Ethelia's pov

I made Minato carry me back down the stairs, obviously. Obito was in charge of carrying the cash down. However, when we parted ways at the bottom with the promise of lunch tomorrow, I found that hauling that sack was the hardest thing I've ever done, physically, in my entire life. I had a feeling training to be a ninja would be much, much worse than this.

The sun was already beginning to set when I wrangled the creaky door to my house open. I knew my dad was home, I could tell because the light from the dining room shone through the window. Crap, now that I think about it, the poor guy is probably wondering where I've been.

"Dad, I'm home! Sorry I"m late." I called into the house as I closed and locked the door behind me. "In here!" His voice, as per usual, was heavy with exhaustion. But it seemed different today. He's always joyful no matter what. Today he just sounds like he's faking it. Maybe some fast cash will turn that frown upside down.

"Did you finally make some friends?" He joked as I entered the room. I answered by plopping the sack of ryo down on the table. It tipped over, some of the coins spilling out. I probably look like I just robbed a bank, or collected hit money. By the look on his face, he's probably contemplating calling the police.

"You can quit your night job now. I think this will be enough to pay most of the bills." I announced as I scooped some rice onto my plate, drizzling curry over the top. I heard my father begin to sputter. "W-Where-" He was speechless. I didn't really want to worry him by telling him I"m going to be a ninja, and I didn't want to tell him I could fly... and that I was totally a bomb.

"Hokage. He saw we were struggling. He said that if I kept an eye on what happens in the civilian school, since enemies often lurk around there for cover, he offered to pay me for it. Some of his ninja visited the school today. Approached me." The long, very detailed lie slipped out so easily that it was a bit scary. I gulped down my guilt with a mouthful of rice. I'm doing this for him.

"Oh my God." Was all my dad could choke out. I turned to face him, but before I even knew what was happening, I was trapped in a bone-crushing hug. I let out a little gag of surprise. "D-Dad, it's nothing." I tried pushing him off of me but he wouldn't budge. He only hugged me tighter. It reminded me of one of those Chinese finger traps. The more you struggle, the harder it is to escape.

"Your mother would be so proud." He murmured. I felt myself freeze. He never talks about mom. Sometimes I think he hates looking at me, because her and I were very similar. My eyes have an unfamiliar blue and purple, unlike her warm chocolate brown ones. And she was quite tall, too. Those were our only differences. 

"Dad..." I bit my lip, hugging him back. And I don't hug, so this was a dramatic and rare event. I could tell my Dad knew that by the way his body tensed. Ah, have a touching  moment with a family member. I can cross that off my bucket list. I think I could die happily right at this very moment if I didn't think my dad would more than likely kill himself right after... wait, happy thoughts! 

He pulled away (thank Jesus) after a while. I awkwardly patted his arm, picking up my plate of rice so he wouldn't be compelled to try and hug me again. "Right... well, you know how to do bills so... there." I nudged the back, more coins spilling out. He looked at it with awe, clearly hesitant to touch it. "Y-You should take some." He said. My face twisted. "Why?" I questioned.

"Don't you want to have a little extra money on hand?" He asked, looking at me with watery eyes. I winced, averting my gaze. "Er... no, I'm okay dad. If you have extra money left over, I'd love to have some. Just do the bills first." I said, thinking of the three late bills we could now knock out. I heard my dad choke out a sob.

"Thank you, Ethelia." He said, putting a hand over his eyes. I saw him smile. "No probwem." I said, my mouth full of rice. He chuckled at me, and for the first time in a very long time, he looked genuinely happy. "Hey, maybe now we can finally save up for a vacation." I joked, wondering what I was going to tell him when I actually did become a ninja. "Yeah... yeah, maybe we can." He wasn't joking. I blinked at him.

It wasn't just my life that was changed forever, it was his too.

Third person pov

"So, what do you guys think of Ethelia?" Minato asked once she was out of earshot. Rin and Obito grinned, while Kakashi grunted. "She can't fight, but at least she's somewhat useful. Or she will be. Other than that she's just a waste of space." The Hatake said, referring to Ethelia's use as a chakra bank. "Kakashi!" Rin gasped. The boy clicked his tongue.

Minato sighed. "And you two?" He asked his other two, much nicer, students. "I think she's pretty cool! Kinda anti-social and weird, but funny." Obito said truthfully. He liked Ethelia, and was ready to take on the challenge of befriending her. "I think she needs a friend, and it'll be cool to have another girl around to back me up. She's a bit crude at times, but I think that's just how she is." Rin smiled. Minato smiled back.

"What about you, Sensei?" Obito questioned. Even Kakashi wanted to hear what the blonde had to say. Minato smiled. "She cares a lot for her father, because she loves him. They share a bond. If we can form a bond with her, I have no doubt that she'll do anything to protect us. She's trustworthy, I think that lying is below her. She's sarcastic, and a little mean, but she's a good person." Minato diagnosed. Rin and Obito smiled, "Hai!"

Kakashi just clicked his tongue.