AN: I haven't written anything longer than a whatsapp message in years so don't expect too much, I wrote this mainly as part of a wager with myself so whilst I will be continuing it updates may not come quickly and whilst you are free to review I don't know whether I'll be reading them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Hiroyuki had lived a long life, there were scarce few that could say it hadn't been a fulfilling one. Born into the 20th Century just as it begun, from the beginning he had distinguished himself from others his age in subjects ranging from botany to science, though what really interested Hiroyuki was combat which he approached with a diligence you could scarce imagine. He had became one of the foremost practitioners of a fighting style endemic to the province in which he was born by his mid teens, at which point he travelled for a time learning from other masters other ways of fighting, some grappled, some fought from distance with weapons, he learned ways of winning battles that did not even enter physicality but took place entirely within the mind, winning a fight before it had even begun. After a time he returned to the village of his birth and set about creating his own dojo where he took students who flourished under his care. In the fullness of time he had married, begotten children whom he adored and grew old as the world around him changed, wars came and passed though they never touched the island of his home, technology moved on and time had come to make a stranger of him to the world he was born into.

In his later years Hiroyuki left more and more of his teaching to those few students who had stayed long enough to become journeymen of his style, these were few enough that they could be counted on one hand. The world changing as it was more young adults sought to leave their homes and take up new residence in the larger cities, promises of higher paying jobs and better opportunities proved to be too great of an attraction for many. Those who stayed became a kind of second family to Hiroyuki, welcome in his home for meals anytime they also grew attached to his children and especially Kon, Hiroyuki's eldest, to whom the dojo was to eventually pass to.

It was in Hiroyuki's 94th year that his wife passed, following this he removed himself from teaching entirely, passing the dojo on to Kon and remaining only to offer advice where he could. He remained unerringly sprightly even in his old age, long past his 100th birthday he completed his daily katas and cared for his garden. He began to spend more time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren and spent much of the remains of the day meditating. Believing he had long outlived his era he strove to only interact passively with the world as it was as it was no longer his to change, this he thought should be left to later generations, many things he didn't understand but he tried to understand the values of his remaining family, eventually his longevity became something of an inside joke to his family, some joked that he would outlive all of them. Of course he could not and on an ordinary day much like any other Hiroyuki's time came.

Hiroyuki sighed into the november air as he stepped out of his house, he had just finished a new project, his hands could not pick many things up these days but he had taken up wood carving and found that as clumsy as his hands had become there remained some nimbleness to them he had long thought foreign in his age. Stepping onto his porch he sat on the tatami mat admiring the forest and in the distance the lazy scimitars of the setting sun against the ocean as the day drew to a close. He inhaled, closed his eyes and began to meditate.

He awoke slowly, his eyes seemed resistant, unwilling to open but eventually acquiesced allowing him to give form to the murmurings surrounding him. He saw he was at home, in his bed, his family were there, the younger ones in the next room judging by the noise. Kon was the first to see he had awoken, he walked around his bed and sat by his side, the man he was speaking to made some quiet apology and left sliding the door closed behind him, the rest of Hiroyuki's family stood at the foot of his bed now as aware as Kon was of his alertness. Hiroyuki attempted a smile, he knew whatever news they had would not be very promising for his future health, he could feel it in the way his right arm wouldn't obey his commands, in the way his legs seemed almost locked in place, in the weariness that plagued his mind.

"You had a stroke" Kon murmured to him, answering his unbidden question.

Hiroyuki glanced at Kon and then laughed gruffly, finding he could still talk he said "If that were all I feel I might recover but the doctor did not look optimistic, what else is there?"

Kon waited several moments, glanced at his family and continued "The stroke has caused your brain to swell, the doctor had another word for it but as a result he believes another stroke could be on the way… a fatal one"

Hiroyuki nodded to himself, he had expected something of the sort, he suddenly found himself very tired, he turned his head to Kon to let him know when he saw shock in Kon's eyes, his family seemed to panic as well and one of them threw open the door shouting a name Hiroyuki didn't recognise. It was the last thing he ever heard, his eyes remained staring at his son, but the life that had resided there fled as a rivulet of blood seeped from the outer edges of both of his eyes. At 124 years of Age, Hiroyuki died at home surrounded by his family, his final work, a small wood carving of an owl, lay on the table beside his bed.

Hiroyuki felt as though he slipped from sight and sound to become a mere consciousness, simply existing. He was unsure how long he spent in that state, it seemed like a moment but he had a feeling it was much longer and that he just wasn't aware of the time he had spent in that state. Eventually he became aware that he was… aware. He looked around and found he was in a dimly lit grey corridor with an almost blinding pinprick of light in the distance. The light could have been blotted out behind a strand of hair but it was still difficult to look at such was its brilliance. Hiroyuki surmised that the light must have been what lit the entire corridor as he could see no other light source, he thought to look behind himself but some deep instinct urged him not to, the corridor reminded him of the hallways in some buildings where it could seem like you were not making any progress due to the length of the space, there had been such a place in his home village, the school had stretched along the coast with all of the classrooms on one side and one hallway to navigate between them, he took a step forward and realised this corridor reminded him of something, it reminded him of those long corridors you came across in buildings sometimes, a world away he remembered encountering such places in hotels when he travelled as a younger man, it was in the lobby of one of these hotels he had met the first master he had trained under after leaving his home. Hiroyuki laughed to himself, he remembered how young and naive he had been, Gofu had proven to be an extremely particular teacher and had beaten that out of him very early on, he took a step forward and found that this space actually reminded him of long corridors you came across in buildings sometimes, places like hotels, he remembered the first hotel he had stayed in when he was younger he had met… Hiroyuki suddenly realised with shock he couldn't remember, part of the reason he had performed so well academically was due to his faultless memory, he could remember almost every detail of his life from the age of 5 and they shone as true in his memory now as they did moments after he lived them, examining his memory of his stay in the hotel now he realised he had a hole in his memories where entire days seemed to fall away to… nothing.

Hiroyuki panicked, there were few things he valued as much as his mind and he realised something was happening to tamper with it but what could it be and how much had he already forgotten? He analysed his memories more carefully and realised he could no longer remember where he had gone to school, he could remember his teachers, the results he received in tests and his friends but when trying to conjure an image of the school in his mind it was just… blank. Thinking on this Hiroyuki examined the corridor again, remembering how he had remarked how the corridor reminded him of similar places in large buildings where it might seem as though you weren't moving and realised that his school must have been a large building since every child on his island was expected to attend. Thinking on this Hiroyuki came to the conclusion that the memories being tampered with must be one's thought of at specific times within this place, after all the second instance of his lacking memory began at a hotel where he clearly remembered such a phenomenon. Hiroyuki resolved to think of nothing, emptying his mind as he often did when he meditated he looked ahead and took a step. Analysing his memories he found that no further alterations had been made to his memories of the hotel when he was younger and for a happy moment thought he had found a way to trick whatever mechanism was causing his memory loss. He then realised he was mistaken, to his horror he realised there was a blank space in his memories in much of his life after his return to his home, he could remember his entire family but there was a ragged hole like a wound that spread through much of his adult life and he came to the horrifying conclusion that he could no longer remember his wife. Hiroyuki knew he must have had one since he could remember preparing for his wedding when he was younger but in the tapestry of his memory there were ragged holes surrounding almost everything after he returned from his travels. Hiroyuki knew then that if he didn't think of a subject before taking a step this place would simply remove the largest parts of him that still existed, memories of this place seemed to be immune and he knew he could not stay still forever so he stood still for a while and considered what he could do.

Eventually Hiroyuki decided to step forward but from now on only concentrate on the smallest memories from his youth beginning with the ones he would rather forget. The sensation of breaking his arm when he fell out of a tree, the feeling of drowning when he was tossed from a boat and he had not yet learned to swim. Hiroyuki stepped onwards with the measure of a man who has seen his task and set his will against it.

Some indeterminable time later Hiroyuki realised the light was getting closer. He had given fully 8 decades of his life to this place and he desired to be free of it, with renewed hope Hiroyuki stepped onward.

At long last Hiroyuki reached the light, it was in the form of a doorway, too blinding to look at Hiroyuki found he had to shield his eyes against it. He had given 10 decades of his life to get this far and surrendered far more, the feeling of the sun on his face, many of the hobbies he had taken up. All that remained were the memories of the time he spent with his family, the katas he performed daily, a large amount of his education and the overarching principles of his training. Wearily he stepped through the doorway of light.

I regained my self awareness at the age of around 3, I quickly realised I must have been reincarnated, this place did not seem like any afterlife I had ever heard of. I remembered dying. Memories of a family I left behind, confident as I was in them being able to forge their way without me I still mourned them as they likely mourned me. I realised quickly there was something wrong with my memory, had I merely been missing older memories I could have forgiven the omission but I was missing everything prior to a certain point around 20 years before my death, realising it was impossible to discern the cause, whether some age related illness in my old life or some kind of tribute necessary to pay after passing on, I chose to accept this and moved on. My memories from this body, murky as they were prior to my reawakening, painted the picture of a world with technological capabilities far outstripped by what I remembered from my old life.

My first task was to learn who I was now, this proved simple enough, the Matron of the orphanage was a strict woman who didn't appreciate being ignored so when I did not respond to the first 2 calls of Keiko I quickly found myself cleaning the dining hall of the orphanage after lunch. Keiko. I liked it. It felt good to have a new name to go with my new life. That evening I sat on my futon in the common room I shared with the other orphans and, as had become habit in my old life, began to meditate, it was then I realised that there was something different about this body. There was something… suffusing it, something that rolled through me like a steady current. In my minds eye it was like a beacon, I observed it for a time, like a still deep pool it seemed to offer no insight as to what lay within but rippled with every thought and emotion. I decided to reach in and test the depths, I opened my eyes in shock as I felt something akin to a huge adrenaline rush course through my muscles, I gazed at my hands as a faint blue mist coated them and then I passed out.

I awoke the next morning tired, but not a tired I had been before, somewhere between a deep bone weariness and the debilitating tiredness that came with illness, unable to find any actual physical symptoms I decided to push through the day and made my way to the shared bathroom. Handily despite how I felt I had still awoken before the rest of the orphans just before the days first light. Pulling a small box to reach over the sink I stepped in front of the washbasin, I scrubbed my face with water before peering up into the mirror where I froze. My face was not my own, in hindsight that should have been obvious but to be this alien… I had not marked such distinctive features on others in the orphanage, my face was tanned a light brown, not unlike my previous life but running parallel from the very outside of my eyes were pencil-thick red lines that finished in a point after reaching beneath my temples and before my hair… and my hair… a shocking white in comparison to my skin it stuck out at odd angles like it had never been tamed. I tried plying at it with water but it refused all attempts to make it lie in a way that might be called neat even at a squint, I gave it up in the end and examined the rest of my body in the mirror, it seemed I had no other distinctive marks, other than my eyes which were as dark as onyx. My face was easily forgotten, I had a strong chin but was otherwise unremarkable in my features.

I finished up cleaning, walked back into the common area, rolled up my futon and put it away whilst considering my next move. I needed information. About this world and about myself. There were books in the orphanage, luckily I still remembered how to read so getting knowledge about this place shouldn't be an issue. But what about me? There must be some records on file at the orphanage detailing how I came to be here, perhaps some clue as to my parentage or where I came from. I didn't know enough about the orphanage itself yet to even make a guess as to where these documents were so I shelved that task away for later. Knowledge, hah! at the moment it seemed all of my decisions were being made due to my lack of it. For the time being I slipped out of the window and began the katas I remembered practicing in my old life in the scant privacy a copse of trees could offer - I had no desire to face the questions I might receive if someone saw me doing such things.

Whilst my mind might remember the movements and muscle memory still facilitated them it quickly became apparent that I no longer had the stamina to complete my entire workout, I clenched my teeth as sweat drenched my brow, the weakness I felt this morning no doubt hadn't helped. I gave in to exhaustion having completed less than half of my usual routine. Heading back to the orphanage I was lucky enough to slip in before many of the children had woken up and none had marked me for my absence, I took the opportunity before breakfast to bathe, luckily despite the lack of technology they still had hot water.

The day passed unremarkably, as did the next and indeed the following few weeks. I spent the spare time available to me reading up on the subjects contained within the books present at the orphanage, unfortunately much of it seemed like it was fiction and those that read like more serious works had no information that matched up with anything I remembered of my old life. One contained a map that gave the boundaries to countries I had never even heard of, many named after elements, the location of the orphanage had been marked on the map at some point during its life, somewhat close to a border but within the Land of Fire. The political state of the land seemed to be something akin to the political atmosphere from centuries before the time I lived in my previous life with Lords leading small countries and militia paid by them keeping their borders and performing tasks operating as the countries mercenary faction. Shinobi they were here. Ninjas. Something about what I read in those books caused me pause, something niggled at the back of my mind, some half remembered idea or memory but teased as it was by the books I read it refused to make itself clear.

Exhausting the available tomes on offer and knowing of no other resource to help I turned to my second task. In the weeks I had been here I had made no friends, the children had effectively made me an outcast due to how I looked, there were perhaps few things that can be as cruel as young children. My regular time away to practice my katas (which still remained beyond my strength to finish but I had made great progress in) and my habit of meditating before sleep had probably not earned me any points in that department. Luckily the matron treated everyone the same, firm but fair she was, if you crossed her there would be swift retribution but she did not ask much of the children and we were happy to oblige since she cared for us. I learned from her during my first week where the records were kept, it was no secret, they were within a room she had marked as her office, a small room with a lock near the entry to the orphanage. Getting in without matron's permission was nigh on impossible, she allowed no one in there and only used it for work herself well into the night when everyone else was sleeping. I didn't feel particularly happy about it but it seemed the only way I was getting in there any time soon was to cause a distraction to lure her away whilst she is in there.

As it would turn out I didn't need to manufacture a distraction as one came just a week later.

It began in the early evening, something was awry but I was unable to work out what was making me feel off, as the evening deepened and the sun set it had developed beyond a nebulous feeling into an unreasonable anxiety, something in the night had me on edge, nighttime came and eventually, frustrated I could not complete my evening meditation I set out, slipping out through the window, to find the cause of my disquiet. It wasn't difficult to track the direction of the source, it felt like it hung over the forest like a blanket and getting closer was just a matter of finding where it lie deepest. Quickly though I realised that it was also heading in my direction. Glancing to either side of the forest trail I made my choice and quickly climbed a tree with a handy low sprouting branch and lay flat in it waiting for the mystery to pass.

Minutes passed and I heard the light steps of multiple feet on the wind and the stumbling thud of another, peeking between a branch I saw it was 3 men escorting a girl who could be no older than 11 or 12. The girl was the one stumbling, her face tired, she bore the marks of light scuffs and scrapes and seemed to be at her strengths end, as they came close I could see she was tied from behind, her captors were dressed very similarly, as if in uniform with a plate bearing an insignia on their foreheads, the girl bore a similar one though the insignia was a variation of a spiral I had seen on maps of fire country.

I sat unmoving, not even daring to breath for several moments as they drew closer, I did not want to alert them to my presence, they had a hostage it seemed and they were definitely more armed than me wearing only the light garb the orphanage allowed us. Unfortunately one of them must have detected my presence since at an unspoken signal the one at the rear of the group grabbed the girl and almost faster than I could see ran in the direction I had come. Then several things happened at once, a boy of similar age to the girl jumped out of the trees from above me and kicked one of the 3 captors in the head instantly incapacitating him, in my shock I myself fell out of the branch I was hiding in luckily landing in a crouch, I looked up in time to see one of the remaining captors pull the girl closer to him and take off with her, the other one turned to me and the unknown attacker glanced back at me, seemingly torn, before racing after the girl.

"It's not like Konoha to send fledglings", he muttered to himself pulling what i recognised as a kunai from a pocket and spinning it with practised ease in one hand, "still, it doesn't change the parameters of the mission"

He darted with superhuman speed towards me, it was only pure instinct that saved me, as the knife came at my neck from an underhand thrust my left hand grabbed his right and my right his unarmed left wrist even as I jumped backwards, he seemed as surprised as I was at the speed I had reacted and as we tumbled backwards through the trees I tried my best to hold his arms across each other. Eventually we rolled to a stop, his body atop mine and I knew a moment of terror since, astride me, I would have no chance of removing him with my 3 year old frame and he would have ample opportunity to strike downwards upon me.

It seemed though like luck was on my side, in our tumble through the trees one of the impacts had driven the knife I was holding in his hand to the left of him sideways and into his neck. His glassy eyes stared at me obscured as they were by his sunglasses. He was dead. The feeling of having killed him even by accident left me feeling nauseous and I struggled desperately to pull away from his body, even with the fast pooling blood acting as some macabre lubricant it still took me nearly a minute, even in my panic, due to the fact that his body dwarfed me beneath his weight.

I was left no time to consider what to do with the body, as I rose I heard explosions in the distance and saw orange tinge the sky in the direction of the orphanage, running as fast as my tiny stature could carry me I made my way back in the direction of the orphanage and saw utter chaos, many of the children had made it to the tree line but I could not see Matron. The orphanage was on fire and the boy who had taken out one of the men earlier was fighting the remaining member of the squad escorting the girl and… was he running up a tree? I pulled my eyes away to ask one of the older orphans where matron was but he glanced at me in derision and shrugged. I clenched my teeth, if she wasn't here then the only place she could be was her office. I ran in the direction of the orphanage ignoring the shouts of warning from some of the other orphans. I couldn't leave her. Despite the fact I hadn't gotten to know her very well the matron had selflessly cared for me and the other orphans. She deserved better.

I reached the door and reach out for the handle to open it but hissed as i jerked my hand back, the brass knob had grown scaldingly hot from the heat of the fire inside, running around the side of the building I saw the matron slumped over her desk, the window was shattered in one corner so it appeared as though a projectile had found its way inside from the fierce battle. Removing my tunic and wrapping it around my arm I reached up and, jumping, began to knock the rest of the glass from the frame. When the glass was gone I reached up, climbed over the window and fell into the room.

'Idiot' I thought to myself as I landed on the glass I had punched from the window pane 'you won't even make it to 10 years making mistakes like that'. I gingerly pushed myself up and made my way to the matron. She was bleeding from a gash to the head and wasn't responding to my shouts, I glanced around the room but could see no help available. I realised with horror that I did not have much time to spare as thick viscous smoke was already pouring underneath the door like an upside down waterfall cascading to the ceiling.

I grabbed matrons chair and pulled her body back so that she sat with her back straight, her head hanging limp over the back of the chair and pushed her chair towards the window, once at the window I threw her upper body over the window ledge and heaved her from the chair from behind so that she eventually slipped over the edge onto the grass outside and made to follow her before glancing back. 'My past is in there' I thought to myself 'and perhaps answers', I had no choice but to dive towards the filing cabinet and begin furiously scanning names. Luckily it seemed all of the names in the draw were names of children currently at the orphanage so I had only 20 or so names to scan through before finding mine, I pulled it out, clasped it to my chest, raced to the chair and jumped out the window just as the fire finally ate through the door to the office and the backdraft caused a loud roaring and an explosion behind me, I lost consciousness as I tumbled like a ragdoll through the air in its wake.

I awoke laid against the roots of a tree. Luckily I appeared to be relatively unharmed though it was difficult to tell since I was covered in ash. I looked off towards the burnt husks of the orphanage and through the trees could see what could only be a black charcoal body amongst the rubble along the edge of where the matrons office was. I didn't need to get any closer to know who it was. I got up and retrieved the folder that lay between me and the charred remains of the orphanage and opened it. There were only 2 documents within, an official looking document announcing my name and date of birth, the year in this world's reckoning came to just over 3 years prior. The second document contained information on my delivery to the orphanage. I had been left by a woman who had accidentally conceived me in the course of her work at a night house, money was scarce and she could not care for me. There was no information regarding my father, a final note handwritten on the paper indicated that the woman who had left me at the orphanage had died some months later of disease. 'All my ties in this world are being cut away' I thought morose, I threw the folder into the last smouldering parts of the building and sat at the base of a tree considering, at a loss for what to do next. 'perhaps I will travel to the capital of this country, at least then I can find more information regarding this world and find myself a place in it', nodding to myself I stood up and stifled a shout when a face dropped into view upside down.

"Hey", the face flashed a brilliant smile before the rest of him dropped from the tree landing in a heap upside down.

"Are you… OK?" I asked, observing him as he righted himself. He seemed to be in his early teens.

"Yup" he said still seated on the ground " but more importantly are you OK? You're covered head to toe in soot" he said laughing.

I grinned, his attitude was infectious "I'm fine just some scratches I think… although", my mood soured slightly as I remembered I had nowhere to live right now "I might need some help finding some place to live now that the orphanage where I lived isn't really habitable anymore."

His grin if anything grew wider "Yeah, sorry about that, I really had my hands full back there, I've been scouting the area because there was supposed to be another one but it looks like he got away..." He paused holding his chin in thought and looking into the distance, after a moment he remembered I was there and jerked back his gaze to meet mine "Anyway all the other orphans were taken to Konoha to live in an orphanage there. They've been gone a few hours now so I guess they missed you. My name's Minato by the way" he added the last almost as an afterthought.

This guy. He was so carefree, had he forgotten it was me he saw last night the one he had left to fend off the last attacker? "You can call me Keiko… You know, it was me last night who you left behind with the last of those guys, I was lucky to even make it back!"

"Keiko? I think I'll call you Ko" I didn't really have a preference so I shrugged. Suddenly Minato's jaw dropped as he reeled and pointed at me "You fought that ninja and survived?"

I shook my head "I don't know if you would call us tumbling and him falling on his own kunai a fight but yes, he's back in the trees, I can show you where if you want. Did you say I'd be going to Konoha, the ninja village?"

At my eager question Minato's grin blossomed anew "Yes, the village hidden in the leaves, I've lived there all my life, I'll have to give you a tour! Especially as it seems I'll be your escort back."

"Where did your friend go?" I asked "The girl who was being dragged by those ninja?"

"Kushina? She went on ahead it was kinda important she make it back to the village quickly. Anyway, what's important now that my little mystery is solved is that we get you ready to go and deal with what's left of that last ninja." So saying he ruffled my hair kicking up a cloud of ash and walked ahead confidently taking the lead.

"Uh, Minato" He turned to look at me midstep, "That's the wrong way, it's this way."

When Minato reached the body he rolled out a scroll whilst I looked on bemused thinking he was reading some instructions from it he slammed his hand down upon it and I felt a rush of the same energy I now realised I had felt simmering away inside him rush into the scroll and the body just… vanished, seemingly into the scroll. Minato apparently saw my look of utter astonishment for he just smiled at me and said "later" as he guided me to a stream to wash myself of the ash and blood and dirt.

I washed most of the ash from my face immediately upon reaching the stream and I turned to me to ask him a question but froze, his face started to lose color the more he looked at me eventually he choked out "Who were your parents?"

"I'm an orphan remember? I don't have any. None that I know of anyway, my mother I know for sure is dead. My father..." I shrugged my shoulders. "Are you OK?"

Minato seemed to shrug off whatever it was that was bugging him assuring me that he was fine and he left me to it saying he would head to a nearby village to find some clothes my size. It was only when I took my clothes off at the stream that I realised just how bad they looked, they were singed and blackened in many places and the blood, now dried black and matted across most of them was not coming out any time soon. For my part I took my time, my hair as long and unkempt as it had become was a horror to get all the dirt out off but eventually it was back to its startling white, a part of me was tempted to shear it off to save the hassle but I had grown to like it.

Minato arrived back mid afternoon and set the clothes he had found by the tree line before giving me some privacy to get dressed. The clothes amounted to black trousers, a white tunic and wooden sandals, simple clothes, easily made, easily mended. I did not mind too much what they were, growing as fast as I was I had no doubt that it would soon be time to find more and then maybe I could make a more personal choice. Heading back into the trees I saw Minato finishing the last of some kind of snack bar, he saw I was ready and we set off first finding a trail which Minato followed to a wider road. He told me it would be around 5 days back to Konoha at walking speed, he said he could go faster if he carried me but he'd sustained an injury to his leg in the fight and would rather walk. So we walked.

Before long the shadows had lengthened and dimmed and as we started to enter true darkness Minato decided to set up camp, he gave me instructions to find firewood and perhaps something to eat though I thought he did not hold much hope of me managing that. Had I been an ordinary almost 4 year old boy he might have been right but I knew what to look for, quickly my eyes even in the dying light picked up signs of a den near the base of a tree, the soil still grey and unclaimed by moss or grass meant the hole could only be a few weeks old at best, I made my footsteps silent as I continued gathering wood in the area, it wasn't long before I saw a rabbit heading back to the hole, sneaking up from behind I made quick work of it and walked back to camp.

"Hey Minato," I said throwing him the rabbit, "I don't have a knife so you'll have to prepare the rabbit." Minato looked down at the rabbit he caught and back up to me before giving a quick nod and setting about skinning and preparing it to cook. I took the firwood I had brought back and started setting up a fire when I realised I didn't have anything to light it with.

"Uh, hey Minato, do you have any flint?" I asked, Minato looked up, gave one of his patented grins and threw his hands together into some kind of sign and the fire burst into life, this time I felt it clearly, the rush of his energy departing his body, changing, heating up as it left it was beyond anything I could remember from my old life and I hadn't seen anything like it here excluding the gravity defying running I saw him do yesterday and the body… vaprosing(?) scroll from yesterday. As I sat there pondering Minato rolled out another scroll, pushed his energy into it and a skin filled with water appeared, as if from thin air.

"Minato?" I asked staring as he cleaned the meat.

"huh?"

"What was that?"

"Ah the seal, you won't have seen any being so remote eh?" he looked up grinning, "Well it's a complicated subject and I'm not sure I can tell you too much since you aren't a ninja but to put it simply these diagrams on the scrolls are a kind of jutsu that allow me to seal things within with the application of chakra."

That was definitely new, I had never seen technology like that from what I remember of my old life, I frowned trying to take it in and finally said "Chakra?" hoping he would elaborate.

"Yeah, chakra, you know, your life force, its what I used to light the fire, ninjas use it for all kinds of things."

I looked at him skeptically "You're a ninja?" He couldn't even be of adult age yet

"Hey, now none of that," he laughed "I've been apprenticed to a sannin and have been a shinobi for some time. See this headband?" he said pointing to his forehead "that means I'm a ninja of Konoha"

"I see." I said even though I was sure I didn't. I sat there for some time contemplating what I had learned, Minato seemed content to leave me to think and continued preparing dinner.

It seemed the more I learned about this world ninja truly seemed to be part of the upper caste, having access to technology and knowledge that was otherwise off limits, the downside appeared to be the danger. it may be the norm for this world but someone of Minato's age taking on hostile combatants in mortal combat didn't quite sit right with me but who was I to say what was right in a world I wasn't entirely native to, even if I didn't imagine many of Minato's colleagues managed to make middle age. That being said it was definitely an area where my abilities and knowledge from my past life would be most applicable, and with no other alternatives there seemed little point in turning away from the path best suited to me.

"How would I become a ninja Minato?" I asked

Minato paused in his cooking and looked at me, his expression surprisingly serious, "It isn't easy Ko. Especially right now."

"Right now?"

"You might not know with your orphanage being so out of the way but there has been a war on for some time, if you were to become a ninja during a time like this you would be sent straight to the front line, no better than cannon fodder." He said as he poked at the fire with a harshness it didn't deserve.

"People my age would be sent with no training straight into war?" I asked

"Without training? No, you'd have to graduate from the academy first." Minato looked up eyeing me speculatively, "You know Ko, I keep forgetting you're so young. You speak like someone much older." At this he grew somber "Try not to grow up too quickly."

I could only nod to indicate I'd heard his words. Acting young was no easy feat though for someone with my situation.

Eventually the rabbit was cooked and we dug in, Minato warned be before eating that he wasn't the best cook and he wasn't kidding, he had somehow managed to overcook the rabbit so that his had a texture closer to gristle than to meat, I ate it anyway, I couldn't remember the last time I ate. That I ate it without complaint seemed to make Minato happy as well and he grinned at me over the fire. When we had finished eating I unrolled one of the sleeping mats Minato had set out whilst I was collecting wood and lay down to sleep.

I awoke suddenly, unaware of where I was I rose quickly but then the memories of the previous day came back. It was the fire that had awoken me, letting out a last pop as the fire truly died it had woken me just as twilight was shifting the sky from early morning into the light blue of a day started true.

Minato seeing I was awake dropped from a tree branch above, I surmised he had been awake for some time, he offered me one of the snack bars he was eating yesterday which I took gladly, devouring it before the taste could really register - I knew there would be little opportunity whilst on the road for anything more lavish. Minato made quick work of resealing our supplies, again that familiar surge of energy, chakra as Minato called it, punctuated every puff of smoke as things just disappeared into scrolls. I had thought about it last night but seeing what Minato could do with just chakra and seals had made up my mind. I had to be a ninja.

Soon enough we set out and we talked of ordinary things for a time, I told Minato of how I enjoyed reading and Minato told me of Konoha. Listening to him talk it was clear to see what he valued, when he talked he didn't speak of places in the village or the history, he talked to me about his friends, of people he had met. Minato valued most those people that had ingrained themselves into his life, a precious few I was quick to learn, like me Minato was also an orphan but lived alone from a young age since he had decided to become a ninja the state had seen fit to give him his own lodgings. He spoke most about Kushina, when he did he became most animated, gesticulating wildly as he walked as he told me funny anecdotes from his years at the academy. When he spoke of the academy I decided it was time to broach the subject of becoming a ninja again.

"Minato, I've been thinking about what you said last night about being a ninja" I began, "I know it's dangerous but I think that role might suit me best."

Minato glanced down at me, his hands behind his head as he walked "What do you mean Ko?"

"Well to begin with I think I already have a fighting style. I've been practicing it every day."

Minato hmmed non-commitantly

"Also I think i've already started to use my chakra."

This got a reaction from Minato, he slowed his walking and looked at me "What have you been doing with your chakra? It's dangerous for someone so young to be using any, your chakra reserves can't be enough to even tap into yet."

I smiled at Minato and channeled the warmth that suffused me into my hand, as it suffused itself in a blue aura Minato looked at the hand and then back to me in shock.

"H… How long have you been able to do that?" he asked

"As long as I can remember" I said, it was half true, as far as this body is concerned anyway.

"How long can you keep it up?" Minato asked

"Around 3 minutes now. It feels like I should have the energy to do it more but for some reason it peters out after 3 minutes" I said grinning at his astonishment.

Minato had completely stopped at this point and he looked between me and my hand again before nodding to himself. He crouched down to my level and looked me in the eye, a rare serious aura radiating from him, "Are you sure this is what you want to do Ko", I nodded and after a few more seconds his grin came back as bright as ever, he stood up and we began walking again.

"Well OK then, I can show you some things on the way back but for now we'll leave it until this evening, I want to see this fighting style you have first."

We set up camp that evening in a large clearing about 200 metres from the road, we had set up late this evening so by the time the fire was going it was already deepest night. After we had eaten Minato dusted himself off, walked just far enough from the fire that he was still still illuminated and indicated for me to step out as well.

"How much of your fighting style have you created so far Ko?" He asked as I stepped out opposite hime.

"I would say it's pretty close to complete, I have already got a set of katas to keep myself in practice. I didn't exactly get many opponents at the orphanage."

"OK, let's start there, show me what it looks like"

I took up my position and began the intricate formations that made up my fighting style, it was a style that prided itself on being strong and implacable, even if you should block a strike it would still cause considerable damage… or would as soon as I increased my strength and speed. I shifted, turning, striking at invisible opponents before moving into the next sequence. 15 minutes in I was drenched in sweat but I strived to finish all of the katas this time, eager to impress Minato I pushed beyond where I had gotten with my previous practice, many of my later katas dealt with the more defense oriented side of the style, parries to punches, strikes that simultaneously afforded me space and distanced me from the opponent. When I finally came to the end Minato was sat watching with his expression carefully blank. I stood there panting, sweat evaporating into steam in the chill night around me. Eventually he delivered his verdict.

"I do not consider myself a taijutsu master Ko but to me that looked as good and complete a style as any I have seen within Konoha. Have you truly never had a teacher?" He asked

I shook my head, "It was rare we had visitors at the orphanage."

"Well there are people more qualified to judge when we get back to Konoha but I think for now you are far beyond any of the other students your age in taijutsu at least" he said. "Now I'm itching for a spar but I can see you're tired, and I'm not exactly in perfect shape" he said indicating his leg and I gave a smile at that, "Instead let's look at your chakra, you could send it to your hand earlier, I want you to do the same thing but this time take a leaf and try and use the chakra to make the leaf stick to your hand."

I followed his instructions, seeing this as a test of some kind I took it one step at a time, first I layed a leaf on my hand, then sending chakra to it I observed how it interacted. At first it didn't have any effect, a nimbus of my chakra merely floated about my hand but as I made my chakra hug my skin tighter, sending smaller amounts to constrict the chakra to the area the leaf was I realised there were certain areas on my hand where the chakra came out from, I concentrated my chakra in small amounts around the leaf and found I could almost feel it hugging against my skin, not with any great deal of strength but it definitely felt like some force was almost pinning it in place. The first time I managed to get the leaf to such a stage I was only able to hold it for around 10 seconds but the next time I tried it passed 30 seconds before I was sure I could hold it almost indefinitely, I turned my hand upside down to Minato at this point to show him I had managed it and he grinned beatifically at me.

"That's amazing Ko, most Academy students spend weeks just getting to grips with that. You know you might be some kind of prodigy." He said

"A prodigy? Because I pick things up quickly?" I asked

"Not just that Ko, you are able to see the real objective behind an exercise extremely quickly, the real motive behind a decision. In the ninja world we call this looking underneath the underneath and it is an invaluable skill." He explained "Now I'm sure you're feeling the effects of using that chakra so lets get some sleep"

"But what about - "

He held up a hand, "We have 2, maybe 3 more nights before we reach Konoha Ko there's time enough for seals and everything else later."

I didn't want to grumble after what he had shown me, after all the knowledge he had given me was definitely closely guarded information, simple as it seemed. And he was right, there was always more time later.

Minato had me walking with leaves stuck to me whilst we walked the next day though I had to stop around early afternoon, it just seemed to peter out again leaving me feeling like I still had energy left but unable to actually produce any chakra, when I gave that up Minato passed me a scroll with a seal on it.

"This" he said, "Is a seal scroll, it can carry a small number of items within it. Seals, the art of fuinjutsu, is extremely complicated so I may not be able to answer all your questions but I'll try. Additionally some of the answers I might not be able to give you. At least for now."

The scroll contained diagrams and runes that wandered across the page to form a pattern around a central point, some of the runes seemed to be japanese in origin but there were many I had never seen before, combined with the diagrams they created a balanced whole, looking at the completed seal you could tell that it was perfectly balanced with not a single incorrect stroke or element of its iconography out of place. I marveled at it, I had taken up calligraphy later in my old life and I could respect the skill required to create something such as this - It was an art form unto itself. I needed to know how they were made.

"You OK there Ko, you've been looking at that scroll for almost an hour now" Minato said

I jerked back to alertness "I'm OK, it's just this is so interesting, I can recognise some of these symbols but I've never seen the others and the way it all flows together is memorising and it all just fits." I stopped myself before I babbled further, even though I had the memories of an old man it seemed the brain I was residing in still held some child-like tendencies. Still. This was exciting.

Minato smiled, "Well I won't be using that whilst we're travelling back so if you want you can keep it until we reach Konoha"

I nodded seriously, still engrossed in the scroll, I pointed at one of the larger diagrams, a circle of kanji set around a blank space, it was the only blank space on the scroll "What do these diagrams mean Minato?"

Minato peered over my shoulder and said "That's the central array, when an object is stored that is the part of the scroll that will pull in what is being placed inside, the rest of the scroll essentially just holds the contents in a kind of status"

I nodded, I could see now that everything had been arranged around that singular area. "Would you be able to teach me this?" At his grimace I added "If I did become a ninja?"

His face lightened slightly as he said "I don't know if I could Ko, I am a journeyman in terms of the skill of fuinjutsu but only because I specialise in one area, I might not be the best person to learn from, to do so might be limiting… I think I could find you a teacher though" At my excited expression he held up his hands "No promises. There aren't many fuinjutsu practitioners in Konoha and there are even fewer that have both a mastery of the art and the time to teach."

I nodded in acceptance and returned my attention to the scroll, attempting to figure out the meaning of each part of the scroll after having been told the purpose of the central diagram, some were obvious, some less so.

'Perhaps I could convince Minato to give me a blank scroll so that I could copy some of the elements from the sealing scroll and study them after we arrive' I thought, though I had no idea what my situation would be when we did.

We had set up camp this evening a longer distance from the road than we had before, Minato said that he knew the area and had guided us to a clearing with a stream flowing through. We had already eaten and Minato was checking the dressing for his leg wound.

"Ah looks like it has healed faster than I had thought!" he said, standing and hopping a few times from leg to leg, "Good. That means that I can really test out your combat Ko."

I jumped up, excited at the prospect, finally an opportunity to prove my worth to Minato, if I could convince him I could be a ninja I felt he might be willing to tell me more about the life and some of its secrets 'I'll have to play this carefully though, Minato is definitely more than capable of taking me out just in the difference of strength alone' I thought to myself.

Minato saw my enthusiasm and grinned back "OK, before we start though have you ever been shown how to spar? About the seals of confrontation and reconciliation?" When I shook my head he elaborated "When you spar with an allied shinobi you use the seal of confrontation to begin" here he held up his middle and index finger keeping the rest of his hand clenched "This shows your intent to face your opponent in battle. And when you close the spar you use the seal of reconciliation" at this he took my hand and brought the same fingers into a kind of two finger handshake with me "to show there is no harboured ill will from the spar."

I hummed in acknowledgement saying "you'd have to be pretty stupid to get angry over a spar."

Minato laughed and said "I'm glad you think so." He brought out a bandage and tied it around his waist leaving a long tail dangling to his knees, walking to the other side of the clearing he said "Now, your objective is going to be to grab this bandage, it doesn't matter if you rip off part of it or if you manage to get all of it either way I'll count it a win for you." seeing me nod he continued "Now lets begin." He held up his hand in a seal of confrontation.

I walked to the other side of the clearing and turned holding my hand up mirroring his.

"Don't hold back." Minato said smiling

I brought my leg forward into my most attacking stance, looked Minato in the eye and saw him as my enemy and began my approach not noticing how Minato froze minutely.

When I reached Minato I immediately went to grab the bandage, no point attacking him when the bandage was the objective. He flicked my hand away quickly, faster than I could follow but also strangely delayed, his movements were less than smooth, almost jerky.

I allowed my hand to be brushed away and fell into a crouch as the momentum of his parry slid me in a circle to his right, I reach out with my other hand as my initial inertia took me skidding past him and grabbed for the bandage.

Minato reacted slowly again but this time too slowly, he brought his left leg up to pivot and avoid my grab even as he jumped away with his right but it was too late, he landed a few feet away missing a fistful of the bandage which had torn off in my hand.

He quickly held up a hand, signalling me to pause, "That's one to you… However." He paused looking at me with mingled shock and concern "Do you know you're exuding killer intent?"

I straightened and shook my head unsure what he meant, relaxing as I did.

"You just dropped it now" Minato said "Perhaps it would help if I explained. Killer intent is an aura you give off when you intend to do someone harm. Serious harm. For that reason it isn't used in spars as a rule. We don't seriously go at our comrades intending to hurt them in a malicious way"

I frowned, realising that had been how I had viewed him in the spar, it felt almost natural to do so but I didn't realise in this world thinking in such a way had an exterior effect on your opponent.

"I'm sorry Minato, I didn't realise what I was doing, I did not truly set out to do you harm but that is the mindset with which I usually fight, after all no mercy should be given to an enemy." I said clapping my hands in front of me in contrition.

Minato nodded "It was my fault, I should have explained. I assumed it wouldn't be a problem - it normally isn't for children your age, most unlock the ability after leaving the academy. So long as you know in future." abruptly he chuckled "But really Ko that was some aura you had, most high ranked Jonin ninja wouldn't have been able to throw that much around. Honestly for a moment I thought you were going to go for me and not the bandage."

'It looks like there are other ways this world differs' I thought frowning to myself 'I'll need to be more cautious in future'

Minato, perhaps seeing my face, placated me saying "No need to beat yourself up about it Ko, there is no way you could have known. That being said though" He grinned "Let's go again."

We took up our positions again and this time I made sure I didn't direct any malicious feelings towards Minato before engaging.

"Let's go" Minato said and I launched myself across the clearing towards Minato again, slowing as I got within range, I did not think I would be able to take him by surprise with speed alone this time.

We engaged briefly, Minato quickly deflecting my blows, I attempted to push him back with raw strength and thought I saw my chance when he took a step back and I reached for the bandage just tantalisingly within reach but Minato was faster. Too fast. When my hand reached out to take the bandage he slapped it away before it had barely left my side, I gripped his hand and attempted to twist it back against his abdomen and reach out with my other hand for the bandage, unfortunately for me I had forgotten about the strength difference between myself and Minato, I quickly found he had only been humouring me with his faux retreat and grinning like a shark he redoubled the grip on my hand and threw me upwards.

I landed about as gracefully as I could given my unexpected flight, rolling to absorb the force eventually ending on my back.

I sat up slightly to look at Minato who was still smiling, I grinned just as hard in return and when I didn't move to re engage his smile faltered.

"Missing this?" I asked waving another length of bandage, all that was now left on minato was a length that clung to him like a belt with no tail hanging.

"What!? When?" Minato exclaimed.

"When you threw me. My hands were busy but my feet had plenty of time for my feet to clap a hold of it on the way" I deadpanned.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. And a few seconds later we were both laughing.

We didn't spar anymore that evening and I didn't get much sleep as I was was poring over Minato's scroll still, it felt like some parts of the scroll were becoming clear, like I could perceive the mechanism that linked their parts and what each element did, though a part of me attributed it to my sleep deprived brain, eventually the fire's light dimmed too much to see anything and I turned in to sleep.

I awoke bleary eyed to the sun almost picking its way above the trees around the clearing and jumped up realising I had overslept.

"Relax" Minato said "It's not yet midday and I think my leg wouldn't be beyond carrying us back to Konoha and if you're happy to be carried we can make it before late afternoon" he stepped over resealing some of the camping equipment, as he did so my eyes fell on the scroll I was obsessing over.

"Minato, can I ask you a question?" I asked

"Sure Ko, I'll answer if I can"

"It's about this scroll" I said, opening the sealing scroll in front of me as Minato stood at my shoulder "I think I understand what these elements are" here I pointed to two matrices on the scroll which seemed to be heavily linked to each other, last night I had finally figured out what the central kanji character to each of them were, they were old - unused for decades in my old world as far as I knew - kanji representing heat and air, "They seem to store all the heat and air around an object when it is being sealed, when the central array is activated, these activate as well and draw all of that away until the item is unsealed keeping it in a kind of status" Minato began shaking his head at this point but I pressed on "The one thing I don't understand is this final element to the seal, it activates last and whilst the other 2 seem to draw in, this one seems to… push out? Though I can't see what it would push, there's nothing stored?"

Minato continued shaking his head and walked away finishing clearing up the campsite, eventually he answered "Ko, to have figured that out on your own, without even a little help?... Well I guess I'm going to have to find you a teacher now. I couldn't have figured that much out with 2 months of training and I thought I was good at fuinjutsu, you're really something else. I suppose you'll figure it out eventually so I'll tell you, the final element creates a small pocket dimension, the kanji at the centre represents space and it pushes out using the chakra you push into the scroll to create a pocket dimension to hold the items you seal."

'The mind boggles' I thought looking back at the scroll 'how is this world at once far flung into the future and yet stuck so far in the past? Still I can see now the benefits of learning this art are huge. I must find a teacher.'

When Minato said he would carry me I thought he would be running, I nearly fell off his back when he lept up into the trees and began jumping through them at ridiculous speeds, how he could see where he was going was beyond me, I stuck my head below the height of his shoulders and hoped I wouldn't get hit by a stray branch.

Some time later, around 4 in the afternoon judging by the shadows Minato announced we were nearly there, for this final stretch he jumped down from the trees and began running on the main road into what I assume was Konoha, I had poked my head up now that it was out of danger of wayward twigs and looked out for the village.

I saw the walls first, towering high above us they occluded the rest of the village and rested just beyond a crest in the land making it impossible to see anything in the valley below it, Minato stopped to talk to a guard at the gate but my attention had been captured by a site that had my brain reeling.

In the distance, carved into the mountainside were 3 faces, I didn't know who they belonged to but I could place the scene, though there were definitely differences. My mind flashed back to my previous life, to the time I spent with my grandchildren and great grandchildren sat in front of a TV, I had never enjoyed watching the TV but at the age I was I remembered I was happy enough just to be in the presence of my family without having to chase them around. One of the shows they liked to watch had this view, he was sure of it, in the title card. I tried to remember details of the show, something, anything. Details however were lacking. Beyond a main character called Naruto and some small details of his life I could remember nothing. I made a mental note to write down what I could when I got chance. Unlikely as it was that I was in a kids show the similarities were too much to dismiss.

Minato had not noticed my small freakout and was still chatting with the guard, I however had noticed an energy approaching, similar to the one I noticed that night at the orphanage, I had realised days ago I could sense similar energies in others such as Minato and even smaller ones like the one in the guard but this was was very pronounced even in comparison to Minato, I was about to let Minato know when a voice rang out.

"MINATO!" A girl around the same age as Minato was approaching the gate at a frightening speed, with a frightening expression upon her face. Minato for his part looked torn between running and digging himself a hole, the guard had made himself scarce in record time and I was left as sole witness to what looked soon to be a murder.

She didn't slow down on approach, barely even slowed down when she ran into Minato and only came to a full stop when Minato was on the ground being held down by her stare. On his back. With me beneath him.

"Why did it take you so long to get back?!" She exclaimed. I thought I could actually see her hair moving threateningly of its own volition from my view in the dirt. Perhaps it was the wind.

Minato held up his arms placatingly "I got injured in the fight and I had to escort one of the orphans that got left behind back."

Kushina rose an eyebrow "Really. Then why don't I see anyone with you?"

I let out a perfectly manly whimper from my place underneath Minato and Kushina suddenly adopted a look of realisation.

"This" Minato said, standing up and holding my broken form aloft with one hand "Is Keiko, Keiko this is Kushina. Kushina is the one you had a hand in saving"

I waved half heartedly as Minato dusted me down with his other hand.

"I am so sorry Kei! I didn't see you - you're so small!" She grabbed me from Minato and spun me in circles so quickly the background became a blur "So small, so cute. Can we keep him Minato? You don't mind if I call you Kei do you?" I shook my head, not willing to trust my mouth due to the rapid onset nausea.

"I, er, think Ko might want to be put down Kushina" Minato said

"What did you say?"

"That Ko, erm, might want to be put down?" Minato said hopefully, he could tell that Kushina wasn't placated however as she started advancing slowly on him.

"Did you just choose a different nickname?" she asked threateningly

"What? No? That's what I've always called him, I just naturally shortened Keiko to Ko" Minato explained

"Are you saying your nickname is better than mine? If not you better start using Kei" Kushina said, her hair was back to moving mysteriously without wind and she had a smile that promised great pain

"Kei?... hmmm. Kei, Kei, Kei" Minato scratched his head as he considered it and then shook it "Nope it just sounds weird, I'll use Ko"

When Minato recovered from the punch Kushina had delivered he explained to her that we were about to head to the Hokage to report and find out where I was going. Kushina insisted on following us to the tower and so with me back in my place on Minato's back we began leaping our way over the buildings towards the faces in the distance.

As we flew through the air Minato turned his head slightly to talk to me "Are you sure you want to be a shinobi Ko?" I hummed my agreement and Minato nodded "When I speak to the Hokage I'll let him know and see about getting you enrolled about the academy" I asked about a fuinjutsu teacher which must have been difficult to hear above the roar of the wind passing but Minato seemed to understand as he said "As I said, no promises but I'll see what I can do."

When we arrived at the tower we ascended a long spiral of stairs and entered a room with a receptionist, Minato explained why he was here and asked for an audience with the Hokage as Kushina stood behind me leaning her arms on my shoulders as she grinned down at me.

The Hokage must not have been busy as we were ushered in pretty quickly whilst Kushina waited outside.

The Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen I was later to learn was his name, was a titan. I could tell as soon as I entered the office, the energy the man exudes is like the calmest ocean, unfathomably deep but perfectly controlled. To have lived to such an age as a ninja alone should have been testament to his strength. This was not a man to cross.

Minato stepped forward first "I'm here to report Hokage"

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and smiled as he added some finishing touches to his paperwork "Ah, Minato, I was wondering when you might get back. But who is your friend" he said turning to me

"I am Keiko, sir, Minato escorted me back from the orphanage I lived at after it was destroyed"

Sarutobi grimaced "Yes, I had heard of that. Still I'm sure you will make Konoha your home quite quickly"

I wasn't too comfortable being scrutinised by the hokage, he seemed kindly but his eyes seemed to see through me, anyone wishing to be dishonest in front of this man would find it impossible, I nodded to his statement but kept my eyes on the floor.

"It's nice to meet you Keiko, you can wait outside whilst Minato gives his report." he said

Glad to be away from his piercing gaze I nodded again and left the room.

AN: So as I said, not sure how often I'll be updating, may be weekly may be monthly see you in the next chapter