A/N: I am also in the middle of making a video dedicated to Hashirama and Madara's youth. I have composed the music already but I am having severe problems with VideoPad. The project file is actually complete, but it's just a matter of getting the final render to show ALL the images I have chosen. It won't seem to show the second half of the movie, and turns black. I hope the artists don't mind the wait... ^^' I am personally very aggravated by this setback. Darn software! Argh.
Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter!
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The large man leaned back against the railing on the small bridge. His long, spiky brown hair stood its ground as a harsh wind blew past. He turned to his jounin friend beside him, and the edges of his own dark eyes and purple markings on his dimpled cheeks crinkled amiably as he laughed. "So that's what you wanted to talk about."
"Aa," Minato replied, although a look of apprehension lightly coated his face. "He's shown so much progress in so little time. Though I can't say I'm surprised."
"Haha, me neither, with a teacher like you, yeah?" he agreed jovially.
"He has been subtly dropping hints here and there that he's ready." He crossed his arms and looked to the trees. "Though I don't think it's time yet for Rin or Obito. Not even close."
"I agree. Kurenai, Ibiki, and Rin were great on our last mission, but none of them are ready, either. Especially not Rin. I mean," he quickly added, "that, I feel she does not want to go for that sort of thing. Helping is what she likes and she is exceptional at it."
"No, you're right. Rin has implied so in the past. Her dream is to land a permanent position at the hospital, or if that's not possible, then to remain as a medic-nin—assignable to wherever she is needed. I do admire her for wanting to serve as "a tool of Konoha", as she put it."
"Right. We are losing our medic-ninja left and right these days..."
Minato hummed in agreement. After a moment, repeated his question. "So...Chouza. What do you think?"
He looked up behind Minato.
"Ooohhhhw," a voice said in interest. "So you're gonna do that, huh?"
"Jiraiya-sama," Chouza greeted. He received a nod of acknowledgment.
Minato, startled, craned his neck and looked up into the wizened eyes of his former teacher. "Jiraiya-sensei, how is it that you can always sneak up on me?"
"It's because I'm your sensei, gaki!" He grinned mischievously and plopped a hand onto his former pupil's head. He circled around from behind him and faced him, taking easily into his right hand the papers from the grasp of the Yellow Flash. His eyes skimmed over the contents. He hummed-groaned in the manner typical of him. "They change the requirements and waivers each year, it seems," he noted with a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
"Sou," Minato agreed. "That's why I'm just a bit worried."
The sage's dark, narrowed orbs met Minato's wide blue ones. He scoffed. "There's nothing to worry about. A jounin's a jounin. If he's good enough, then he'll be fine." He eyed him carefully, and then shut his eyes in defeat. "Maa...a jounin-sensei is a jounin-sensei, as well, I suppose." He remembered how he'd felt as Minato's sensei around the same time. He smiled in nostalgia, suddenly feeling very old at just thirty-six years of age. Though, for a shinobi, surviving to that age in times of war was a feat dependent not only on skill, but on luck, as well.
Minato thought for a moment and returned his gaze to his longtime friend. He received Chouza's expression of approval and nodded. "Well, Kakashi, it's not just me who believes in you," he murmured to himself. He had asked Kushina for her answer, too, the night before.
"Eeh? But he only just got back barely alive on his last mission. Don't you think it's too soon?"
"I know, Kushina, but he's been wanting this for a long time now. I know Rin will be fine with it, but—"
"Obito wouldn't. He still has quite a ways to go, right?"
"Right. Still, —"
"He's mature enough to handle it." She chuckled. "Barely."
He smiled. "Right." Just like her to be able to finish off his sentences so easily.
"I understand where this is coming from. They're your kids! Our kids," she laughed. Her flowing red hair fell back behind her shoulder.
Minato walked up to her, and smoothed the long, fiery locks beside her shoulder. He listened quietly as she continued.
"I know Kakashi. You do too, even better—he's a fine shinobi.
"...If not a little brat," she added, half-smiling, with a twisted expression of malevolence consuming her face. She noticed Minato chuckle. "Well, you've got my answer," she said, raising an eyebrow hopelessly. "Honestly, you and your team...you really do have a soft spot underneath that killer exterior you always wear around, ttebane!"
He raised an eyebrow as well, before pulling her in for a kiss. "Well I've gotta look tough to somebody!" he whispered. "The future Hokage can't look weak, you know." Grinning broadly, he winked and performed a thumbs up.
Kushina closed her eyes, and tilted her head back in laughter at the nice-guy pose Gai pulled on them so often. "Mou!" she exclaimed, pushing him away playfully. "You also secretly have a swelled head, dattebane!" She landed her finger on the tip of his nose. "Dork."
"Someone's thinking about Kushina-san again," a voice drifted in leerily.
Amazingly, the voice belonged to none other than Gai. Where did that kid keep popping up from, anyway?
"Hello! Gai-kun," Minato greeted, looking down in front of him at the young ninja with the now-infamous bowl cut of shiny black hair.
The boy was raising a pointed finger into the air. "Minato-sensei, if you love Kushina-san so much, you should ask her to marry you!" he advised seriously.
Chouza bowed his neck down and placed his forearm to his eyes. "So...cute...can't...stand it!"
"The eccentric-looking boy has a point, you know!" Jiraiya agreed, pointing his own pointed finger at Gai's own pointed one.
"You must let the Power of Youth run freely throughout your body, and let your mind become subject to its desires!
"Gyahahaha! I like you! Who taught you such things, this odd boy..." Jiraiya remarked, a look of bewilderment mixed with amusement clearly present on his face.
The boy looked him straight in the eye. "Ebisu-san's father!" He answered confidently, the earnestness in his voice causing a tear to escape the hardened Akimichi jounin's eye. "Though, Ebisu doesn't like his dad much..." he looked down.
"Oouh!" Jiraiya exclaimed before grinning with recognition. "Ano otoko ka?" He remembered this Ebisu's father very clearly now. They had been in the same class together in the Academy, after all. "Well it's not surprising, considering how embarr—" he was cut short with a glare from Chouza. "...Anyway!"
"Ok, so it's settled! Thanks for your help," Minato concluded, cutting into the conversation he had not paid attention to. He turned and waved at his sensei and longtime friend, and began his descent from the small bridge.
"Bye bye, Minato-sensei!" Gai called out, now curious to what the adults had been talking about.
Already off the bridge, Minato turned his body mid-step and gave him a rigorous thumbs-up. Hm, he's right. I probably should say something to Kushina.
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A/N: End of chapter! Hope you enjoyed. Me, I am really enjoying writing this. I am actually in ahead in this story, although I am writing 3-4 others at the moment...oneshots, stories set in the past, and stories set in the future. One of them will be especially long for what I usually do, and will include the same amount of characters, in general, as this one. Based around 2-4 characters kind of thing, and then making sure side characters pop in enough so it's not too exclusive on only certain ones, along with interesting and relevant enough side plots. Again, I am keeping them as close to canon as possible, as I always do. That way it seems like there's a definite possibility such events could have take place to begin with.
Anyway, end of rant about future stuff.
Review, please! Throw some critique, praise, thoughts, suggestions at me! They are very, very, welcome. :)
Chapter title is "Friendly Feelings"
