Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your kind words! They really inspired me to continue! I kind of iffy on this chapters. There's parts I like and parts that I don't. *shrugs* Well, I especially liked the ending. :3 Let me know what you all think, sorry about the angst and stuff but it'll start getting brighter. Thanks again! Enjoy!
Warnings: Nothing really, maybe just language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story idea. And any original characters that I do... create... yeah.
Word Count: 6,075
Minato listens intently as Choza and Inoichi recap a story about how they were hunting a rogue that had managed to slip past the third member of their team at the time, a jounin named Jousei that Minato has spoken to only a handful of times. Sometime in the middle of the story Kakashi's hand brushes Minato's under the water. The gray haired boy quickly jerks his hand back, quietly mumbling an apology.
Minato smiles down at him. "It's fine," he says softly, barely being heard over the sound of the other's laughter. After a few more minutes into their story, Minato stands and pulls himself out of the water, making sure that the towel was still around his waist, keeping his legs dangling into the water.
"You alright?" Fugaku asks once the story is over.
"Yeah, I'm just burning up," Minato laughs. "The baths are hotter than I remember."
Jiraiay stares at him for a moment, noting the pink tinge on his tan face. "Perhaps you are getting sick, Minato." He must be working extremely hard to be getting sick while being the host of Nine Tails. While the Nine Tails is capable of impressive healing abilities, he's seen Kushina break ribs and get up a minute or two after they viciously snap back into place due to the Nine Tails but Kushina and Minato are vastly different.
While Kushina had the Nine Tails healing her since she was a young girl, her body is used to the chakra and didn't stop it from healing her. Adding to that, Kushina's seal allowed her full access to the Nine Tails' chakra. Mito made it so Kushina wouldn't have to worry about the seal being damaged if she got some of the demon's chakra.
Minato, on the other hand, hasn't had the Nine Tails long and it's causing havoc inside his body. If there is any soft of chakra being released to heal Minato's steadily declining health, it's not enough. In fact, it's probably because of the Nine Tails that Minato hasn't already dropped due to over exertion. The Fox feeds off of everything that Minato consumes as well to fuel it's healing abilities. If Minato isn't eating enough, and Jiraiya seriously doubts he is, the demon is sucking out any sort of energy it can from him just to keep fueling his healing. It explains why Minato looks like walking death.
"Oh no," Minato says, pulling Jiraiya from his thoughts, "I'm not getting sick. I'm healthy as a horse." He smiles at his sensei. "You worry too much."
Looks are shared around the bath. Minato tilts his head in confusion at them. Kakashi's eyes drop to the merky water, trying hard to hide the anger that splashed across his face at his sensei's words. After a few minutes of silence, Shibi, who was relatively quiet throughout the entire evening says, "I'm starting to get hungry. Do you think the ladies are done?"
Choza looks over at Shibi gratefully. "Yeah, I bet they are, and if not, I can get it started. Who all is hungry?"
Obito "whoop!"s loud and raises his hands into the air. "Count me in, Lord Akimichi!"
"A boy with a hardy appetite, I like it," Choza says. They put the sake away and head into the changing rooms to get their clothes back on. Minato is anxious to get back to Naruto. He trusts Mikoto to look after him. He does. It's just... it makes him feel better if he's not away for too long.
They all sat around the large thanksgiving table that Choza and his wife pulled out to accommodate the large amount of people. Minato is bouncing a sleepily smiling Naruto up and down on his lap. Inoichi's wife is telling a story about a cousin of hers that was visiting. Minato wasn't really listening, but he would look up occasionally, and smile, hoping that no one would ask him to repeat any of it.
Jiraiya reaches out for Naruto a few minutes later. "Let me hold him, Minato, eat."
Minato passes Naruto to his godfather before standing up and grabbing some formula to make a bottle. Once he finishes, he hands it to Jiraiya and drops down to his seat, finally actually looking at his food.
"Oh my, Kazula, this looks amazing," he murmurs. He gets some mashed potatoes and takes a bite. He hums, pleased. "And it tastes just as amazing. You haven't lost your touch in the slightest."
Kazula beams. "Thank you, Minato! Your appetite doesn't seem to have diminished in the last few months since you've ate my cooking."
Minato smiles back at her, taking another bite before leaning over to Jiraya to peak down at Naruto, smiling at the cute little face of his son. He runs the pad of his pointer finger on Naruto's cheek. Naruto grunts and Minato pulls his hand away, chuckling softly to himself. "Sorry, sorry!"
"Go away, Minato, leave him alone," Jiraya says, playfully. Kakashi, who was on Itachi's left, stares at his sensei with an unhappy look on his face. Obito tries to catch his attention but the gray haired boy shakes his head and pushes the greens on his plate around with his fork.
Minato takes a few bites of his stake, feigning hurt, before looking past Fugaku to his left to his own godson. Itachi eats all of his food politely and sits there quietly, not bothering the adults at all. He would look over at Sasuke, in Mikoto's arms, and smile softly occasionally. He wouldn't say anything, just return to eating again, only to repeat the process. Minato smiles down at Itachi.
"How was your mission, Itachi?" Minato asks, taking another bite of his food. The small boy looks surprised at being spoken to.
"Oh, it was fine, Lord Hokage," Itachi says after he finished swallowing the food in his mouth and politely cleaning the area around his lips with a napkin. He folds his hands neatly onto the table. "Thank you for asking."
Minato's eyebrow quirks and he manages to keep his face neutral. "What was that?"
Itachi stares back at the young father in surprise. "Uh... what?"
"What did you say?" Minato asks.
Itachi blinks a few times in confusion. "I..." he pauses, as if wondering if he was speaking properly. "I said... it was... it was fine, Lord Hokage..."
Minato's eyebrows pull together. "What was that?"
Itachi blinks again. He looks over at his father, who shrugs, then to his mother, who turns away to bounce Sasuke. Itachi looks back over at his godfather. "I... said it was fine... Lord..."
"Who?" Minato asks.
Itachi's eyebrows pull together. He shifts uncomfortably. "Lord..." Minato tilts his head. "Lord... um..." Minato shakes his head slowly, as if he was the confused. Itachi cringes, trying to figure out what he was doing wrong. "It was fine... Uncle Minato...?"
"Oh," Minato says, leaning back in his chair. "That's good. I'm happy to hear it."
Itachi stares at the Fourth hokage with a bland look. Obito's head drops onto the table, trying hard to smother his laughter. That earns a droll look from the young Uchiha heir.
Minato smiles and looks back over a Naruto, sticking some more mash potato into his mouth and staring at the cute face of his little boy. His rosy cheeks remind Minato so much of Kushina's red hair, which makes his choke a bit on his food, losing his appetite immediately. He slowly lower his spoon and has a hard time swallowing the mashed potato in his mouth.
Kakashi catches the movement and stares blatantly at his teacher, waiting for him to pick up his spoon and continue eating but the man lowers his head and stares down at his lap, looking slightly pained.
"We should have company over more often, Choza," Kazula was saying, completely oblivious to the young choking kage in exchange for smiling at all the people at the table. "I just love having everyone here around the table." Choza nods in agreement.
"That would be wonderful for my soul, but not for my waist line," Inoichi says, his wife nodding in agreement.
"All your food is so good, Kazula, it's hard to stop eating once we've started," Inoichi's wife explains. Kazula blushes, waving her hand around embarrassed. Choza leans over and kisses his wife's cheek. Shibi's wife quietly excuses herself to go and feed Shino in the other room. Inoichi cradles Ino in his lap, smiling down at her bold head.
"Being pregnant with Sasuke must have been horrible," Inoichi's wife, Dellia, says, brushing a bit of dark hair from her reddish brown eyes. "I had a lot of heart burn for that little tuff of hair on Ino's head that she subsequently lost about a week after she was born. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been with Sasuke."
Mikoto groans, looking down at her youngest. "It was. Probably just as bad as with Itachi. His hair was even long when he was born." The heir looks over at his mother at her words. "As opposed to Sasuke, who just has a lot of it." Mikoto sighs. "Both of my boys gave me horrible heart burn."
Itachi stares up at her, not all that sure he understands what their hair has to do with her heart burn, but still quietly says, "I'm sorry, mother."
Mikoto laughs, running her hand through his hair once more, smiling down at him lovingly. "Don't worry about it, Itachi. I was blessed to have such cute babies so I don't mind it."
Itachi nods and looks over at Naruto, sleeping in Jiraiya's arms, taking in his bright spiky blond hair before looking at his godfather. "Did Aunt Kushina have... heart burn too?"
Fugaku and Mikoto both look at Itachi sharply, making the boy shrink, not at all sure what he said that was wrong, and it's like the entire room tenses up. All eyes flicker over to the widowed father. His eyes lowered for a moment, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. And he doubts that it's potatoes. After a long moment, he looks over at Itachi and smiles thinly.
"I'm not sure. K.." he stops a moment to clear his throat before continuing, "Kushina never complained so I'm not sure. I would assume so if having a lot of hair causes it, but... Aunt Kushina never wanted me to worry about her so she rarely complained..." he smiles sadly, in his mind's eye seeing the beautiful red haired woman with her bright blue eyes and pregnant belly, grinning wide. "She was so happy to be having a child, I think even if she did have heart burn, she didn't notice it."
"Strong woman, she is," Dellia murmurs.
"The strongest," Shibi agrees.
Minato smiles so sadly, eyes far away. "In some ways, I believe that she was stronger than anyone I had ever met." That's why those men will pay for what they've done, Minato didn't say but he knows the dark gleam appeared in his eyes when he saw Jiraiya staring at him with a worried expression and Fugaku with an understanding one.
If those men hadn't attacked, Biwako never would have had to worry about being in a time crunch. Minato wouldn't have stepped away for that short period of time and he would have been able to get her to the safety of a hospital when everything started to go south. There was no way she would have died on that table. She would be there with him now, cooing over Naruto and bumping shoulders with Mikoto, cooing over Sasuke too. She would have been the one insisting that all the babies play together. She would of been the one saying she would cook for them all and then Minato would do it behind her back and let her take the credit even though all of them knew that she was a horrible cook besides ramen.
The overarching point being that if those men hadn't attacked, Kushina might be here with him right now. Not buried. Not dead. Not watching them from Kami's side. She would be right there with him, telling him he's pushing himself too hard and that he needs to stop being a dumbass. She would then grin and ask if they could go eat at Ichiraku's and he would tell her yes because he hadn't figured out yet how to say no.
Choza watches worriedly as the dark look settles over Minato's face. He shares a look with Shikaku, who's been silent for most of the dinner, in favor of just observing as is his usual nature when surrounded by anyone. Shikaku looks at the Fourth's plate noting that what he's eaten isn't enough to fill a person-a grown man, for that matter-let alone someone who is essentially eating for two. Choza notices as well.
"Is anyone craving dessert?" Choza asks, smiling broadly across the table, hoping everyone will overlook the fact that most aren't all the way done. "I sure am."
Itachi doesn't catch it and, while looking at the food remaining on his plate, opens his mouth, "But I-" Mikoto covers his mouth with her free hand, the other holding a sleeping Sasuke to her chest.
"Am a picky eater, right Itachi? But I'm sure that whatever the Akimichi have, you'll absolutely love," she says, trying to hide her son's slip up. Fugaku sighs quietly under his breath, knowing that if Minato was using a tenth of his brain he would see right through Mikoto. Itachi just stares up at Mikoto, not at all sure what she wants from him anymore. He just opts to stay quiet.
Minato looks down the table at Choza tiredly. "I'm terribly sorry, Choza, but I think I've lost my appetite-" Something slams heavily on the table, making all the occupants jump a bit. The babies start to whine and are quickly shushed by their mothers and Master Jiraiya, in Naruto's case. All eyes land on Kakashi, standing by his seat, hands on the table and visibly shaking in anger.
Minato stares with wide eyes. "Kakashi?"
The black and red eyed boy looks over at him, glaring. "Dammit, sensei!" Minato's eyes widen even more. Not sure what he did to upset his student. Obito looks between them twice before standing up too, trying to act as a mediator, holding his hands up.
"It's okay, Kakashi," Obito says.
"No it's not!" Kakashi snaps at Obito, making the single eyed boy blink in surprise. Kakashi turns to look back at his sensei. "You may not give a damn whether you live or die, but I do!"
Minato stares at his student with wide blue eyes, mouth hanging out, but no words slip past his lips. He doesn't know what to say. He just keeps hearing Kakashi's words over and over in his head. Live or die? What could he mean?
"What are you talking about?" Minato finally asks, voice soft.
"I'm sorry, sensei, really I am. I can plainly see what losing Lady Kushina has done to you and I'm so terribly sorry you lost her," Kakashi says softer, staring at Minato with a single sad eye. "But you're still here. You're still alive! Don't forsaken your life! I would rather you had died with Lady Kushina than to have to watch as you shriveled away to nothing!"
Minato blinks, eyes wide, staring at Kakashi, not knowing what to say. "I... I don't..."
Kakashi's eye is scrunched up in a pained look. "I don't want you to die, sensei. That's why we're all here. No one does but you look horrible! No one sees you smile anymore, you're stressed out of your mind, your hardly sleeping and now it's painfully obvious that you aren't eating either!"
"I eat..." Minato says, surprised to see Kakashi so passionate about anything. Especially him of all things! Shibi's wife steps into the doorway, looking around confused by says nothing.
"Do you really?" Kakashi asks in what would normally be a condescending attitude but the way he asks it sounds like he's desperately looking for a diamond in the rough. Minato opens his mouth but no words come out. It feels like if he says those words again, staring into the pleading dark eye of his student, that somehow he will be lying and it leaves a sour taste in his mouth. He closes his mouth, eyebrows pulling together. Kakashi looks pained by the action. Ever so quietly, he whispers, "You're going to die, sensei."
The words knock the wind out of him and it's like Minato is in some kind of nightmare. No one should ever have to worry about him. No one should ever think that they are going to just suddenly lose him. He's the hokage! He's the one that everyone can depend on. Kakashi shouldn't be saying this to him. Why is Kakashi saying this to him? Minato doesn't understand, but the words won't form in his throat. What's wrong with him?
"I..I..." Minato shakes his head again, eyebrows still pulled together.
"Sensei, you aren't taking care of yourself and people are scared to death to approach you for anything that will only add stress to your day. This is no way to live your life, sensei! Please, let us help you! That's what we are all here for!" Kakashi gestures around the table, finally pulling Minato's eyes away from him to Choza, who avoids his eye, Shibi's glasses refract the light, Shikaku stares back with his keen, hawk-like eyes. When Minato's eyes find Jiraiya's the older man stares back sadly and when he locks eyes with Fugaku, his best friend, he can see sadness in those black depths.
"He's telling the truth, Minato," Fugaku says softly.
"I don't want uncle Minato to die," Itachi's little voice can barely be heard. Minato's eyes flicker over to his godson.
He shakes his head, mouth feeling dry and his eyes are burning slightly. "No, Itachi, I'm not going to die... I..." He shakes his head again. He looks over at Fugaku but those dark eyes don't reveal anything. He looks back over at Itachi. "I am...sorry. I'm sorry, I never meant to worry anyone..."
"You still are not listening," Kakashi snaps. "This isn't about us! This is about you! We worry about you because we... we love you, sensei! I'm sorry you lost Lady Kushina, but if you keep going like you are, you'll lose Naruto too!"
Minato stares at Kakashi, visibly paling. It's at that exact moment that Naruto whines in Jiraiya's arms, drawing the young father's attention. Minato looks down at the rosy face of his son, throat squeezing closed as he stands up and turns his back to the table, trying to hide the shaking of his hands and the wetness in his eyes. His heart is thumping like a drum in his ears.
The Fourth closes his eyes and tries to slow down his breathing. He takes a few moments to calm himself before finally schooling his features and turning around to the only family he has left. His son, master, best friends, their kids and two of his three students. They all stare back at him, waiting for him to come to some kind of conclusion. Minato's eyes fall on the little face of his son. The face he woke up to every morning for the last month. The little body, while half his, is also half Kushina's and there was no way he was ever going to let his child grow up alone. Or, at least without any parents.
Minato knew what it was like to grow up in the orphanages. He knew what it was like to watch happy families doing what happy families do best, and he wanted that sort of life for his son. For all of his children. But Minato only has one and that one is sitting in his mentor's arms, listening but not comprehending the fact that the people closest to his father think he's going to die. Think that he's wasting away without Kushina.
And in a way he is.
It hasn't been easy, going home every night to a cold bed. Wake up two or three times a night to take care of a screaming baby. Unable to let said baby from his sights because then his mind travels to dark places that he's not strong enough to keep pulling himself from. It's wearing him thin, body and mind and soul and he was naïve to think that no one would notice.
"I don't want to die," Minato says, and the words sound strange to him. He had never thought about killing himself and joining Kushina in the after-life. It was all about wishing she was here-in life! Minato wanted all of them to be together as a family. Wanted Naruto to grow up happy and healthy and become whatever he wanted to in his life. He never thought of killing himself and certainly never thought of killing Naruto. Minato is a firm believer in life after death, but he also believes that one should live for as long as they can before they enter that next chapter.
"Then let us help you," Fugaku says, his voice strong and even and so much like the police chief that Minato used to joke was taking over his life. "That's what we are all here for. We are all your friends, we are all your family. Let us help you. Let us try and keep you with us for as long as possible."
Minato couldn't say what it was. His voice? The look of sadness and almost desperation in his eyes? The words themselves? He's not sure, but after hearing that, Minato's shoulder's pull together and the tears that he thought were locked safely behind the volt bursts free. The blond turns away slightly, bringing his arm up to his face, trying to hide his tears and embarrassment for said tears.
Minato will be the first to preach that it is okay for others to cry about their pain. Whether it be physical, mental or emotional. But when it comes to practicing such liberties for himself, he's embarrassed to the core. He doesn't want other's to see him crying through pain. He doesn't care if they seem his crying with mirth or with joy, but pain is just something he can't get over. Minato must be more out of it than he originally thought. He would have never cried like this in front of people outside of his worst nightmares.
But here he is, in real life. With a broken heart and a fragile mind.
He hears someone shifting at the table but he can't pull away from himself and even if he wanted to he's not sure he'd even be able to see with how blurry his eyes are. Minato turns away a little more, trying to clean his face with the sleeve of his long blue jounin shirt. Minato had taken off the vest and white coat when he stepped foot into the house. Now he wishes he hadn't. Now he feels naked. Like his long sleeves and pant legs aren't long enough. Minato has no illusions. He's strong, he's a grown man and he takes good care of himself-or at least he did up until a little over a month ago-but he knew how people looked at him. Minato didn't hold the large broad shoulders and scary height that the first and second had, nor did he hold the sharp and dark look of the Third.
Minato was blue eyes and bright yellow hair, tall and lean. His shoulders were definitely broader than a woman's but with his height, it made him look like a tall bean stock. Against people like Fugaku and Jiraiya, arm wrestling competitions never went in his favor. The only person he could beat was Shibi and that was because, based on his fighting style, Shibi never really focused on upper body physical strength.
When people look at him, they see bright colors and skinny frame. His speed is legendary but sometimes people don't think about that. One day someone will surpass him and perhaps Minato is just paranoid but what if it came far sooner than he would have liked? What if it already happened? How can Minato protect Naruto if people don't see him like they see the other Kage?
What if Minato was never meant to be Hokage? What if by being Hokage he sentenced Kushina to death? What if by being in love with her sentenced her to death? What if just being his son sentences Naruto to death? He still has a lot of enemies, especially in Iwa.
"Keep thinking like that and you'll drive yourself crazy," Jiraiya says, wrapping his arms around his student. The boy he watched grow into a handsome young man. The one who holds a special place in his heart. He could sympathies with Minato when he first started the young man's tutelage because the boy had no family, just like him. And as he got to know the small blond, he just began to love the boy as if he were his own. He wasn't lying when he said it would be difficult to choose Naruto over Minato. What he didn't say-mostly because he didn't have to, it's obvious-it would be difficult to choose anyone over Minato.
Thinking back to Jiraiya's words, he must have spoken out loud. He didn't mean to, but there is nothing that he could do now. And for the first time since he was probably five years old, he's letting himself being held and calmed. Jiraiya was never really the overly touchy-feely type but just having the older man's calm and strong heart beat in his ear lowers his own heart beat.
Minato closes his eyes and doesn't have the strength to stop his tears. It's only after his well of tears have run dry and he's mentally fatigued that his shoulders slump and he pulls away from the safety his sensei has always offered without hesitation. He smiles up weakly at his sensei before turning to face the other's and makes his way over to Kakashi. The boy tenses up for a moment, almost like he expected Minato to reach out and strike him, but then hardens himself to stand up against the man. Stand his ground.
But Minato didn't strike him, in fact he did the opposite. He pulls the young teen to his chest and holds him there. Kakashi stood rigid for a moment, like Jiraiya, Minato wasn't a big overly affectionate person. He would reach out and pet people's hair or lay a hand on their head or shoulder, but he didn't constantly hand on people or pull them into unsuspecting hugs. Not that Kakashi couldn't bring himself to admit that he liked the warmth.
Minato lays his chin on Kakashi's head, closing his eyes. "Thank you, Kakashi. Thank you for caring so much about me. I don't know what I did to deserve such a good student and friend. Thank you," he murmurs into the gray hair.
"Sensei..." Kakashi says softly, all the anger drained from him.
"I'll try harder. I'll do better. I... I'll ask for help when I need it... thank you..." Minato says softly. "Thank you all for worrying about me. Thank you. I won't disappoint you. I promise."
"It was never about disappointing us," Fugaku says. "It's about making sure we don't lose anyone else. It's about staying a family. And you know us Uchiha, once we love someone, it's impossible to get away from us." Minato pulls away from Kakashi a bit to smile at his friend.
"That's right, I do know that," Minato says to his best friend, the silent thank you on his lips but needn't be said again. Especially not to Fugaku. The man knows him almost better than he knows himself. Much like Kushina in that aspect.
Kushina, he swore to her that he would look out for Naruto, protect him. Raise him right. Raise him with people who loved him. Minato knew in his heart if Kushina couldn't be there, so long as Naruto ended up happy and surrounded by the people he loved, then she would be happy for him. She would also want Minato to be happy to. It's going to be hard to get over Kushina's death, but maybe, just maybe, this is the steps he needs to take in order to start healing. He's been killing himself, unintentionally for only a month now, thinking that he couldn't ask for help. Mostly because he didn't know how.
But looking around the room now, at all the people still left in the world smiling at him and sending him encouraging thoughts with their eyes, he knows that he'll make it work. No matter how hard it is. He will live a long life. He will raise Naruto right, or as right as he can, and he's going to be his little boy's biggest fan. He'll keep his word to Kushina and tell their child all about her, so that her fire lives on in him as well.
"So..." Minato looks around the room, and arm still hanging across Kakashi's shoulders. He smiles sheepishly at his friends, knowing he must look like a wreck. "Will you guys help me?"
"Yes," Shibi says, taking the hand of his wife, who made her way over to him quietly. "We all will."
"Yeah!" Choza says, placing a kiss on his wife's cheek. "It's like sensei always says!"
Minato smiles. "Never let Kushina near an open flame?" That earns a loud laugh from Mikoto. Choza gives him a bland look.
"No!"
Shibi smiles too. "He's not a pervert, he's a super pervert?" Minato laughs at that along with some of the other's. Dellia rolls her eyes. Jiraiya grunts lowering himself into his seat and taking Naruto from Ino's mom.
Minato grins at his sensei. "Never send a man to do the woman's cooking?" Obito snorts loudly, covering his face with his hands.
Mikoto's jaw drops. She picks up her napkin and throws it at the sage. Dellia glares at him while Shibi's wife, Aliei, gives him a sharp look. Kazula puts a hand over her mouth, laughing slightly. Fugaku looks away, as if it would get the him the ire of the ladies if he was caught looking at the older man.
Jiraiya glares at Minato. "Hey shitball, I never said that!"
Choza shakes his head. "I'm serious! Sensei always said that even though we are all grown up, it doesn't mean that we can't still be a team. It doesn't mean we can't still always have each other's back." That turns everyone's attention to the head of the Akimichi family. He smiles. "And it's true. This is just as much our village and we all miss Kushina. We will help out in any way we can, Minato. I swear."
"Like a sailor," Shikaku says, getting a bland look from his wife and a playful one from Choza. "But he's right. We've got your back, Lord Minato. As shinobi, as subordinates, as friends and as family. We are all part of the will of fire."
"And I know just how to start helping you out," Mikoto says, turning an affectionate smile to the blond kage.
Minato looks down at Kakashi. The gray haired boy shrugs. Minato looks over at his wife's best friend. "How?" Mikoto smiles.
"Have a good day, Minato!" Mikoto says as the blond slowly walks backwards away from the front steps of the Uchiha main house. Minato looks down at the little blond bundle in her arms. "It's just for a few hours, don't panic!" She calls out playfully.
Minato smiles thinly. "Easy for you to say," he mumbles under his breath before finally turning away and heading out into the city. Minato stopped every couple of feet, considering turning around and insisting that the blue haired woman let him have his son, but then he would whisper, like a mantra beneath his breath, "I trust Mikoto. She'll take care of him. She loves him. I trust her." And it makes him feel a little bit better.
It's barely dawn and the stores haven't even opened up yet. The shinobi on night watch are finishing up their shift and are heading home to get some well deserved rest. Minato walks through Konoha' enjoying the silence. He can hear the birds tweeting, welcoming the new day, as he makes his way out of the village, waving to the two men guarding the main gate. They wave back.
Minato stretches, pulling his arms up over his head and going up onto his tip toes, then bends down at the waist, feeling the pleasant and familiar burn in his thighs as he stretches the muscles and then bounces from one foot to the other, warming up. There is a gentle breeze that ruffles the strings on his sweat shirt and chills his shorts-clad legs. He rolls his shoulders back and does what he is known best for: he runs.
It's slow and steady at first, it's been way too long since he last participated in his ritualistic morning runs, and then moves into a comfortable speed, feeling the burn that he's gone so long without. He smiles, happily, embracing the feeling of freedom he always accompanied with his running. His sandals crunching the leaves and dirt, the wind blowing through his hair, the sweat sliding down between his shoulder blades. It was wonderful. Something he's gone way too long without. He doesn't even mind the new addition, the ANBU First Team that follows him loyally in the shadows or the three guards he's accustomed to now having at his flanks, appearing beside him.
They keep their distance, giving Minato the room to control where he goes, but he never strays far from the wall's perimeter. He enjoys the burn of the cool air hitting his lungs and he smiles, picking up his speed. Faster and faster and faster, he goes. Blood pumping in his ears. This is the most free he's been in so long, he doesn't want it to end. Before long, he's run twenty laps around the village, having long lost his escorts, but not minding at the slightest. He knew he moved too fast. It was what he was known for. So what if he was as manly appearing as say, the Second Hokage, but he wasn't weak. He wasn't going to let anyone mess with the Leaf.
And when those bastards that ruined the happiest day of his life rear their ugly heads, he'll be ready.