"Hey everyone, Minato here, if you're reading this that means you must like the story. And apparently something must be wrong with you. If you ask me it's a little boring right now. Not enough action for me," raises his fist in the air.
"Come on Minato, we talked about this already."
"I know, I know, I know," kicks at the ground in frustration. "You said, 'It's only the first chapter and I want to build a storyline.' You don't have to say it again."
"Good. But don't worry, give me some time and I promise. There will be more than enough action for you."
"You promise?'
"I promise."
"You heard that folks, just hang in there for a little bit and I'll be kicking Hollow ass all across Soul Society. So enjoy the chapter and hopefully I'll see you next time. Well, technically I won't see you, but you know what I mean. "
Revival Arc, Chapter Two
The moment Minato entered his apartment he felt a great relief to finally be home. After taking off his coat and shoes he headed directly towards the bedroom. Right now all he could think about was getting some sleep. He didn't even bother taking off his school uniform before collapsing on the bed. Lying down on his stomach Minato looked at the clock and realized that it was a few minutes after 6:30.
"24 hours. It doesn't seem like enough time to really contemplate my choices."
His eyelids suddenly started to feel really heavy. Right now there was no way he was going to fight the urge to fall asleep. So much had happen that Sensoji thought that some rest would be very beneficial. As Minato closed his eyes darkness engulfed his world as he fell asleep.
A few moments later the young man felt a strong gust of wind blow over him. His eyes darted open and Minato realized that for some reason he was now lying on the ground. As he stood up Sensoji saw that he was in the middle of a cavernous mountain range.
How the hell did I end up here? As if this day hadn't already been weird enough now this was happening.
What is it that causes you to hesitate? A loud voice seemed to echo through each cave.
Minato turned to see if he could find the source of the voice. His eyes searched every opening until he came upon the largest opening in the mountains. There his gaze met a large pair of reds eyes that gazed upon him.
You know the path that you should take. Why do you continue to allow doubt to creep into your thoughts?
Who are you? And why does it matter to you what I decide?
My name is… and I am a part of you. Therefore this decision is as much mine as it is yours.
What did you say your name was again? Minato couldn't hear what its name was. It was as if static had interfered at that moment.
That's right; you can't hear my name because you have yet to fully embrace your own potential. You claim to be an ordinary human when you know that there is something different about you. It is this that blocks your mind from hearing my name.
How is it that you know this? Each word that it spoke seemed to pierce through him.
Ha-ha, it's like I said before. But that's all I will say for now. We will eventually see each other again.
Before he could say anything darkness descended on him with surprising speed. The next moment he was once again lying comfortable in his bed. Minato looked at the clock and it was only 7:08.
I was only asleep for about half an hour! He flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Man, what the hell was that? He couldn't tell if that was a dream or something else. I've never had a dream that felt so real. Like this day wasn't weird enough already.
Sitting up Minato reached for a couple scrolls that he kept away inside a container beside his bed. If he decided to do this, it would surely interfere with his duties at the shrine. Being a young priest had its advantages as well as its drawbacks. There was so much that he had to consider with every decision he made. At least his father decided to lighten the amount responsibilities he had at the shrine for now.
********
"Minato I think it would be a good idea if you're allowed to spend some time away from the shrine. Your sisters, your mother, your grandfather and I can handle everything around here. I just think you need… I'm not really sure how to put this. I just want you to try and have a normal life before you decide if you're going to take over the shrine."
********
The adolescent priest understood what his dad was trying to tell him. So shortly after that conversation Minato's father helped him move into his own apartment and as for his duties at his families shrine, Minato would still help out with the more common rituals. He was genuinely grateful towards his father, because since then he didn't feel so much pressure to live up to the high standards that nearly everyone placed on him.
From time to time Minato's father would come over and they just hang. The two of them would never talk about anything to do with the shrine. It was just a father and son spending as much quality time together as they could. Even his grandfather would come over to visit as well. Minato had to make sure that none of his neighbors were around, because most of them were single women and his grandfather would flirt with them if he had the chance.
While he continued to read through the scrolls someone knocked on the front door.
"Minato-kun, are you home?"
Minato could tell by the voice that it was his neighbor, Shizuka. The high school student put the scrolls down and hurried to the door. He opened the front door and greeted his lovely neighbor.
"Hello Shizuka-chan. Come on in." He always referred as chan in a playful manner.
Mizuno Shizuka had been Minato's neighbor ever since he moved in. She was a very sweet and kind woman who often worried about his wellbeing. Shortly after she filed for divorce Shizuka moved into her apartment. She never told him her actually age but he figured she was in her late twenties to early thirties.
After taking off her shoes Shizuka entered the apartment. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything Minato-kun."
"No, no, I was just reading a few scrolls, nothing too important really."
"Heh-heh, I think you're the only person I know that still likes to read scroll." Shizuka would often tell him that he acted older than what he actually was.
"I don't think it's that odd. I just like the way it feels when I'm holding a scroll. So what brings you to my modest home on this pleasant evening?"
"Well," she held out her arms. "I was making dinner and I thought that you might be hungry. So I decided to make extra for you."
In her hands were a few containers full of food. Now that he thought about it, Minato realized that he hadn't had eating anything since lunch. He was too tired when he came home to actually make anything.
"Sure, why don't you go ahead and sit at the table while I heat up the food."
He took the food from her and went into the kitchen while she waited at the table. It didn't take long for him to heat up the food. Since it was really only enough for two people. All it was rice, beef strips and some soup. But Minato didn't mind since Shizuka went out off her way to make some for him. Once it was ready he put everything on a tray, as well two glasses of iced tea to go with their meal.
"So I noticed that you haven't changed out of your uniform yet. Did you just recently get home?" Her young neighbor brought the food over to the table on a tray.
"I guess you can say that. I had a few things I needed to take care of after school and I just got home less than an hour ago. So excuse me if I look a little messy."
"Oh no, I understand what it means to be busy sometimes. You actually look fine." His short, dark hair looked a little unkempt but that was about it.
"Well since the foods ready let's go ahead and eat."
It was always pleasant having dinner with Shizuka. Even though she was older than him they always seemed to have a lot to talk about. Even if all they talked about was family, work and school it was nice to be able share what happen during the day with someone.
"So how's your family doing? I haven't seen your father around lately."
"They're doing fine. They've been pretty busy at the shrine the past few weeks. I try to help out a much as possible but my father wants me to focus more on my studies. He says there will be enough time for me to worry about the shrine later on." Minato's father felt that there started to be too much unnecessary pressure about whether he'd take over the shrine.
"Well school is important so I can understand what he means."
"Grandpa's the same as usual, can't seem to stay out of trouble. I thought he was supposed to calm down as he got older. Now he's just a perverted old man."
"It can't be that bad, can it?" The comically serious look on his face was all the answer she needed.
"My mother and sisters have been taking care of the shrine with my father. The two youngest are now starting to get involved with some of the daily rituals. Other than that there's nothing really too interesting happening. So how about you, how's work been lately?"
Shizuka took a quick sip of her tea. "I highly doubt you actually want hear my complaints about work Minato-kun."
"It wouldn't be the first time, so what's the difference now?"
"I know, but sometimes I feel bad about it. So I'll just save it for next time."
"Next time… right," when she said that Minato started to think about the decision he needed to make. For a while he had nearly forgotten about but now it was all coming back. What choice do I really have?
His sudden silence seemed a little and was uncommon for him. Even if something was bothering him, Minato would usually be willing to talk about it. By the look on his face it seemed like he was contemplating something.
"Is something wrong?"
Minato remained silent for several moments, "I can ask you to do something for me?"
"Sure, what is it that you need me to do?"
"I'm going to be gone for a while. So could you watch over my apartment for me while I'm gone?" He had finally made up his mind. Minato just couldn't forget everything he had seen and heard today.
"Are you sure that it'd be okay for me to watch over your apartment? Wouldn't be better if someone from your family did it?"
"I trust you so there shouldn't be any problems. Unless you don't want to do it then I'll go ahead and ask one of my sisters to stop by when they have the chance." Minato was sure that his family wouldn't have any objections to Shizuka looking after the apartment while he was gone.
"No, no, no, I'll do it I just wanted to make sure."
"Thank you Shizuka, I really appreciate it." He felt at ease knowing that she'd be there.
"It's no problem. So where are you going and how long are you going to be gone?" Something just didn't seem right about the situation. "Are you sure everything's okay?"
"Everything's fine, there's just something important that I need to do." There really wasn't much he could tell her without sounding crazy.
The two of them continued their conversation for the next few hours. Eventually Mizuno realized that it was getting late. Since she had to work in the morning and Minato had classes Shizuka decided that it was time for her to say good night. Sensoji escorted his guest to the door. Minato told her that he would give her the key to his apartment in the morning just before he left for school. She still had the feeling that something was wrong but once again he assured her that everything was okay.
Once Shizuka was gone Minato had to call his father to let him know what was going on. Of course he couldn't give him all the details about the circumstances behind him leaving for now. Surprisingly his father didn't seem too concerned about it. There wasn't even a lecture trying to remind him about his obligations to the shrine. Although it wasn't normal for his father to say something like that, but it would have been funny to hear him try.
The only thing Minato's father really said to him was, "If you can, bring back some souvenirs. I'm sure your mother and the girls would love something from your trip."
After hanging up the phone the young priest was ready to go to bed. But first he needed to take a shower. As Minato felt the running water wash over his body he couldn't keep from thinking about the road ahead. Before today the only thing he was worried about was the next exam. Now that seemed like the least of his worries. There was a much bigger world out there and all he needed to do was open the door and walk through.
I guess I should be glad that tomorrow is Saturday and I only have classes in the morning. Otherwise it could end up being more of a hassle than necessary.
Surprisingly Minato was starting to feel a little anxious, which really wasn't normal for him. Everyone usually described him as a very calm person, almost to the point of being cold sometimes. It was rare for anything to actually rattle him. But this was a completely different situation than what he was use to. For the first time in a while the path in front him was shrouded in a thick haze.
After drying off Minato was finally ready for bed. The young priest needed to get as much rest as he possibly could, because tomorrow was promising to be a long day.
End Chapter Two
