Grey

3.

The man inhaled the scent of the bag he carried to a remote spot outside the village. "Oh merry chopsticks made of gold…" he murmured.

Minato looked at him strangely while he fished out the contents, "Want some?"

"…Do I want some…!" Minato exclaimed, "At a time like this!"

"Hey I don't want to die on an empty stomach mister big important man," the ninja again shifted his torso in a vain way. "I'm eating," He said adamantly, and thus began.

Minato blinked. And missed it.

"So…" Minato was walking around in circles, while a masked man was intaking food. "Could you please tell me your plan while you eat?"

"Of course," He pointed the chopsticks in the air, "The first thing I'd like to do is recreate the event that got us to this point. We recreate what happened. You go wherever you were. I go where I was (which I think I could navigate back to at a reasonable speed). And we try it again."

"But…you tried to go to your home, and it didn't work."

"Yes. You must place the seal on me again."

"Ohhh I see. But wouldn't that make it worse?"

"Possibly."

"Then…why will we do that?"

"To rule out doing that."

"…Okay," Minato eventually decided, not entirely thrilled with the idea. "Then what's plan B?"

"Well. If that doesn't work…" the man was working on the rice. "I have to think that my arch-nemesis might be involved in this somehow."

"…Hold it hold it…You never mentioned anything about an arch-nemesis."

"I didn't?"

"No." Minato stared at him firmly.

"Oh."

Minato turned away, walking around again, tearing the sod with his shoes in utter frustration.

"It couldn't be the case…I haven't seen him for quite some time…although…Well," the man finished. "Let's try the re-creation, shall we?"

"Any guarantees if it doesn't work?"

"Hopefully we'll wind up together again."

Minato rolled his eyes upward. "Yes please. I pray we do…"

"Now, I have an idea for us to activate our seals instantaneously. If we are off," the ninja warned, "This attempt won't even count as an attempted fix of the problem. Here's my idea…"

.

Minato felt strange, lurking around his home. It was his home. He could see the lights off, and knew Kushina must be inside, asleep at this hour. His body begged to meet her and embrace her, sweep her off her feet, hug her, and ask her why the world had to be so insane and them so not. But Minato had to stand there, just outside that front door, and wait for the signal. If I'm off by a fraction, he thought, Kushina might be gone forever…

Minato swallowed.

He stood, both hungry and his cloak waving slightly.

What if Kushina, whoever she was in this world, caught him? What if she was up, getting her milk when not the fridge disappeared…but himself…? She might yell, MINAATOOO!

A small bird summons appeared suddenly, in a tree, he noticed this because it was staring a genjutsu straight at him.

Minato looked down immediately.

He initiated his own summoning jutsu.

Flash.

.