring Arashi. Kakashi saw that and just shrugged his shoulders. He sweatdropped at his student's behaviour, knowing his student, Kakashi probably wanted to get a good look at their village's Jinchuriki since he never assigned Kakashi to guard the orphanage.
Then he got a good look at Arashi, the last time he saw the red-haired kid was when he was 2 years old and after the speech this morning Minato wasn't able to have a good look. Arashi had dark scarlet red hair, unlike Kushina and Mito who have dull red hair. He looks about 3 and a half feet tall so he is probably taller than Naruto and Mito and he has deep blue eyes. He had to admit Arashi was pretty adorable. If the kid hadn't been the Jinchuriki, he probably would have been adopted by a civilian couple.
Ahhh…..and the guilt is back.
Shaking his head and coming out of his thoughts, Minato stood up to greet him.
"Arashi-kun, it's nice to meet you." He extended his hand for a handshake.
One of the last Uzumaki eyed him warily for a moment which was surprising since Minato knew that the kid knew that he was the Hokage and that wasn't the reaction children usually have when he met them. It's usually awe and reverence. This wasn't what should be normal behaviour for a 4-year-old.
Arashi then glanced back at senpai, completely ignoring me.
"You called me, Akane-san."
This caused various reactions across the room. Kakashi snickered. Bear looked stunned. Senpai lips twitched. Minato also raised his eyebrows.
Well…..that never happened before.
Akane-senpai, who was definitely finding this whole situation funny, addressed her ward.
"Yes brat, you see this gentleman here" she gestured at me "came to do a check-up on you. So, go sit on the sofa over there and let him do his job."
Arashi seemed confused by this.
"Huh, but did you not just last week warned us not to interact with strangers? If you don't take your own words seriously no-one will, Akane-san. Geez…..you still have a lot to learn, don't you? Don't worry you have me here, we can work on it together."
He almost burst out laughing when he heard that and by the look of it so did Kakashi and Bear but fortunately, but they didn't because judging by the vein that was about to burst on senpai's forehead it would not have been good for them.
She glared at us then turned to Arashi who immediately went rigid when a sickly sweet smile was directed at him. "Oh… so the little brat has grown quite a mouth since morning, did he? You do remember what happened this morning, don't you? We wouldn't want that to happen it again, do we?"
"I-I was k-kidding, you know. To lighten the mood….. I-I am going to sit on the sofa now."
Arashi quickly walked towards the sofa.
Senpai seemed to be satisfied with his behaviour.
Minato also moved to sit in front of him quickly so that her ire may not be directed at himself.
When he sat in front of Arashi, he eyed me carefully again.
"So, you are The Hokage."
Minato was startled by his tone but didn't show it. Unlike with senpai, this time it held no respect at all. He knows that he shouldn't expect respect from a 4-year-old who has met him the first time but they usually do show at least some amount of respect. Something was definitely up. He just doesn't know what. The seal should prevent any influence from Nine-Tail's what so ever.
This also got the attention of the whole room.
"Ahh….Yes." Minato answered.
"Do I call you Hokage or do you have a name?" He questioned me in a neutral tone.
"You don't know my name?" He asked, surprised. He knew for a fact that education is given in the orphanage as least as it covers basic reading-writing and names of all the Hokages.
Arashi seemed nonchalant about it and gave me a deadpanned stare.
"Would I have asked for it if I did know?"
"Well, the name of all the Hokages are taught in the orphanage's classes, is it not? Were you not taught about it there." He asked him curiously.
"Well, I didn't bother remembering any of them. I thought if it was really that important then they would come up again in the Academy." The kid just shrugged his shoulders when he said that.
"Ahh….well it will also be taught there but…. Forget it. As for the name, it is Minato Namikaze."
"Okay then….. Minato, I got a question to ask. Do you mind?" He noticed that the Jinchuriki didn't use any honorific. Not -sama or even -san. It seems that this kid gives no shit about respect to others except Akane-senpai. He also noticed Bear wasn't taking this well.
Bear seemed to be irritated at his behaviour but he gave him the look that shut him up.
Then he turned back to Arashi.
"I don't see any reason to not answer your questions, so ask away." Minato told him with a cheerful smile.
"Am I the only one who is getting the check-up? I mean…. No other children were called before me or am I the first one being called?"
"Ahhh….. well you are the only one today," He replied truthfully. No use lying to him now, Arashi might find out from others and will know that he was lying. He needed to build trust between them or there might be complications in the future.
"Why?" His tone was now guarded. This isn't good. This kid has major trust issues for a 4-year-old.
Deciding to set him at ease and Minato put his hands on Arashi's head and ruffled his hair like he occasionally do with the twins. They seem to like it.
"Well Arashi, that's because you are quite special."
That didn't do the job at all, in fact, it made him even more guarded. Arashi slowly removed his right hand from his head with the left hand.
"Right…." The words were drawled out "I am so special that everyone avoids me." This time the tone was sarcastic.
Minato flinched at that statement and couldn't help but look guiltily at him.
The others in the room seemed to have the same idea.
Arashi either hadn't noticed his expression or didn't care.
Probably didn't care.
And moved to speak more but slumped down the next second and a hand caught him.
His eyes moved to see Akane-senpai standing there. She must have knocked him out with a neck chop but why?
She turned to me.
He gave her a questioning look.
She sighed.
"The brat would have asked questions all day long. He is not so good with formalities. You want to have a good relationship with him in the future, don't you? Come visit him some other time. So far he has only shown me some semblance of respect but he might show it to you too if you earn it. He doesn't trust others easily."
It was then Bear spoke much to my and Kakashi's dread.
"He was talking to Hokage, the leader of the village. The brat needs to rein in his attitude. I don't know what you are doing in the orphanage if the kids can't even respect or even recognise the name of the village's leader."
Kakashi moved away from his colleague, likely knowing the consequences of his foolish action that were about to fall on Bear. Bear was a new ANBU, so he didn't actually know the reputation of 'Lady Akane' among the ANBU force. Looks like he was about to get the first-hand experience.
Damnit! He knew that he shouldn't have brought a new recruit here.
It was then the temperature of the room dropped. Bear started shaking under the Killer Intent senpai leaked even though ANBU has been trained to resist it in their training.
Just goes to show she is still to be reckoned with even though she has retired.
"Oh…. little cub has a big mouth? Haven't anyone taught you that when adults are speaking, little brats don't talk? Next time you talk out of turn, I will cut your tongue out and shove the mask you are wearing down your throat so you don't ever talk. Do you understand?" Her voice was laced with menace. Minato knew this wasn't a threat but a promise.
The bear was now trembling against her might but managed to give a shaky nod.
"Good. Now get out of here before I change my mind about killing you."
He doesn't think Bear ever moved that fast. Kakashi also moved to join him but Senpai stopped him.
"And where are you going, eh, pup?" senpai's sweet voice called out to him.
Kakashi froze on his spot, stayed still for a moment and then slowly turned to her.
"I-I was gonna check on B-Bear. You know, see to that he does nothing stupid." His student shuttered out.
"No, you wait until the check-up is done. I have to talk to you about how to properly train your juniors." If Kakashi hasn't been wearing a mask Minato was pretty sure he would have been able to his paled face. Kakashi just nodded and stayed still.
He went back to the check-up. The room was silent during the whole check-up. Once he was done with and satisfied with the seal he stood up from the stool. Abnormal behaviour has not due to Nine-Tails's influence. The problem had to be with his deep-seated issue. Seriously, not even 4 years old and already signs of mental issues. Something needed to be done.
By the time he was done, Senpai was already back on her seat.
He also went back to his previous seat. She gave him a questioning glance.
"Everything is all right for now, I will do a check-up on him from now on for a few years….and try to visit him and build a relationship between us. He seems distrustful of everyone except you. When he joins the Ninja corps., he needs to have trust in village leaders. I might be able to bring the twins but that solely depends on Kushina. We will have to do something about his trust issue. This isn't normal. This seems to be the first step."
Senpai nodded but remained quiet. He tried to bring up another topic.
"So….. Senpai, do you still think the job of Matron of an orphanage is still not for you?"
She glanced at him then sighed.
"I already told you it's better than the field…..but I gotta ask why did you offer me the job? Did the previous matron die or something? I never really got to know anything about her. And why me? Others might have been interested in this job as opposed to me at the beginning. I admit I like the job now but I wasn't a fan of it before. I didn't ask this before but now that you are bringing this topic might as well."
"You were offered this job because after that incident you were the only one I could trust to take care of Arashi. The civilians wouldn't see a baby but a monster in him and the Ninja population were too emotional at that time. They might have hurt him thinking of him as Nine-Tails." He truthfully told her.
"As for the previous matron, she had lost her son in Nine-Tails's attack and had tried to poison Arashi the day after I had left him here. Thankfully, the ANBU were guarding him so we were able to stop her. She was later dealt with." He added.
She nodded at his response. She then turned towards Kakashi who went stiff at the attention directed at him by her.
"Now you, I hope you haven't been reading that porno inside my orphanage." She smiled at him. The smile didn't bode well for his student. There would have been hell to pay if he answered wrong. Fortunately, he didn't.
"O-Of course, Lady Akane."
She eyed his student suspiciously but nodded.
"Good, now I hope after today you will properly educate your juniors before you bring them here."
Kakashi just nodded. She then turned her attention back to me.
"You may have to increase the security on Arashi. He will probably go in secluded places to do his training and he might call on the unwanted attention. We don't want that, do we?"
Minato noticed the implications of that statement and nodded.
"And also there was an ANBU outside the orphanage that was definitely not yours."
Not his ANBU? Is she talking about Root?
"So, tell Danzō that if any children from my orphanage go missing, I will shove that remaining eye of his down his throat after I burn down his rag-tag group of ninjas." Her voice was low but the words were clear. This was a promise.
Yep, definitely Root. Seriously, doesn't Danzō know not to mess with her?
"I-I will pass the message."
"So….. anything else you want to discuss. I don't have all day, you know." She added, quite irritated if I must say.
He got up from his seat. "No! Everything is done. Let's go Kakashi-kun. Have a good day senpai." He then bid her farewell and quickly went out of the room.
When we were out of the orphanage Minato turned his attention to Bear.
"Bear, next time please heed the warnings that are laid by your seniors or you might not live to hear them the second time."
Bear nodded his head. "H-Hai, Hokage-sama." His voice was trembling. Looks like he is still scared.
He then turned to Kakashi, "Kakashi-kun, we may have to increase the security on Arashi. Make all the ANBU aware not to draw senpai's ire. We already have less ANBU ninjas than needed, I don't want to make the number even less if I can help it."
Kakashi nodded, "Hai, Sensei. I will see that everyone is informed in the base."
"So, what do you think of little Arashi?" He asked curiously. Kakashi did go to get Arashi
"… He is quite perceptive for his age. He is also smart if the way he talked is anything to go by."
He nodded his head at that. Arashi was definitely perceptive and smart for his age. During the talk, Minato almost forgot that he was talking to a child. Mito and Naruto aren't at Arashi's level yet.
"He is also hardworking from what I saw."
He have him questioning glance at that. "How so?" He asked his student
"He was training when we went to pick him up. He told us otherwise but I could tell. Kids his age don't train, they play. At least in this time, when we aren't at war. Heck, even clan children don't start their training until they are at least 5-year-old. Have you seen Naruto or even Mito training? No, they play with other children."
"Hmm….." he mused. Minato then had an idea
"Kakashi-kun, tell the guards that you assign to watch him, that if he does manage to find them during his training and ask for their help. They can give him tips if they want."
Kakashi cocked his head to the side asking the unasked question.
"Hard work should be rewarded, and if he does manage to find that he is being watched the training tips can be his prize. He is an Uzumaki so he might be a sensor."
Kakashi just nodded his head. Now that is done. I have to meet with a certain War-Hawk.
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-Arashi-
My eyes fluttered as I woke up from slumber. I looked around and noticed that I was in my room and I could tell that it was still afternoon from the rays coming through the window.
First, came confusion, why the hell am I sleeping in the middle of the day?
Then came clarity, wait – I remember….. Akane-san called me, there was Minato in her office -and something about check-up.
Then came realisation, fuck – I fucked up! I couldn't keep my temper in check and had to make him uncomfortable as possible in the meeting. I mean - it felt good but I fucked up.
There would definitely be consequences, there was no way they would let a smart 4-year old that has the chances of being a prodigy be alone and unwatched. I mean, I know I didn't show all my cards but they are definitely suspicious of me. The best I could hope for is being under extra surveillance and at worst I would be shipped to Root.
…..Goddammit.
Calm down.
Calm down.
Breathe.
Breathe.
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
….okay. Now think! How to make the best of this situation? You are a 28 years old adult with meta-knowledge, damn it. You can do it!
If I do get sent to Root, the only thing I can do is prepare my mental fortitude and hope I get through their mental brainwashing. I can't run away. Where would I even go even if I do run away? The only saving grace is that I'm not an impressionable child but an adult. I might be able to make it through the brainwashing.
Now if I don't get sent to Root, I would at least be under surveillance. I can't hide from them. I'm a 4-year-old, how can I hide from trained assassins?
But I can at least know where they are. I did get the Chakra Sensing skill.
Now speaking of that, should I change my chakra colour? From now on, I will be under surveillance and there might be Hyūga Clan or Uchiha Clan members doing it. I still don't know how would they see chakra? I know in the anime Neji saw Nine-Tails's chakra as dark orange in the chūnin exam finals. So, there is a chance they could see my change in chakra but I still don't know how Dojūtsu perceives chakra. I mean in anime they had to show it as a blue colour but that could be for viewer's convenience but there had to be something different. I mean I can admit that when outside the body, it reacts differently with light to give it blue colour but Hyūgas can see through and inside the body to see chakra. So how does that work?
So, no. I will not be changing my Chakra Colour…...for now.
In the future. Definitely!
I may do it after Academy graduation when I would at least be able to handle myself.
I mean... just because you are gonna risk your life on the job doesn't mean you can't look good doing it.
Ahem… Moving on. The next question is when to start the assimilation? It will take 20 hours and I can't just be absent for 20 hours. People will notice, especially Akane-san.
The best time would be now. I was knocked-ou- wait, who knocked me out and more importantly why was I knocked out?
I know that check-up was just a bullshit excuse for something but what?
I was singled out because I am a Jinchuriki…. Did they change the seal or something? Or did they put a new seal on me?
I got up and went in front of the mirror that was in the room and checked every part of my body thoroughly. From head to toe and even the back. I even passed chakra through my skin and the only seal I could see was on my stomach that was already there before. The Jinchuriki Seal.
Nope, no new seal. So what did they do?
Ugh... thoughts for later.
So, where was I? ….. Right! The best time would be now. I was knocked out so I could use this as an excuse.
I mentally called out to the system to bring the window of Chakra Sensing.
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Name: Chakra Sensing
Description: In some cases, when a child is conceived, there is a mutation in its body that makes it extra sensitive to chakra. This helps to sense the beings that have chakra in them in their surroundings.
Chakra Sensing Range and Accuracy can be increased with practice.
This mutation happens totally at random.
Rank: E Class
Time for Assimilation: 20 hours.
Pain Level: E Class
Sample of Ability has been stored.
Ability can be assimilated at any time.
Click PROCEED to start assimilation now
[PROCEED]
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Let's get this over with.
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{[PROCEED]}
Command received
Assimilation starting in…..
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TO BE CONTINUED…