Namikaze Minato - 003

[wind_upon_waves]

Who: Namikaze Minato
Where: Espoir, field
Style: First
Status: VERY OPEN! COME AND BOTHER MINATO!

[Minato had found a spot in a field, and was starting to go through basic taijutsu maneuvers. It felt good to be outside in the crisp, spring air.

And it had been a while since he'd been able to just relax like this, letting his body go through the

Comments

[riotous_blossom]

She saw the man's bright yellow hair before she saw anything else - it was attention-grabbing, for sure. Still, odd hair wasn't too out of place here, so she was just going to keep jogging right past him without a second thought.

Then Sakura saw the moves he was doing, and that made the girl stop right in her tracks to stare. This guy clearly knew what he was doing. There ... wasn't any harm in stopping to watch for a while, right?

[wind_upon_waves]

Minato had felt her approach and then stop, settling some yards away to watch. Well, he hadn't expected an audience but it wasn't a bother.

Actually, something about her appearance niggled at a memory in his mind... He kept thinking about it, even as he whipped off his white, flame embroidered cloak to begin the more rigorous taijutsu movements. He added a shunshin jutsu to the mix, disappearing and reappearing in midst sharp jabs and kicks.

[ura_no_ura]

By this point, Kakashi had taken up residence under a tree with his usual book. He relaxed against the trunk as he flipped through the pages, occasionally glancing up to watch his teacher train.

After the sparring session they had before, Kakashi was amazed that Minato still had the energy to continue -- but the Yondaime was Hokage for a reason.

Kakashi'd gotten rather distracted by a certain passage in the book, but the moment he sensed Sakura's chakra, he looked up over the edge.

...oh right, he was supposed to meet her for training.

What time was it, again?

[riotous_blossom]

Of course, it was just before 9 AM, with Sakura on her way to the spot where she'd agreed to meet Kakashi. Still, it wasn't very far off, so she could afford a few minutes to watch the man practice.

And then he vanished. The girl ... well, she gaped. She'd seen people teleport before, but this... was it the same thing? Who was this guy?

[wind_upon_waves]

Minato caught her awed expression from the corner of his eyes, and smiled -- she reminded him of the academy children who were so easily amused by visiting shinobi's demonstrations. The kind of reverence that appeared in the eyes of people who thought, "I want to do that!"

And not the type that civilians exhibited when a shinobi pulled off some seemingly impossible maneuver, and they tried their hardest to deny that it had happened, or they chose to fear what they didn't know.

He glanced over at Kakashi. Perhaps he knew the young woman? He flashed over to his student's side.

"Kakashi?" There was no need to say anything else.

[ura_no_ura]

The way the girl held Kakashi's attention made it clearly obvious that the jounin knew her. He rose from where he'd been sitting, muscles aching from the previous sparring session as he straightened up and slid his book out of view.

"Ah, that's the student I was telling you about, Sensei." The one who had reminded Kakashi so much of Naruto. His words were meant only for the Hokage's ears -- a low murmur too soft for Sakura to catch, even as he raised a hand in greeting at his new student.

[riotous_blossom]

And that was Kakashi ... wait, he seemed to know the other man. That, plus the man's skills (let alone the scorched area around them) led to one conclusion in Sakura's mind. She quickly straightened up, bowing. "A-ah! Kakashi-sensei! This man is...!" he was the one she'd been told about, of course!

[ura_no_ura]

"Ah, yes, this is the Yondaime Hokage, Sakura." Kakashi introduced with a smile, his fingers sliding into one of the pockets of his pants.

[wind_upon_waves]

Minato turned to the young woman with a warm smile. It was nice to see that the tradition of teaching new generations how to be shinobi wouldn't be ending though they were dead.

And from what he'd heard from Kakashi, she had more than enough enthusiasm and determination to carry through, despite the fact that she was a lot older than most shinobi-to-be.

But maybe she would be good for the jounin. That alone would endear her to the Yondaime.

"It's good to finally meet you, Sakura-chan. I've heard many things about you from Kakashi. You're here to spar today?"

[riotous_blossom]

Sakura straightened - and then bowed to the blond man, just as deep as she had Kakashi. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yondaime Hokage-sama!" Something told her that this was certainly a man who deserved her respect.

At his question, though, she looked up at him, at Kakashi, and at Minato again, slightly puzzled. "Uh. I-if you want to, sir!" Of course, she ... was fairly certain that the man was rather out of her league, but that didn't mean she couldn't try, right?

[ura_no_ura]

Well, considering Kakashi just had his ass kicked by this man, it probably wasn't a very good idea for Sakura to try.

"Ahh, Yondaime-sama, Sakura-chan isn't ready yet. She has quite a bit of ways to go -- and also has to take her oath." His voice was light as a smile lingered warm on his face.

[wind_upon_waves]

The blond paused at Kakashi's reminder.

"Aa," he nodded. "Well?" Minato gave his student the green light. It would be interesting to have another comrade of sorts.

And well, he kind of missed having a student, too. You didn't get to see individual growth up close and personal when you were Hokage, trying to keep an entire village growing.

[ura_no_ura]

It had less to do with seeing individual growth for Kakashi, as it did with having a second chance.

A second chance to do it right this time, to not fuck up like he'd fucked up so badly in the past with his last set of students. Fate had given him another chance, placing this girl, who reminded him so much of Naruto, right in his path.

Kakashi dipped his head towards the Hokage, then straightened up and turned to Sakura. "Kasugano Sakura, in order for me to train you to become a shinobi, you must take an oath. You must come to Konoha's aid whenever we shall need you. You must always hold to yourself, the secrets that we teach you, and never divulge them with anyone. You must never use ninja arts for ill purposes, and vow to always uphold the peace and goodwill of Somarium. You must also promise to never use the arts to kill needlessly, without due reason. This oath will be bound in blood and chakra, and it will last for as long as you are alive. Should you violate the terms of this oath, Konoha has the right to execute you under

[riotous_blossom]

For a moment she was silent, looking the white-haired shinobi in the eyes ... er, eye. Sakura wasn't sure where Konoha was, or even if she could get there from here. But if she could help people there, she most certainly would. And hadn't she always tried to fight for people who needed help - to use her talents for good purposes? It wouldn't be any different if she ... well, was better at it, would it?

As far as killing was concerned ... well, Kakashi already knew how she felt about that, didn't he? Still, Sakura supposed it was all part of the oath and he couldn't well leave it out.

She nodded firmly. "I will."

[wind_upon_waves]

Although he barely knew her, Minato felt proud that she had taken the oath. He suspected she didn't quite understand the entirety of it - she looked a bit confused at 'Konoha' - but he was pretty sure she'd be up to the challenge; he had every confidence in Kakashi ability to see a student's potential.

"Kasugano Sakura, I hereby declare you a student of Hatake Kakashi under the laws of Konohagakure," he stated, marveling at the continuance of Konoha's Will of Fire even in the afterlife.

"Welcome to your first step of becoming a shinobi, Sakura-chan." Minato grinned at the young woman.

1/2

[riotous_blossom]

Sakura returned his grin, a sparkle in her brown eyes as she stood up. "Great! I won't let you down!"