SafeHouse
...
It was Minato's kind of day. Sunny, the air baking hot, and not a wisp of cloud marring the cheery blue of the sky hanging bright and distant above the world.
Extreme weather never seemed to bother him like everyone else. In fact, the hotter the better. He loved the sensation of the sun beating down on him, the thin dryness of parched air filling his lungs, and the cool tickle of sweat beading on the back of his neck. There was nothing better.
But, if the miserable moans that had been sounding behind him for the last couple of hours were anything to judge by... not everyone felt the same way.
Minato pivoted on his heel and peered over his shoulder at the three twelve-year-olds trailing along wearily in his wake.
"What's the matter, guys?" he frowned, a calculated amount of oblivious concern coloring his voice, "Aren't you happy to have finished our mission?"
The three identical looks of exhausted, almost tearful disbelief that he received at this brought an idiotic, toothy grin to his face. Three kids having just traversed miles of wild forest terrain-mud and sweat scrubbed over their skin and clothes, dark rings shadowing their glossy eyes, their small feet stumbling over each other in fatigue-should not have looked so adorable.
"What are you talking about, sensei?" Obito, always the first to lose his cool, yelled weakly, "This sucks!"
Minato jerked to a stop, swiveling around to face the trio with what he hoped was a mildly startled expression.
"What makes you say that?" As if he wasn't fully aware that Team Minato had just finished the most demanding diplomacy mission that the entirety of Tea Country had ever seen.
Apparently the innocent lilt to his voice was just a little too much for Obito. The young Uchiha stumbled to a standstill, hands gripping the straps of his pack tightly, and just stared up at him with faintly watering eyes and a wobbling lower lip. Are you serious? his expression screamed at him.
"We're... we're just all feeling a little tired sensei." Rin took over the conversation, her gentle voice sounding unusually weak and breathless. Minato frowned in genuine concern as he saw her sway slightly on her feet.
Maybe he had pushed them too hard this time? It was always hard for him to tell when they had reached their limit as a group-Obito would dissolve into tears at the smallest frustration and Kakashi would stay silent for miles before any whimper of pain slipped out.
Now, one would think that the most logical course of action would be to just make decisions based on the reactions of the remaining female member of their team. But, Minato had quickly learned that relying on Rin's behavior to determine the general health of the entire team was a bad idea. He suspected it might have something to do with the looming shadow of approaching puberty, but the young girl was the definition of inconsistent. Minato had watched her dislodge blood-slicked shurikan from her own shoulder with calm, scientific dexterity and collapse into sniffling tears over the mud spattering her clothes all in the same day. Kushina had whacked him in the head and called him an emotionally obtuse imbecile, which was a little hurtful really but- the point was Minato was always on pins and needles when it came to diagnosing the well-being of his team.
There was a muffled thump as Kakashi promptly fell to his bottom in the middle of the side-walk.
"K-Kakashi-kun!" Minato stumbled forward in shock, running his hands worriedly over the boy's slouched frame, searching for any sign of injury, "What's wrong, does something hurt?"
Sharp concern and a flare of misguided anger twisted in Minato's chest.
For the young Hatake to simply drop like that, Minato knew that he must be in excruciating pain. Kakashi had such a tight reign over his reactions that, whenever his rigid control broke, it must be pretty bad. When it came to Kakashi, Minato had to react to a small moan of pain the same way as he normally would a shriek of agony. The Yellow Flash dreaded the day when the boy's Hatake pride would hide away an injury that was really critical. But, no matter how many times he reprimanded him, it had no effect on the boy.
Kakashi had convinced himself that admitting to an injury was synonymous with admitting weakness.
And, as much as Kakashi respected him, the little Hatake just couldn't find it in him to believe Minato when he told him that he didn't need to hide his injuries. That nobody would think any less of him. Kakashi simply refused to trust him.
Obito and Rin crowded nervously around their fallen teammate, watching as Minato crouched and laid a firm hand on Kakashi's slumped shoulder.
"Hey, c'mon," Minato kept his face neutral, but his blue eyes ran anxiously over the child, "Is something wrong Kakashi-kun?"
"Huh." Kakashi's heavy-lidded gray eyes lifted slowly to his own in an expression of mild surprise, "I thought we were taking a break, so..."
Taking a...
"Oh!" Minato rocked back on his heels, barking out a sharp laugh of startled relief, "Is that it?" Trust Kakashi to almost give me a heart-attack after the mission is over.
Minato laughed again, sounding just a tad hysterical. Wow, maybe this mission had taken more out of all of them then he had thought?
They all looked blankly back at him, their weary stares faintly accusatory in their dullness. Minato winced.
"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and rose back into a standing position, "Yeah. I'm sure a little break would be fine. We did finish our mission early after all. It's not like we need to get back to Konoha this... second..."
Minato trailed off as his blue eyes caught on the overhanging sign of the shop beside them.
KATSU'S SURFSHOP: Get Your Swimsuits, Souvenirs, and Sandals Here!
His three students suddenly became aware of the steady brightening of his stunned expression. They shared wary glances with one another.
"Sensei?" Rin asked timidly.
"I've just had the greatest idea..." Minato breathed, turneing to look at them with wide blue eyes, an excited grin growing on his face.
"No." Kakashi said in reflexive panic, "No."
"Why didn't I think of this before!" Minato looked up at the sky, hitting the palm of his hand against his forehead in joyful disbelief, "This is perfect!"
"Uh," Obito shifted his feet nervously, "What's perfect, sensei?"
Rin shot the Uchiha a stern look as if to say, don't encourage him!
"The beach!" he whipped around from where he'd been pacing excitedly, throwing his arms out at them as if revealing a fantastic gift. They all flinched.
"The... beach?"
"The beach!" he yelled, catching a few stares from random passer-by, "Guys think about it. We had a two-week quota to complete this mission. We did a good job and finished a couple days early. Now we're in Port City-Port City!"
"Rin, stop him." Kakashi whined.
"Sensei-" she began, raising her hands in a universal calming gesture.
"Look! We can get all our beach stuff right here!" he exclaimed, deaf to his student's feeble protests, "Sun-tan lotion, beach towels, goggles-"
"Goggles?" Obito perked up.
"Goggles!" Minato crowed, hugging the Uchiha suddenly to his side, pointing at the sign in the shop window next to them. Rin blinked, curiosity getting the better of her, and stumbled over to press her face against the glass as well.
"Oh look, Kakashi-kun!" she cast a bright glance over her shoulder at the sullen boy, bobbing excitedly on her heels, "We could make a sand-castle! They have shovels and buckets."
Kakashi pulled himself cautiously to his feet and wandered over to peer through the window with the rest of his team. Minato watched, a pleased smile softening his face as the reserved boy joined their group.
Kakashi's gray eyes slanted with uncertainty, but Minato saw a faint glow of longing in the boy's hesitant gaze. It was clear to the jounin that the child wanted to go, but was struggling with the idea. This didn't really surprise him-Kakashi had been rejecting everything that was fun and childish for almost his entire twelve-year-old life.
When winning back the honor to one's disgraced family name and fulfilling one's duty became the most important thing in a person's life, a whole lot took the backseat.
Well, Minato wasn't about to let any of his students convince themselves that it was their duty to miss out on a potential three days of memory-making and well-deserved fun!
So, when Kakashi opened his mouth to protest, turning his head towards Minato even as his eyes remained fixedly glued to the inside of the store, Minato cut him off.
"Alright! It's decided! We'll spend the next three days enjoying Port City, have the time of our lives, and then we'll head back to Konoha with a day to spare."
"Really?" Obito grinned up at him, his grimy hands still pressed up against the glass.
"Yes, really!" Minato laughed at the thrilled twinkle in the Uchiha's dark eyes, "Now go in there and buy everything you need for the beach. I'm going to go check us in at that hotel down the road, and then I'll be back to join you."
"Thank you, sensei!" Rin buried her head in his stomach, knocking the air out of him slightly, and wrapped her arms around his waist in a fierce hug. Minato chuckled.
He knew this was a good idea!
The three of them shuffled in through the shop door, a bell on a string clanging lightly above them as they filed in. Minato smiled contentedly to himself and watched them as they began to wander around the store. Obito and Kakashi squabbled childishly as they sorted through a pile of swim-trunks, and Rin flitted over to the sunglasses rack, smiling softly.
If only he could see them like this always. Happy, free of all expectations and obligations... simply being children.
As their sensei, it was his job to give them a lot of things. Guidance and instruction were certainly a large part of it, but Minato knew that a good teacher-like his own sensei, Jiraiya-tried to give their pupils experiences that would shape them for the rest of their lives.
... Although, now that he thought back on it, Jiraiya's idea of a fulfilling life experience had often involved a cringe-worthy amount of alcohol and a room full of grabby, scantily-clad women. Minato could still vividly recall the day after his seventeenth birthday when he had awoken in his neighbor's flowerbed wearing nothing but a paper-crown and a colorful assortment of lip-stick kisses, clutching an uprooted street-sign tightly to his chest. His sensei had laughed uproariously when he angrily told the older man of his horrific situation a couple days later.
But, as betrayed and angry as he had felt towards his teacher, Minato knew that Jiraiya had just been trying to share with him what he considered to be one of the best parts of life. It's the thought that counts right?
So, while a couple of days spent leisurely on the beach weren't exactly the definition of a pivotal life-altering experience... it would give his team a chance to remember themselves and revel in the simplicity of their fleeting childhood.
And really, when we would they ever get another opportunity like this?
Children grew up fast during war.
With that thought in mind, Minato turned on his heel and strolled through the crowd towards the white-washed hotel a couple shops down. His hands curled loosely around the straps of his backpack and he grinned up at the blinding, hot sun. There really was nothing better.
...
Hey there!
This is just a little something for the summer season :) Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Also, just to be clear, I don't intend for this to be a oneshot-but god knows it shouldn't be a bajillion-chapter-long story like Nostalgia either haha. Feel free to review and tell me what you think.
Thanks for reading!
~Flinty