If Only I Could Leave

Chapter 1 - The Morning Of

(Quick A/N: This takes place roughly at the same time as the last section of the prologue, roughly(Heiwa is now 11), and Naruto is oldest, Naruko is middle, Mito is youngest. Oh, and then there's Menma)

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Minato stared out the window, contemplating what Jiraiya had told him about one of the triplets being the Child of Prophecy. It couldn't be Naruto, he had the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, and Naruko was the one being trained to be able to control the power, given he goes rampaging. So that only left Mito.

As the Child of Prophecy, special training was needed. Minato would give his youngest daughter just that.

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Naruto grinned widely as he watched Heiwa pull clothes out of his closet. Today was the inauguration of the youngest class at the academy, the graduation for the oldest class, and the continuation of all the classes in between. Heiwa was going into the 6th class, and there were 8 in total. Heiwa was strong enough to be in the oldest class, but she chose not to be.

"Here," Heiwa said, throwing some tan pants and an army-green shirt with a Konoha flame on the front at Naruto. "Change into these. I'll be back up in a few minutes."

Naruto nodded, grin still on his face. He stood as Heiwa left the room, probably to go change herself. The young blonde quickly discarded his sleep clothes, then changed into the ones his cousin gave him.

After a moment of adjusting the slightly big clothes - Heiwa and Shinrei wanted to make sure they would fit in the next year - Naruto walked over to his floor mirror and inspected everything. His left eye, the damaged and half-blind one, was a little sore, slightly red too, but Naruto didn't find much of a problem with that. He had dealt with it a lot worse.

Then the door opened to reveal Heiwa, now dressed in a black t-shirt and some dark blue jean-like pants. She gave him a blinding smile - that smile was always genuine and it was Naruto's favorite expression she had - then walked up to him.

"Ready to go eat breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah! I'm really excited!" Naruto exclaimed, barely able to stand still.

"Well let's get going," Heiwa giggled, then the two left Naruto's room.

Two soft pairs of feet ran up behind them, and the sound of synchronized cries reached their ears. "Heiwa-nee, Naru-nii!"

"Hello Mito, Naruko." Heiwa turned, a soft - still genuine - smile on her face.

"Naruko, Mito!" Naruto cried as he was tackled to the floor, and Heiwa couldn't help but laugh. Downstairs, she new Kushina had laughed at the thud and yelling, but the pure redhead never minded the triplets' rough-housing.

"Be careful!" Kushina called from the kitchen. "Your father is still working, and Menma isn't awake yet!"

"Sorry mom," the three said together. Heiwa knew these three from their births and they hardly ever separated. Despite what Jiraiya had said, the demons in both herself and Naruto, and the fact that Minato was dead set on making Naruko the Controller of the Beasts, Heiwa just knew that their sibling love would never drive them apart - not completely. (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge)

Heiwa laughed. "Get your butts movin'! We have to get there before it's over, ya know!"

"Yeah, yeah," the triplets grumbled, then moved out of their dog-pile. Mito and Naruko raced down the stairs, while Heiwa and Naruto made their way down a little more leisurely.

Heiwa could see how Naruto was practically vibrating with excitement and it caused her to chuckle. She lightly poked his side. "Somebody getting excited?"

"Only a little," Naruto replied.

"Sure," Heiwa grinned as they reached the first floor.

"Good morning Heiwa," Minato greeted as he left his office. He ruffled Naruto's hair, smiling slightly.

"Mornin'," Heiwa responded. Naruto greeted his father a little more enthusiastically, giving him a hug, before running off to the kitchen. The Hokage and his niece followed silently before Heiwa decided to talk. "So, Uncle, there's been some stuff going on between Naruto and the villagers. Specifically, since the whole Nine-Tails' attack."

"That was to be expected," Minato sighed. "It happened with you, did it not? Also, with the other Jinchuuriki."

"Yeah, I suppose. But couldn't you do something about it?" Heiwa asked.

"I govern the village, not it's people, Heiwa," Minato replied sternly.

"I know, but-" Heiwa began.

"End of discussion!" Minato said, a little louder. Heiwa stopped walking to the dining room as Minato entered the hallway leading to it.

"I'm... gonna go check on Menma," the redhead told her uncle softly.

"Alright," Minato replied, turning to look at her. "And I didn't mean to yell at you. Everything's just been really stressful."

Heiwa nodded without saying anything before turning around and going to the stairs. She went up the staircase and to Menma's room to find the three-year-old waking up. She walked over, grin on her face.

"How's my little-est ninja?" she cooed.

"M'good," Menma replied groggily.

"That's good," Heiwa said, lifting him out of his crib. "Today is your siblings' first day at the academy. You wanna come?"

The dark-haired toddler nodded. Heiwa smiled gently, then took him down to the kitchen-dining area that they had in their house. The triplets were ready to go and Heiwa told them she would be there in a minute. Kushina gave Heiwa something she could eat on the go and a kiss on the forehead, Minato hugged her quickly, and Heiwa gave the two Menma and the times they needed to be there for the ceremony so that they wouldn't be late.

"Have a good day, you four! Be careful!" Minato called as Heiwa put on her shoes and they began to leave.

"Thanks, and we will!" Heiwa yelled back.

"Love you!" was from Kushina, some babbles from Menma.

"We love you too!" the four academy kids replied, then they were out the door.