"Farewell, mixed with hope,
with premonition of new meeting,
someday, somewhere."
Georgy Viktorovich Adamovich
18 August 1056
9:19
"Hi, guys," I greeted, landing between Sasuke and Naruto. "How's it going, you ready?"
Early weekend morning. Sun blazed; few clouds drifting skies occasionally shielded seconds from rays. No breeze either. Like it betrayed us for one day. Streets empty: folks home from heat or tribunes suffering. Whatever for two Jinchuriki, sons of two village leaders, two Uchihas! M-da, probably packed there.
"All good, Ari," Sasuke half-smiled; I noted his new outfit. Yes, anime black—but bandages not just left arm/legs, also torso, securing my gifted sword on back.
"Fine," Naruto tossed, turning away—still sulking? Odd—not his style, grudges. Maybe I hurt him bad then?
"How about you?" friend asked.
"Good, shame can't make exam—leaving clone," I said reluctantly.
"See, Sasuke? Loves friends so much she'll leave clone to watch!" Dobe snarked at Uchiha, implying I didn't care.
"Naruto, Ari might have important reasons," Sasuke defended.
"Exactly—more important than friends! Exam date known month ahead—can't spare fifteen minutes to see us crush all? We'll finish quick!"
"What if can't delay?" Sasuke pressed.
"Interesting, what could it be that can't wait a few minutes?! I bet, Ari, you won't tell us!" Naruto pretended to be surprised, then looked at me demandingly, along with Sasuke.
"Well..." as soon as I started, the image of yesterday's scroll popped into my mind, where it was written in black and white that no details of the operation could be shared with outsiders. Where we'd evacuate from. Where to. Nothing. "Sorry, but I can't say. It's classified," I lowered my head guiltily.
"See, Sasuke, I was right," Naruto snorted, walked around me, and stood next to Sasuke. In the end, Sasuke was now walking in the middle.
"Guys, honestly, can I tell you after the exams?" I asked quietly.
"Sure," Naruto tossed out curtly again.
"Fine, if you want, we'll talk about it after," Uchiha nodded calmly.
"Sasuke, Naruto, I have to go," I stopped when we were already close to the arena. "But before that, I want to give you something," I continued and started rummaging in my backpack.
"And what is it?" Sasuke asked, surprised.
"Sasuke, I made this specially for you," I handed Sasuke a vial with paralysis solution. "Gaara is the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail; knock him out, and the Bijuu is basically free. So I specially prepared this paralysis, which will keep him immobile for about an hour, maybe more," I explained, and Sasuke nodded and took the vial.
"Naruto, you're fighting someone with the Byakugan, who can see through objects, so for you I got special smoke bombs infused with chakra. It'll be harder for the Hyuga to see you and your Tengketsu if you're surrounded by nothing but smoke laced with chakra. I know perfectly well you'll win even without them, but just in case, take them," I approached my friend and extended my hand with three smoke bombs of different colors. "The two blue ones are the chakra-infused ones; the black one—Kemuridama—contains a sleep gas. Use them as intended."
"I... won't take them," Naruto replied, stumbling a bit. It was clear he wanted to, but his earlier decision made him refuse. Ugh... so stubborn.
"Naruto," I sighed, quickly grabbed his hand, and practically shoved them into it.
"Ariza?" the guy was surprised to find the Kemuridama in his hands. I didn't explain; I just hugged him.
"Naruto, good luck. I believe in you, that you'll win, and that you'll become Hokage," I smiled sincerely. "So you have no right to lose today."
"I wasn't planning to," he barely held back his smile. It was strange to see him like this, as if it contradicted his very nature.
"Sasuke," I stood in front of him and looked into his eyes. For a second, it seemed like there was a hint of hurt and indignation buried there, but no: he smiled softly and showed no displeasure. My intuition just told me otherwise. Ignoring my fear, I kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear: "You'll win. Good luck. I won't be there, but I'll be with you."
"You too, Ari," he hugged me and quietly continued so Naruto wouldn't hear. "By the way, you've grown."
"So have you," I whispered back in his ear.
"But you're taller, even if not by much."
"It's temporary; you'll outgrow me soon, don't worry," I smirked and pulled away.
"See you, guys. As promised, leaving a clone," the duplicate appeared in a puff of smoke the same second I vanished in Shunshin.
"Whew," I exhaled, appearing on the roof of a building. "Someday Sasuke's patience will run out. Definitely."
Without delay, I jumped off the building and walked home. Date and place of the meeting—10:00, academy rooftop. I had plenty of time left, so I'd have time to stop by home; it was on the way anyway. And to not waste that time, I'd specially brought my diary with notes about the future—and about myself, actually. Yes, I keep diaries; I just find it interesting. That way I can track my progress, mistakes, and victories. In general, I just don't have anything better to do. Besides the diaries and notes, I have a whole notebook of techniques I want to invent (or learn), some I'm working on now, others I haven't started yet. There's also a notebook with assumptions about future events or how I'd act in certain situations. Saying I love writing would be an understatement.
I pulled my diary in its thick crimson binding from my backpack, shaded my eyes from the sun with my hand, and started reading.
"Ta-a-k... so Orochimaru will kill the Kazekage, then the Third Hokage too; all the civilians in the stands will be put to sleep, Gaara and his relatives will run off somewhere, and..." I mentally drew conclusions, then suddenly stopped, not knowing the translation of the next words. "What does 'Spent' mean? Damn, why did I write in Russian? I've forgotten half the words," I smacked my forehead for my carelessness. "Fine... I'll just rewrite it all in my language later. Too bad these notes are only in one copy," I muttered and mentally continued: "'The second copy got coffee spilled on it last night by accident; had to tear it up and throw it out. Oh well, I'll rewrite it later.'"
"What's only in one copy?" the Fourth Hokage suddenly appeared next to me.
"A-a-a-a-a!" startled, I tried to step back but tripped and fell. In the end, I accidentally dropped the diary, and it landed at the Hokage's feet. "'That's it, finis la comedy, I'm done for,'" was my first thought.
Minato smiled slightly, seeing I'd been scared, then noticed the open notebook at his feet. He carefully picked it up and looked at it. Fear made my heart drop to my heels in an instant. One phrase spun in my mind: I'd been caught, because in this diary I wrote about absolutely every event in my life, and very sincerely.
"I didn't know you kept diaries," he closed the notebook and offered me his hand.
"'And you couldn't know; we don't even talk!'" I thought in surprise, took the Hokage's hand, and stood up. For a second, a warm feeling arose, like talking to a friend, but I quickly dismissed it: after all, the leader of our village stood before me! That meant I had to be very polite; it would take me fifteen or twenty years of training to match his power, if not more.
"Here," he handed me my diary, and I hastily took it and shoved it into my backpack.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," I said uncertainly, not daring to ask why he'd teleported here or how I'd gotten his mark on me. Why did I feel so unsure around the Hokage? Strange. "Um..."
"Heading to the rendezvous point?" Minato asked.
"Yes..." I replied cautiously.
"Good, that's where you'll hear some good news," the Leaf's leader smiled mysteriously.
"'Interesting, what news?'"
"Come on, I'll tell you something on the way," he started walking ahead.
"Okay..."
"You're probably wondering why I'm here," Minato said, and I nodded. "Actually, I wanted to give you this scroll and ask you to pass it to Naruto after some time," he finished, pulling a small, thin blue scroll about twenty centimeters long from his pocket and handing it to me.
"Um... wh-when?"
"In about two weeks, or a month, whenever you want," the Yellow Flash of Konoha replied thoughtfully.
"Why me, and not you or someone else?"
"Because he'll be better off getting this scroll from you," he smiled slightly.
"Okay," I took it reluctantly. "I'll deliver it."
"Thanks," he smiled again and ruffled my hair a bit. "Smile more; it's a beautiful day."
Did he ruffle every kid's hair like that? And why?
"Okay, okay, but can Naruto open it?" I asked, smiling a little.
"No, that's why I'm giving it to you—you can."
"How do you know?" I asked, surprised.
"Kakashi told me you know sealing and unsealing techniques."
"What if I can't unseal it?" I started to worry.
"Then unseal it and see," he nodded at the scroll in my hands. I nodded and carefully opened it. In the middle of the yellow parchment were black kanji symbolizing a standard unsealing. Of course, it was way above academy level, but my fuinjutsu knowledge was enough.
"Doesn't Naruto know fuinjutsu?"
"I wanted to teach him, but he thought it was too boring and uninteresting," he smiled sadly. "He was probably too young for it."
"Minato-sama, I can help him with it a bit."
"That would be great."
"Okay, then I'll definitely do that; for now, let my clone take it home," I created a clone without seals; it took the scroll from Minato-sama and ran off. "Hokage-sama, do you want to teach Naruto your signature technique?"
"You mean the Flying Thunder God Technique?" he asked, and I nodded. "I don't think Naruto can. It's incredibly hard to learn and..."
"Naruto is persistent and very talented!" I mustered the courage to interrupt and object. "If anyone can, it's him!" I'd had enough of hearing everyone severely underestimate my friend, even though he was a truly talented shinobi! It made me feel bad for him.
"Yes, I know, but not now. I think someone will teach him, but it won't be me," he smiled a bit sadly.
"Um, then who?!" I no longer understood. So someone else in this world knew that technique?
"I can't tell you that. Just know it's in safe hands," he replied calmly.
"Minato-sama, is this shinobi in Konoha?" I said quickly.
"No."
"Then the technique isn't in safe hands," I shuddered. What scared me more now wasn't that someone knew such a powerful technique, but that this SOMEONE wasn't in Konoha. "Is this person at least not an enemy of Konoha?"
"No, of course; this person is ready to die for Konoha," Minato smiled, and I suddenly remembered Jiraiya. Damn, how could I forget him? He wasn't in Konoha right now but was ready to die for it. It all fit. Whew, what a relief. Though I'd been slow; Minato wasn't stupid enough to teach an outsider such an amazing technique.
"Minato-sama, can I ask something?" I finally decided to voice the question I'd had no answer to for years.
"Of course," the man nodded.
"Why have I always had privileges from the village? My orphan stipend was thirty, sometimes fifty percent higher; I had a single room at the orphanage while others shared; and that's just a small part of the list," I narrowed my eyes. "It's been bothering me for years; what's going on?"
"You're a smart girl, Ariza," Minato smirked and ruffled my hair again.
"Minato-sama, don't dodge; can you answer my question?" I turned on full boldness and insisted. After all, it scared me.
"No, unfortunately, you won't get it from me," the Hokage evaded.
"So you know everything but won't tell me?!" I asked directly and waited for the leader's nod. He was being too secretive already. Of course, I had no right to demand answers from him, and he had every moral right to tell me to get lost, but since the conversation had gone this far, I wouldn't back down. "Who can I ask then?"
"Listen, Ariza, you're rushing too much; you'll find out everything eventually," he stopped and put his hands on my shoulders.
"You talk like you know my life better than I do," I grumbled, putting on an offended face.
"No, of course; I just want what's best for you."
"Then answer me... please! I don't understand too much," I shifted to desperation.
"You're not focusing on the right things. Solve the tasks you need at this stage of life, don't get ahead of yourself," he removed his hands from my shoulders and kept walking.
"Which ones?!" I asked.
"For example, deal with the Cursed Seal," Minato smiled sweetly.
"Wha... wha... um..." I just opened and closed my mouth. "H-how... do you know?!" I exclaimed in full shock. And Minato just watched and smiled, like he enjoyed surprising me!
"Nothing escapes me; tell Kakashi about it, he'll help," Minato replied just as casually, but it was clear he was hiding something. Though it'd been obvious for a while. He was just a damn genius! That's all.
I stayed silent. I didn't even feel like responding. I just nodded and walked on quietly.
"By the way, about Root, what I didn't finish yesterday," Minato snapped me out of my thoughts. "Root is too dark a place for little girls like you. If you want to join ANBU, rank up to jounin and apply for Hokage ANBU; it's simpler. But even there, people usually go who can kill without much conscience; think a hundred times before joining."
"Ahem... yes," I lowered my head, realizing ANBU wasn't for me. "You're right, Minato-sama; I'm not the type who can kill. And I hope I never take a life."
"You don't know your fate, so don't say it ahead of time."
"Hokage-sama, do I really seem like someone capable of that?!" I got a bit indignant, looking into Namikaze's eyes. "Killing is horrible; there's always a way: tie them up, knock them out, throw them in prison, but not take a life!" I added, and his gaze turned thoughtful for a second, like he'd remembered something.
"Time will tell," he suddenly stopped, turned, and looked at me intently, even sadly. "Time to say goodbye now. Good luck, Ariza Saito," he ruffled my hair again and smiled sincerely, like it was the last time. Then he vanished... in a yellow flash, saying only: "Your path is just beginning, but we'll meet again."
I stood frozen for a few more seconds. It left such a strange aftertaste, like we'd said farewell. He said we'd meet again, though that was obvious. And what had we even talked about?! It felt like he implied something under every word, but what exactly—I had no idea.
"Anyway, time to go, or I'll be late," I sighed deeply and continued on. And still... what the hell just happened?!
***
"We'll evacuate the kids from the academy and escort them to the shelter. Our squad's job is to get them out of the building and assemble them when we get the signal from that rooftop," a middle-aged man said flatly and pointed to the neighboring rooftop, where the ANBU member with red hair was. His callsign was "Serou," and he was in charge of the "Adati" district. "Closer to the shelter, other chunin will take over. Clear?"
"Yes, sir," we said. There were seven of us: five Chunin, one genin (me), and the jounin leading our squad. We were squatting before a map on the roof of a building next to the academy.
"Why us and not the academy teachers?" one chunin with weird green hair asked.
"After we evacuate everyone, we'll be the ones defending the shelter from enemies; it'll have not just kids, civilians, and elderly, but ammo and medical supplies too," our white-haired, bearded commander replied in a calm baritone. Being near him felt reassuring, like he'd survived so many wars nothing could stop him now. But then why was such a veteran evacuating kids? Maybe he was too old to fight full-out, or some past injury kept him from matching strong shinobi? In short—I didn't know. But I was glad to have him as commander. Hm, maybe he was retired? Ours kicked in at fifty or forty-five, I think.
"Got it," the green-haired guy with brown eyes replied, like he was doing a favor.
"Shiju," one of the chunin addressed him and abruptly fell silent, giving a silent warning about respect for elders. At least that's how I took it.
"Everyone clear on which groups to evacuate and positions to hold until the signal?" Takashi-san asked, and we chorused "yes." "Good; all chunin, dismissed," he said sharply, and a second later, only he and I remained on the roof. "I said dismissed," he looked at me puzzled.
"Takashi-san, but I'm not a Chunin; I'm a genin," I replied uncomprehendingly.
"But my squad has no genin," he squinted and stood. "Though let me check," he pulled a sheet from his pocket. Seemed like some high-level order; the shinobi stared at it like state secrets. "Here... it says you're a Chunin."
"No way; I didn't even pass the second exam stage!" I stood, extremely surprised. "They must've mixed it up or it's a typo!"
"See for yourself," he handed me the sheet, and I took it carefully. So... Takashi Kondo—jounin, squad leader; Shiju Harada—Chunin; Yasushi Senju—Chunin; Ariza Saito—Chunin... "Mda," I handed the sheet back without reading further.
"Maybe they promoted you recently without notifying?" the man suggested.
"I don't know, Takashi-san; it's just weird—I didn't pass the exam," I said uncertainly, then remembered the Hokage's words:
"'That's where you'll hear some good news,'" I mentally replayed. So... it was true?! Damn you, Minato... Jerk!
"It happens; now go to your position."
"Okay, but do you happen to know Yoshi Kondo by any chance? She's Konoha's hospital head medical ninja?" I clarified, recalling my medical ninjutsu sensei and our captain shared the surname "Kondo."
"How could I not know my wife?" he smiled slightly, surprising me.
"I didn't know sensei had a husband!" I said happily.
"As you see; now enough talk, to positions."
"Yes, sir," I replied seriously, inwardly thrilled, and vanished in Shunshin.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan