Just a cute little something made for 4th of July with a little Konoha twist.
Title: Explosion of Color
Genre: Humor/Family
Rating: K+ for a teensy, tiny word at the end of the one-shot
Summary: It's the seven-year anniversary for the end of the Third Great Ninja War and everyone's excited for the party and fireworks at the beach after dark! Light SasuNaru and a sad attempt at humor. 4th of July AU one-shot
Sorry it's so late. I've been at the Cape with no internet D: Oh, and my...beta...wouldn't get off her butt and read this for me.
The darkness of night had arrived, bringing a calm to the everything it touched; the lake a way away from the village was calm, just a light whoosh could be heard from the sound of the waves hitting the sand. Some people were blissfully asleep, despite the special occasion, and some people were wide awake, making their way to the small beach with blankets to sit on and tea to sip.
It was a night of celebration. It was the seven-year anniversary of the end of the Third Great Ninja War and each village and villager had his or her own way of celebrating the "holiday." Some people celebrated in the comfort of their own homes, some people had their own celebrations of their own with wild parties, and some of the Konoha villagers gathered at the beach with other villagers and sat around a campfire with sparklers and soda and music.
The festivities on the beach had begun just before sunset. There were games and random get-togethers while the sun was still up, but after the sun disappeared and darkness arrived, campfires were started and marshmellows were roasted. Children (and some goofy adults) lit sparklers and danced around, watching the patterns of the sparks and light.
It was a large day of peace that everyone celebrated, and the Namikaze's were no exception. Being the great Fourth Hokage that he was, Minato of course had to be at the biggest (and, of course, most clean and family-oriented) party - the one down at the beach. He never gave a speech, but spoke to some of the ninja about the "not-so-good old days," and he spoke to some of the civilians about some of the events that occurred.
Minato felt an excited tug on his loose pants and the Hokage looked down, smiling at the beaming face of the tiny 6-year-old. "Yes?"
"When do the fireworks start?" Naruto asked excitedly, tugging on his cotton pants again out of excitement.
Minato's smile grew. "Maybe they wont have them this year!" he teased, feigning surprise.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. "They'd better! That's always the best part!"
The older blonde smirked. "The best part is knowing that there's no huge war!"
Naruto waved his hand at the taller man and scoffed. "You think what you want, and I'll think what I want. I just wanna see some dang fireworks!" Minato laughed and ruffled his son's hair, causing some light protesting.
The minutes went by and Minato sat in the sand and watched with amusement as Uchiha Sasuke came over and handed Naruto a sparkler, a fake pout on his face as if it were really such a chore to come over and give his best friend what the two considered a "mini-firework." The two entertained themselves with the beautiful, star-shaped sparks that flew from the tiny "stick." Minato smiled at the two as he watched them laugh and play.
About an hour after the sun had set, the fireworks were ready to be set off. All the people of Konoha - and some people from other villages that visited the lake - sat where they would be able to watch, and spoke quietly among themselves as if being too loud would ruin the whole thing. There were murmurs of excitement as small sparks could be seen at the middle of the lake, where there was what looked like an island where the fireworks were set off.
The smaller Namikaze quickly went back to his father, plopping himself down on his father's lap. The taller blonde lifted Naruto up for just a moment as he crossed his legs Indian style, and invited the young Uchiha to join. Naruto grinned and pulled Sasuke over sitting the raven on his own lap and Minato thanked the heavens that the two were only six and weighed barely anything!
Sasuke crossed his arms and pushed his lower lip out and weakly protested and tried to get up, but the young blonde just wrapped his arms around the Uchiha's waste and giggled, excited for the fireworks to finally start. Sasuke grunted and settled in, a small smile gracing his features.
When the fireworks did start, the children were in awe. If anyone asked Minato if he liked the fireworks, he honestly wouldn't even know; he was too busy watching the two excited six-year-olds grinning up at the lit-up night. Colors illuminated the small boats that were situated at the shore and the sand turned brilliant colors after every burst like paint was splashed every which way.
The show seemed to last forever to those who had never really seen it - like the children - as vivid colors of gold and blue and green and red were shot into the air, one after the other. But, alas, as fireworks were shot into the air even more rapidly as before, the grande finale occurred and the show was over.
Everyone clapped and cheered, excited after the huge commotion. But soon, everyone started packing up their things and were headed home. Sasuke got up from his place on Naruto's lap, and Minato practically peeled Naruto off the taller blonde's lap. Minato stood and stretched, feeling the sharp tingling in his legs as blood rushed to the deprived limbs. The two children said their goodbyes and headed separate ways.
"That was awesome!" Naruto gushed and gripped his father's hand as the two walked down the street toward their house.
"Yeah, it was," Minato said. He grinned and squeezed the child's tiny hand.
The Namikaze's walked along the barely-lit dirt road with Naruto's excited babbling in the background when nostalgia hit Minato like a bus: it was only six years ago when he and Kushina had been to those exact fireworks. Would she be excited? Of course she would; she would probably be even more hyped up then her own kid. Without even knowing it, a sad smile formed on the taller blonde's face as he thought of the memories of the night exactly six years ago during the first ever anniversary of peace.
The smaller Namikaze faded out and cocked his head to the side, confused at the expression on his otosan's face. He tugged on Minato's pant-leg, pulling the Yondaime out of his own dreamland. "What's wrong, otosan?" Naruto asked, glancing up concernedly at the taller man.
Minato smiled for real this time and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking."
"Oh. Well did you see when…?" Naruto jumped right back into his excited monologue as the two walked back home.
0-0
"And…and then…." By the time the two reached the Namikaze household, Minato was carrying the Naruto as he struggled to stay awake, yawning and trying to think of something new to say.
Minato chuckled as the young boy said something unfathomable between yawns. "Naruto, I think it's time for bed. It's-" Minato glanced at the clock. "almost midnight."
"No, no!" Naruto protested weakly as Minato climbed the stairs. "Did…did you…?" was all he managed to get out before promptly falling asleep on Minato's broad shoulder, his mouth open slightly and the grip around Minato's neck loosening.
After changing the younger boy's clothes, Minato left and shook his head, knowing he'd have a hell of a story to listen to tomorrow…again.
Meh XP Got the idea while me, my mom, my uncle, and my aunt were all at the beach as two different people were firing fireworks and different ends of the beach! Except we weren't at a lake, we were at an ocean :P
Well, review and you will have a lovely pastry of your choosing (or fruit or something if you're on a cyber-diet ;)!