Arranging the Stars

Chapter Three

Reina looked down from the tree she was currently sitting in, her eyes shifting back and forth with a quickness unlike a normal 4 year old child. Her heart was beating loudly, yet her breathing remained calm.

She had her messy locks pulled back into a high ponytail, yet again like all the other times, her bangs refused to stay slicked back. She had on a green tank top with a pair of tan shorts on. while her feet were clad in black ninja-like sandals her mother bought her.

Obito had been teaching her some of the stuff he learned with his team, but she would occasionally tag along to see for herself. She didn't think that everything Obito told her was absolutely true. Although she would still sit and listen while he went on about the, obviously over exaggerated, story of the day.

So that is what lead up to her being in the tree. She decided to tag along with him to one of the practices he goes to as a Genin. His Sensei, Minato, agreed that she could participate in the exercise of the day. Since normally she would sit out on the sidelines and try to practice whatever Minato would give her for the day.

He would have the three kids do a team drill, and once they were on the task, then he would come over and teach Reina some of the things she would learn in the academy. She really liked Minato, he was a nice person and had a brightness about him that she herself couldn't explain. Whenever Minato was around she felt like she had an uncle,or is it more like a big brother?

He didn't make her feel like Obito did, and she always referred to the odd Uchiha as her big brother Bito. Minato didn't make her feel just safe, but he made her feel as if she had something close to a dad. Granted she doesn't know what having a dad around feels like, but she could say that Minato comes close to it. Her mom had explained that Minato felt like an Uncle to Reina.

Reina heard a rustling in the leaves behind her, and was just about to jump down from her spot when she spotted a flash of blonde hair.

"Am I still easy to find?" Reina sighed as quietly as she could.

Minato chuckled softly as he ruffled Reina's bangs. "No, I actually had to look for you. I taught you how to conceal your Chakra five days ago. How did you learn that so fast?"

Reina got a little comfortable and plopped down on the branch she was perched in next to Minato. She thought about it for a little bit, getting silent and blankly staring at the ground below.

"Well my mom helped me a little bit, she just told me to think about what I would do if I wanted to hide something from someone. So I just imagine shrinking my chakra and making it small, then I put it in a box and hide the box. I kept trying to do it all the time when my mom was looking for me in the house. Why, is it not normal for someone to learn it within a week?"

Reina looked up at Minato with a curious expression, and he couldn't help but grin. She was an astounding little girl, a prodigy in all honesty. She always had a strong aura surrounding her, yet she was a sweet and shy girl. It took him a month after her coming to their training meetings for her to finally start talking to him and asking him questions.

There was a crack of a twig to the southwest of them and that caught the attention of the little girl. She jumped from the thick branch she was seated on and used one of the vines hanging from a higher branch. Minato watched as she made it to the ground below and almost expertly avoided Obito as she disappeared into the bushes.

"Ha thought you could catch me Bito? Have to do better than that!"

Minato watched Obito chase after the younger Uchiha, and waited until they disappeared. "You can come out now Kakashi."

Kakashi landed on the branch his Sensei was seated on.

"Why didn't you tag her out? Going soft now Kakashi?" Minato laughed at the glare he received from his student.

"Why do I need to prove myself by beating a kid? I could have just been waiting for you to come here. We all know you never leave her alone when you allow her to train with us."

Kakashi stood up and was about to take his leave and find his teammates, but his Sensei's voice halted him in his tracks.

"She'll be a strong Shinobi one day, she's got a lot of potential. I just don't want the darkness of our world to be the reason she can't find her way home."

And with that Kakashi leaped down to the earth below, going to find the little girl and help her take out the rest of his team.

"Whose side are you on Reina? How could you team up with Kakashi and take us out like that!? I thought we were family?" Obito who was in the middle of his fit, ranted while Reina tried to practice the different hand seals.

"Big brother Bito, if you would have offered to help me, instead of trying to take me out, I would have helped you over Kakashi. You came after me first okay!" The youngest girl responded as she continued to do the hand seals pictured in the book in front of her.

Kakashi and Rin walked over, seeing the two argue back and forth made them really seem like siblings. Rin noticed the book Reina was intently studying, and smiled.

"Glad to see you using the book I gave you Reina!"

"Thank you for it Rin. I think I've memorised most of the seals in here now. Can you give me a quiz on it sometime?"Reina looked up at the older girl, her curious eyes shining.

"Sure, how about tomorrow after we get done training? That way you have time to practice while we do whatever Minato-Sensei wants us to do. But for now I can test you on a few of the ones you already know, and give you some pointers." Rin explained the plan as she sat across from Reina.

"Oh, I think I have to train at the Uchiha compound with Fugaku-sama tomorrow?" Reina thought aloud as she closed the book in front of her.

"That you do, and you are late for your training today."

Reina's eyes went wide and she quickly stood up jumping away from the group of older kids.

"Sorry Fugaku-sama, I honestly forgot!" Reina hurriled scrambled over to the clan head, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Let's go Reina, you have a lot to learn today." Fugaku turned to head back to the Uchiha compound.

Reina looked back to her new friends and gave a shy wave, before she lowered her head. Bangs covering her face, and followed behind Fugaku to endure his rounds of training.