Cloud Age Symphony; Last Exile OP. Fantastic song... leaning towards the electronic side. I loved it, anyhow.
The Hokage Mountain looked odd standing perilously against the backdrop of trees with only four heads decorating it's face. Without Tsunade's massive forehead looked down upon the city Naruto couldn't quite call it home. Konoha really didn't age though, basking in what could possibly be immortal glory, a sort of feel to it that Naruto got even when walking through the gates twenty years in the future.
Obito and Rin were conversing excitedly behind him as Minato chatted pleasantly with the guards. Jeez, Naruto thought to himself, everyone was enamored with the blonde. It completely exceeded local hero, and was starting to enter local-demigod phase.
Everyone teased him light heartedly about being inaugurated. Apparently, it was common knowledge that Minato detested being mentioned so formally.
Throughout all the jeers, Naruto couldn't help the ease the strain out of his smile. Thinking about how quickly their pleasant lives would be cut short—he wasn't aware of any of them aside from Kakashi in the future—made him exhausted. This cute little girl Rin, with her big brown eyes and chirpy laugh would never live to see her twentieth birthday. Neither would the boy, who reminded him so much of himself.
"I can't wait until the ceremony!" Rin was saying eagerly. "I wonder how many people will be there? D'ya think there'll be a parade? Ne, Sensei, do you think we get to come up on stage with you?"
"Of course not." Kakashi cut in with a frown, rolling his eyes.
Minato laughed a little sheepishly. "Well, probably not, Rin-chan. Kakashi-kun might be right—I'm not sure."
"Awh." Rin pouted.
"Awh." Obito mimicked.
She perked up though, swiveling to watch him with a curious expression that just seemed to naturally be on her face. "Hey Naruto-san! Are you going to the ceremony?"
Naruto stilled visibly, before quickly reverting into an unreserved smile. "Ah—well…"
To be quite honest, he hadn't been expecting to have a particularly long stay in this time. But he'd be lying if he said Minato hadn't piqued his interest. Though he'd been in the man's presence for maybe twenty minutes, he felt himself drawing in for more. Everything about the man enraptured and surprised him. The way he tousled the back of his head—a familiar gesture which Naruto did himself frequently—the quirk of his lips when he was amused but not overtly so, his constant laughter.
And would it really hurt to see his father become Hokage? That was one of the biggest historical moments of this generation, and while Naruto didn't care particularly for history, it was his father. Maybe at one point, back when just the mere mention of him even having a father had him captivated, the very thought would have had him jumping eagerly for a chance to go. But after finding out who the man really was, the man who sealed the greatest monster in the world into his son's stomach, a flawed, imperfect man, Naruto had lost most of his interest in the guy.
And now, here he was, vacillating on the choice.
"Sure." He decided upon with a shrug. Lying to them now hardly mattered. "Why not, right?"
There was a beat of silence, as if the three couldn't quite believe that Naruto would hold such little enthusiasm about it, until Obito laughed. "Awesome!" Rin agreed quickly. Kakashi just sort of looked put upon in the background.
Luckily, the conversation took to safer ground, and Naruto quickly sighed in relief. The three—and Kakashi, occasionally—had gone onto a lighter note of the weather, new shops that were opening up that spring, and the occasional bout into politics, what had the entire group divulging into their obviously clashing beliefs.
"And Naruto,san, you haven't even seen that ninja clothing store on second street—it's just amazing! But Jiraiya's perverted book store is just across the street from it… oh! Do you even know what that is? That disgusting Icha Icha? They didn't have that when you left… did they? !"
"Uh—well no." Naruto admitted, conscious of the eyes he knew were trained onto him. "But I'm aware of who Jiraiya is, yes."
"Really?" Rin tilted her head. "That's surprising. I barely even know him. He's never around much… always, well, doing whatever he does when he's not in Konoha." She turned to her Sensei. "Sensei, what does that pervert do when he's not here?"
Minato, on the spot, blinked furiously. Naruto almost felt a little sympathy for the guy. It wasn't like he could just tell them that Jiraiya led one of the most intricate spy lines in the world, and was always leaving to get in contact with his informants.
"Well, he finds inspiration for his books." Minato decided upon. Rin seemed placated.
Naruto chuckled. "What? Like spy on foreign bathhouses?"
Obito busted into laughter, as Rin gasped dramatically, as if she hadn't the slightest idea that he did the same when he was home. Kakashi was coughing to hide his laughter.
Minato smiled, and the two shared a knowing look.
"Well that's just disgusting." Rin huffed. "I can't believe he writes all those books and calls them 'literature'—I can't believe he trained Sensei! That doesn't make any sense. Sensei is way cooler—
"Rin." Kakashi interrupted flatly, seeming to speak for the whole group at this point. "Shut up."
She flushed.
Rin meant well, but by god, she could talk. Forever. That, and her obvious devotion to her Sensei seemed to make its appearance in almost every other sentence out of her mouth. Naruto almost held sympathy for the whole team, wondering how they managed to put up with her all the time. Then he remembered Sakura, and just felt sorry for himself.
"Well that wasn't very nice, Kakashi-kun." Minato berated with frown, though he looked the tiniest bit relieved.
"But Sensei," Kakashi blatantly pointed out. How his face could be once exact feature was a bit disturbing. "We're already at the tower."
"Ah." Minato nodded. He turned to look over to Naruto. "Do you need to turn in your mission report?"
"Uh…"
Shit.
(Excuse… excuse) ((Think! Think!))
"…I'm actually really beat right now." Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "I just really want to sleep in my own bed right now, y'know?"
Minato's eyes softened. "I see."
"Awh! You're leaving already?" Rin pouted. "Will we see you soon?"
Naruto blinked. "Yeah, sure. How about tomorrow we could all get some ramen?"
At the mere mention of the food, Obito turned around abruptly, eyes wide. "Ramen!" He grinned. "Hell yeah!"
"Sounds like a great idea." Minato grinned. Apparenently ramen was one thing shared equally by both father and son.
"Alright." Naruto nodded. "Around one?"
"Sounds good!" Rin cheered.
Obito had already hopped up the stairs to the tower as Naruto began to wave goodbye, heading in the opposite direction. Before he even rounded the corner he was still thinking about supplies, where he was going to stay, and a whole other hidden agenda completely opposite to the front he'd just put up to his new friends.
Minato watched the blonde Jounin plod down the street with no small amount of confusion. There was something particularly familiar about the blonde, though he couldn't think of what it could possibly be. Had he met him before? Why did everything he did, from rubbing his head to smiling at a joke seem so familiar?
"Huh…" He muttered to himself.
It was probably just because the kid looked more like him then his own Kage Bunshin.
Which was strange in itself.
"Sensei!" Kakashi called from the door, where he was still propping it open. "Are you coming?"
Minato shook himself out of his reverie. "Yeah!"
.
.
.
Naruto sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Inflation made a decent hotel room the same amount as a carton of milk in the future, and Naruto had enough money to buy the best supplies and still have more the plenty for an outing of ramen.
It was ten to one when he finally found his way to the busy street where Ichiraku was. He hadn't realized he relied so heavily on the local businesses to find his way around until he was staring at unfamiliar street signs as if he was in Sunagakure. The most amusing part was seeing Ichiraku himself, the old man that Naruto remembered was nothing but a fresh faced looking guy who couldn't be too much older then him, looking charmed by the thought of another customer. It was almost amusing to think of how famous Ichiraku would come to be in the future.
"Naruto-san!"
He swiveled around in time to see a tall sunny blonde waving to him from across a distance of bustling people. Minato sure was a guy who stuck out in a crowd.
"Minato-san." Naruto greeted, perhaps a bit too cordially. But he didn't know how else to—it wasn't like they were particularly close, that was to say if they were close at all.
The older blonde grinned though, as if he'd known him his whole life. Or perhaps he was just obscenely friendly. "Where are the squirts?"
"Dunno." Naruto shrugged, pretending to look at the menu like he had no idea what was on it. It hadn't changed in twenty years. "They haven't gotten here yet."
"Ah, well, Obito's always late, although Rin's usually early." Minato muttered thoughtfully. Then brightened. "But anyway, want to order already?"
"Sure."
They slipped into the bar stools, Minato checked the menu, while Naruto continued to pretend. Best to keep the alibi that he hadn't been in Konoha for a while instead of ordering right off the bat like he usually did.
"One chicken Miso ramen please." They said in unison, then turned to blink at each other.
"That's your favorite?" Minato asked in surprise. It certainly wasn't the most liked flavor.
Naruto nodded. "Yup. Ramen's always been one of my favorites."
Logically, it made sense that he and his father would have the same taste in ramen. Though the event happening to him in real life was more surreal then he had first thought.
"You already ordered?" Obito hollered from halfway across the street, Rin and Kakashi flanking him from behind.
Naruto grinned and waved. "Yeah just now. Hurry up!"
The Uchiha sprinted over with more vigor and personality than the two remaining Uchiha combined, sliding into a seat like home plate and immediately spewing a list of a variety of ramen flavors, most of which Naruto hadn't even been aware Ichiraku made. Which said something, because Naruto had to be the most ramen-obsessed man in existence. Naruto grinned sheepishly, his diet had caved after spending tedious months with Jiraiya, who believed women a higher necessity than food.
"Ah. His stomach must have magically emptied itself again." Minato sighed with bemusement. "Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna be footing the bill?"
"You're way richer than me!" Obito pouted. "Honestly, how to you run so fast with all that change in your pocket! Trust me, after it's gone, you'll feel as light as a feather!"
"Obito!" Rin scolded, though Minato had already started laughing.
Naruto couldn't help but smile at their antics that, while immature, were almost refreshingly adorable.
"You guys are idiots."
"And there's Kakashi." Minato smirked, as the boy moved into the stall like a wraith, seating himself silently between his two rambunctious teammates.
The uneasiness that accompanied feeling so out of place slowly eased out of him, and he suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. It felt like, coming home… like being with his own Team Seven again, and maybe what it would feel like being with them now, if they could ever have the chance to be a whole team again.
Minato had joined in sometime ago, and the three were on a roll, the conversation always spinning into new angles. Maybe this would have been Team Seven if Sakura had lost her crush earlier in life, had Sasuke been more open to them, and had Naruto not been so obtuse.
Watching them was like unraveling all the what-if's in life.
"Nu-uh!" Obito stuck his tongue out. "I'm already fourteen!"
"I've been fourteen!" Rin retorted, stabbing her noodles with her chopsticks.
"I turned fourteen in earlier this month!" He pouted. "March 2nd!"
"February!"
Obito pouted while Rin triumphantly stuck her tongue out.
Minato blinked for a second, looking up from his two rambunctious students. "How old would you be, Naruto-san?"
Naruto grinned. "Eh, well eighteen now, nineteen in October."
"October…?"
"Tenth." Naruto elaborated.
"That's… twenty-one days away from Halloween! Hey sensei," Rin leaned over the counter. "How old are you?"
"Old." Kakashi scoffed.
"Everyone's old to you." Obito countered.
A fierce glare was shot at the loud Uchiha, who countered it with his own. The air seemed to chill as Rin started to attempt to ease the tension.
"Boys, boys." Minato grinned, diffusing the situation and what looked to be a sore point to the team. "I'm happy to say I'm not entirely ancient. Didn't I tell you guys I was turning twenty-two soon?"
Team Seven (of this day in age) went about with the information, Rin prattling on about something as Kakashi easily interrupted with sarcastic remarks. Naruto blinked as he absorbed the information. Twenty-two? That's it? He had maybe three years or so until the Kyuubi would be sealed within him. Or at least, if his calculations were correct from the fact that the Yondaime died around twenty-five.
"Ah…" Minato said as the conversation died down, leaning back to look into the sky. "It's getting late, we should head out already."
Naruto nodded, paying for his meal swiftly before Minato could protest. He had paid for all his students—including Obito's enormous amount—and Naruto didn't want to pressure him into paying anything more.
"See you all at the inauguration?" He grinned at them.
"Yep!" Rin waved.
"Better be there!" Obito hollered over his shoulder.
"Of course!" Naruto shouted before they disappeared down the street. "Hokage-sama!"
And then belatedly, in the distance; "Gah!"
His mood sobered again. He and his father even had the same thing they said when they were caught off guard or annoyed. Another similarity to add to what seemed to be a forever growing list.
He angled his face towards the sky, watching as the fading stars in the distance twinkled brightly against the dark twilight.
"Minato's right." He sighed, though he was sure this wasn't what Minato had been thinking when he had said that. "I better get back."
And there was the crux of the matter.
Jiraiya had given him one anchor seal. Did he even want to put it here?
.
.
—x—
.
.
The seal seemed to burn his retina with the intense light that accompanied each jump, and he spent a few moments blinking into a bleary sky. He hoisted himself up off of the anchor seal that was attached to the hill, congratulating himself on another successful time travel.
"Huh," He looked around, surprised that Jiraiya wasn't here. "No one's here to greet me?"
His eyes travelled to the bottom of the hill, and then he realized why.
The sleepiness that accompanied him onto each jump suddenly evaporated as he bolted onto his feet.
Sasuke.
They'd picked the hill because it was strategicall in the middle of nowhere. The forest around it was dense enough that it clouted the view from all around, and the slope was small enough that, while providing a good view, didn't stick out obtusely. The disadvantage was that it was equally as close to the Valley of the End, and inevitably, Otogakure as well.
"Sasuke…" He whispered, making out the boy's dark spikes from the distance.
Sakura was speaking, and Sai was a bit behind her. Sasuke's odd arrangement of teammates were in a semi circle behind him, and though they looked slightly imposing, Naruto got the impression that he wasn't here for a battle. If he was here for anything at all. Naruto was under the impression that Sasuke had no free will at this point.
Naruto had been so… astounded by meeting his father, he was still basking in the dreamlike experience he'd just arrived from, and seeing Sasuke, standing with that team that looked so disturbing behind him (though that may be because anyone who stood next to him that wasn't Team Seven looked wrong) sent that fake reality crumbling into the real one he'd left behind.
But there was no use holding the dream, even as it crumbled into dust.
"Hey!" He shouted, and the entire party turned their heads. "Miss me yet?"
He'd been so caught up in this world that seemed so different from his own fragmented one, that he'd almost forgotten about the man who used to be his best friend.
"Naruto." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. The blonde looked… oddly relaxed. Uninterested, or perhaps just unimpressed. There had been a time when, at the mere sighting of Sasuke, Naruto would have leapt immediately into action, pleading for the boy to come back. Now though, he only stared silently with eerily blue eyes.
"Great to see that dick-less made it." Sai appraised with a blank smile. Naruto, and everyone else for that matter, still could not tell the difference between his seriousness and his satire.
Naruto frowned in jest. "Naturally Sai, only the most sexually inactive can see the humor in that."
The black haired boy blinked.
Sakura tisked at the duo's immaturity, though her lips had curved into an amused smirk. Naruto caught Sasuke's eyes from across the tense clearing, almost absurdly pleased to find a flicker of something passing through their dark depths at the exchange. Was he upset to find himself replaced?
The dark haired boy appraised them all with his hooded, near-impassive gaze. Naruto would have never been able to tell the difference had he not encountered a younger Kakashi—who had the stoic stone-like face down to utter perfection, so much so he made Sasuke look like a novice. He looked like he was searching them all for something, a deep silence resounding as none of his teammates made a sound.
He seemed to come to a conclusion. "It's not them." He spoke a voice that still lingered in his memories, though it was to his teammates.
The redhead one blinked at his leader. "You're sure?"
Naruto met Sasuke's eyes, two different sides to the same sky. "Yes." Came Sasuke's frank reply.
Naruto blinked, before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're investigating?"
The Uchiha didn't seem to think Naruto was worth a reply, tearing his midnight eyes away from the blonde. He turned his back to his former team, looking like he was about to head out. "It's not any of them."
He looked over his shoulder, as if goading any of them to say otherwise. Naruto held his gaze, before turning away.
"Of course not." He said eventually, nonchalance catching Sasuke off guard. "Go tell your master that whatever it was wasn't coming from us. And if it's in our borders, we can deal with it ourselves."
If that wasn't a dismissal nothing else was, and Sasuke only turned around and continued to walk into the shadows of the forest, the only way Naruto could see his anger in the burning afterglow of his eyes. Naruto would have thought more of the dark-haired boy, had he not been so concerned over what the boy's purpose was. Maybe the snake was trying to keep peace and was simply checking to see if things were amiss? Or perhaps, and more likely, he was trying to see if this energy could be harnessed for his own gain.
Either way, crisis averted.
Temporarily, at least.
After Sasuke left, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
He was too close to exhaustion to deal with Sasuke now.
"Naruto…?" Sakura called softly once the Uchiha's presence was long gone.
Sai however, wasn't as kin to dancing around the subject as Sakura was. "It was you who was making all those chakra flares, wasn't it?"
He couldn't lie, but he did avert his eyes. Sakura sighed, and it didn't sound very relieved. He really hoped she wasn't crying, he hated it when she did that, it made him always feel guilty.
"I know you can't tell me." She sighed, the undertones of sadness in the submissiveness of her tone.
"I'm sorry guys," Naruto felt more out of place in his own time then he did in the other. "It's just I… I really can't tell you." Can't, or won't? He didn't know himself.
"Classified?" Sai offered.
"Yeah."
The last vestiges of Team Seven settled into a very uneasy silence, Sakura had her hands behind her back, twiddling with her fingers with unanswered questions. Sai stood a bit to her right, his feet on the base of the hill's long slope, eyes and body posture betraying nothing of what he was feeling. Naruto watched them from a little ways above them on the hill, the wind rolling the grass and sending his hair in which way directions.
Sakura sent him a very melancholic smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Are you coming back with us?"
"Umm…" He actually wasn't very sure. "I guess so."
"Then we'll go for ramen." She announced, looking sure of herself. There was a tinge to her voice though, as if she was unsure if even ramen could bring Naruto around.
Her fears were unfounded, though. "Yeah." He agreed.
However this time, with this Team Seven there was no one to begin the banter that had existed between the one he was currently wavering around.
.
.
.
After ramen, Jiraiya had asked for him.
The teahouse was a very small one that was atop a beauty parlor that existed on the first floor. Tsunade was currently getting a nice massage, and since Jiraiya was accompanying her for whatever reason, there meeting took place on the next floor up.
Jiraiya folded his arms silently as they sat across the table, the small tea house was filled with quaint music and very little people. The seal master had a very stern look on his face, and Naruto had bowed his head, trying not to see intimidated even if he was. It was scary watching Jiraiya like this, he was much to used to the pervert's light-hearted tendency when they were around women. However now, when dealing with sealing, he was a much more opposing figure.
"You put a seal." He stated. It wasn't a question.
He gulped nervously. "Yeah."
Jiraiya's hands, that were in his sleeves, unfolded and a small slip of paper with the tracking seal was on it. "This seal."
"Yes."
"In another time period."
Another gulp. "Yeah."
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "And you're sure about this?" He'd been given the opportunity, so certainly Jiraiya wasn't mad about that.
He held his gaze. "Yes."
Jiraiya sighed. "You've only done two jumps, Naruto. I told you to choose wisely."
"I have!" Naruto interrupted. "And you never told me I had to anchor to a specific time. I could choose whenever I wanted, right?"
"Though I'd prefer if you had spent more time branching out…" Jiraiya gave him a hard look. Naruto attempted to meet it, but failed. "But it is your choice."
Naruto nodded.
"And you're sure?"
No, not at all. He had never had any intention about meeting his father when they began this whole endeavor. Sure, it had settled as a thought in the back of his mind, but the actual even had… changed his perspective. Made him curious. Interested.
"Yes."
Made him long for something he thought he'd stopped wanting a long time ago.
Jiraiya tutted. "I think you should rethink this."
"W—What?" Naruto blinked, in shock. Was Jiraiya serious?
"You need time before you start properly engaging it other times." Jiraiya tented his fingers. "I think you need some more experience with the whole jumping process. All you have to do is burn the anchor seal, jump back to this time, and you'll be free to go as you please once more."
"Once more—?" Naruto repeated in disbelief. "But I don't want that. You said I could place the seal anywhere—
"Maybe that was a bit rash of me." Jiraiya mused. "I should have known you'd be too eager to do so. You're wasting a lot of opportunities by doing so, Naruto."
"That doesn't matter to me!" Naruto insisted, belatedly realizing he was shaking the table.
"I know." Jiraiya nodded. "I'm not stupid Naruto. I know who you've met."
"I—you…" His eyes widened in shock. "How…?"
"I know you." He said as explanation. "It's never particularly mattered to you before—certainly not after I told you about him. But remember, I know you, and I know Minato. It was only natural that you'd want to get to know him—he's a supreme leader. And your father. If you hadn't wanted to get to know him I'd be a bit surprised."
"Then I don't get it." Naruto furrowed his brows in annoyance. "What's the problem?"
"Attachment, Naruto, is a very dangerous thing." Jiraiya lectured seriously, before his eyes went very distant as he watched himself in the reflection of his tea. "It leads you to do very stupid things. To change things that shouldn't be changed. By even having a passing interest you threaten the very balance of history."
Naruto gulped, though he had no words to reply with. He was well aware that what he had done was stupid. He was well aware that his intentions when placing that anchor seal weren't for study—they were for himself. He knew all of this, yet he wouldn't… couldn't take it back.
Jiraiya watched him with hooded eyes. "But you don't care… do you?"
.
.
—x—
.
.
The Konoha streets were bursting with a magnitude of colors, from the striped hoods of street vendor stalls to the enormous balloons that took to the sky, everything had a color. And the noise. It was quite possible that there wasn't a single soul who wasn't engaged in excited chatter. Minato seemed to be the apple of everyone's eye for the evening.
The thought made him a big nervous.
He could make out Obito's wild spikes from his spot backstage, a bit amused by the enormous Takoyaki the boy was tackling, two in each hand. The inauguration hadn't even started, yet his knee was bouncing anxiously. The three of them mingled over to another stall, this one a fish-catching stall that had Rin delighted. Minato wished he could join them, but alas, he had a job to fulfill.
It seemed that the entire country had come up to congratulate him, some boisterously and some even with tears in their eyes. Minato was a bit flabbergasted by it all, but mostly he was really humbled. Pleased, even. It seemed there wasn't a soul in Konoha who hadn't taken his inauguration with ill thoughts. He may be the first Hokage after the Shodaime to have that happen—or so said Hiruzen.
Though a thought lingered in the back of his mind.
He was recalling a silly blonde with a wide, but enigmatic smile and the brightest blue eyes that resembled his own so much he may as well have been looking in a mirror.
He'd said he'd be here.
So where was he?
He'd looked truthful when he'd promised to come, and Minato wanted to readily believe him. As much as he wouldn't want to admit it, he was actually a bit hurt by the no show. That in itself was bizarre to him. It wasn't like Naruto was… important to him. He'd met him only a day ago and yet—and yet—
There was a certain deep feeling which stirred at the mere thought of him, and it hurt, almost like a brief nostalgia which stung the back of his nose.
He smiled, and Minato felt pleased. He had to protect that smile. It felt like Naruto was one of his own.
It had only taken eye contact.
He wondered if it had something to do with their similarities. Hell, even their voices were the same.
The Sandaime had begun his introduction, and the guests were beginning to gather towards the stage. Minato was worried now; the inauguration was already starting. Where was he? He tried to scan the crowd as best he could, but he certainly wasn't the only one who was blond, and there was a sea of people.
There!
No, green eyes.
Over there!
Not that one either—
"And with great pleasure, and relief—" The audience chuckled, and Minato lost all the faces in the movement. "May I please introduce our new Hokage, the Yondaime of Konoha, Namikaze Minato!"
He felt himself being tugged up the stage, he said a few words, smiled as best he could without faltering, reading his script. People he thanked, a run down of his career, really the basics that everyone wanted to know but weren't really all that important.
He supposed he might as well give up. It wasn't like it should mean anything to him, anyway. The Sandaime was here, looking at him with a wide, proud smile. Jiraiya was, somewhere, surely. Kushina was up in the front row clapping loudly and his team may as well have been the loudest of them all, way in the back jumping up and down. All his important people were here, friends from his Gennin graduation all the way up to the Jounin he had met on a few missions back. Yet the bitter feeling was there, anyway.
The Sandaime graciously took the mic away from him before he could make a proper fool out of himself, and wrapped up the speech in a couple of minutes. Minato shifted his weight, antsy for the onslaught of people that would no doubt greet him with more vigor then they ever had before.
And they did.
Hordes of people came to congratulate him, and he welcomed them half-heartedly. Kushina had given him some ecstatic back clapping, which had cheered him up some, and Kakashi had—for once in his life—actually shared food with him. But there was no Naruto in sight.
If he had a son, he would have said it hurt as painfully as him not going.
Eventually the crowd thinned around him, and he was left to breath in the crisp night air in blessed silence. The noise faded, and he took the moment to relax in the slight reprieve from all the people.
"Hey! Congrats."
He turned around.
And there he was.
Smiling at him.
"I thought you weren't going to make it." He smiled back, relieved. Whatever bitterness was lost completely at the sight of the other blonde.
Naruto shrugged. "Ah… I got a little lost. You see, this black cat crossed my path and then I had to—"
When in doubt, use one of Kakashi's many excuses.
"Little lost?" Minato grunted. "Very lost. The inauguration's already over."
Naruto pouted indignantly. "I made it once you had gotten your speech." Okay, a lie, he had barely just stumbled out of his own seal.
"Really?" The newly made Yondaime seemed skeptical. "Then surely you'd remember my opening lines, right?"
Luckily, the academy had him prepared with all those useless history tests they used to do that had little to no relevance with being a ninja. Memorizing the Yondaime's inauguration speech was one of them… or so Naruto had thought. Until now. He coughed. "To my fellow citizens of Konoha, I am thankful for the position and honored that out of the many—
"Okay! Okay! Fine! You were there." Minato fought off his laughter with exasperation. Naruto only smirked at him.
"Naruto-san!"
"Naruto!"
Obito sprinted over with his usual vigor, a bowl of ramen spilling as he went. Rin had tempura hanging out of her mouth, and Kakashi chose not to eat anything and still had his infuriating mask still in place. Though… there was Teriyaki sauce on his cheek. Had Naruto missed it? !
Naruto felt his smile broaden; it was a great feeling watching the three come towards him.
"Sensei!" Rin squealed. "You looked so cool up there! Were you scared?"
"Nah," Minato shook his head. "I couldn't see anything. The stage lights were to bright."
"Hey! Hey! Now that you're Hokage and all, does this mean that we don't have to do any more missions?" Obito grinned hopefully.
"Of course not." Minato frowned. "We're going on another one tomorrow."
"Augh!"
"What?"
"Hn."
Naruto could have laughed at their reactions if he wasn't to busy doing so already.
"Sensei!" Rin whined. "I don't want another crappy D-ranked mission!"
Minato smiled cheekily. "Who said it was D-ranked, huh?"
Obito and Rin brightened at the same time, screaming in joy as they dreamt of amazing action packed A-class missions with evil ninja coming after them and becoming heroes while they were at it. Kakashi only grunted, arms folded over, only his eye betraying the evident pleasure he had at the news.
"Sounds like you guys are having fun." Naruto smiled.
Minato turned to him. "Are you planning to go back into the missions any time soon?"
"Nah," Naruto stretched, pulling off his lazy shinobi just back from a mission alibi. "I think I'll stick around Konoha for a while."
"That's a good idea." Rin nodded. "You should have a vacation or something!"
"That might be a good idea, Rin-chan. I don't think Konoha will need me for a few months." Naruto commented vaguely, but no one caught the hidden meaning.
They walked around for a little bit, running into people who were congratulating the new Hokage, who was blushing profusely with all the 'Hokage-sama' that was going around now. Obito and Rin were laughing and playing games at the stalls with Kakashi, and occasionally Minato and Naruto would join in. But they were too good for the ring toss—they'd always get the ring in and they ended up with a lot of goldfish.
"Hey! Hey!" Obito cried after the festival was dying down. "Why don't we head out for some ramen?"
"Obito!" Rin growled. "We just had some!"
"She's right dumb ass."
"You can never have enough ramen!" Obito rebutted sagely.
"Slow down guys," Minato smiled sheepishly, coming between his students. "Why don't we go out for tempura? We already had ramen this week Obito, maybe next time."
It seemed to be a good decision.
Naruto watched them head out, his mind wandering back to when he last had ramen. Sakura and Sai weren't as good of company as this Team Seven, but he wasn't putting an effort to talk to them either. It felt odd now that they were fully grown, Kakashi was out on his own missions, Sasuke was over at Sound, and it was just them three.
He felt a little guilty when he thought about how much he'd rather spend time here.
"Naruto!" Minato called to him. "Are you coming?"
Naruto blinked, touched. The four waited for him expectantly.
"Uh—Yeah." He smiled softly. "Sure."
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