Intermission 51
- A love story in bits and pieces –
A shinobi in the hospital is nothing new, old hat, and maybe that's why basically no one but the errant, giggling nurse comes to visit Minato for the first two days. (Or is it three? He's mostly counting the hours by the liquid level of painkiller in the pouch connected by a tube to his arm.) Still, these injuries (not that he could feel them, thanks to taxpayer-funded morphine) were more than anything he'd sustained in a long while. Minato is suspicious that perhaps another war started or something, considering how quickly the stray ANBU outside the window were hustling in hurried, anxious steps. It's like a game of I-SPY, how many ANBU Minato spots that day.
Finally, on what Minato guesses is the fourth day, his Sensei's old teammate comes to visit.
"Sorry Jiraiya's not here." Senju Tsunade nonchalantly parks herself in a stiff folding chair, grabbing one of Minato's extra pillows (hey, the nurses, they still love him) and tucking it behind her.
Even a very drugged up Minato can tell she's not been sleeping. Tsunade's eye bags are considerable, though there's been many a man who has gone to his near-death trying out the "honesty policy" with the princess of the Sannin.
Minato attempts to sound equally blasé. "Don't be sorry, Tsunade… uh, san. Where's Sensei?" Awkward, but all things considered, solid effort.
Tsunade doesn't answer right away, just fiddles with a few knobs on the IV drip dial, and Minato sincerely hopes she's not trying to knock him out via overdose before he can ask more questions.
"Jiraiya and the Sandaime are investigating some allegations of tampering with the jounin test. A fair number of patrol members and proctors disappeared from the jounin test. That, and… well, you know." Tsunade finally turns to him, looking at Minato's casted legs and bound up shoulder.
It's too cliché to say that images of what transpired in the forest come flooding back to Minato in that moment. He needs no such reminder. Over the last day of clearer consciousness, every detail and memory came to him and were replayed in his head as if on a metronome's rhythm, in time with the steady drip of his IV.
"Tampering? Enemy countries? War now or something?" Minato again gives himself some credit for how calmly that came out (thank you, painkillers), even if he has to sacrifice some eloquence for a more zen disposition.
Tsunade looks troubled. She rises out of her seat and takes out a small vase from the side cabinet and produces a small but respectable bouquet of flowers from her bag. The medic expert proceeds to arrange them by Minato's previously empty bedside table.
"Thanks!" Minato effuses. "Last time when I was hospitalized for a fractured bone, it was a greenhouse in here. I smelled like peonies for, uh, a week."
His attempt at (fake?) ego diffuses the tension. The blonde woman finally cracks, and snorts none-too-gently. Minato's heart hurts a bit from the reminder of its resemblance to Kushina.
"Well, don't get too down, Mr. Yellow Flash," the Senju heiress flicks his (not casted) shoulder good-naturedly. "It's because we hushed up this incident. That's also why I was sent here to heal you instead of the regular staff."
"Oh." Minato blinks, not unlike a guppy, and peers down at the bundles of gauze cocooning his appendages. "Not because I'll never flash again without your help?" Minato chuckles at his sad attempt, while Tsunade seems to struggle to not roll her eyes at how un-perverse the joke was, considering the reputation of Minato's lifelong mentor.
Maybe this is Minato's newfound psychological defense mechanism or something, because this is uncomfortable to heights that the blonde had never really reached before. Minato knows for certain now that he's in on a big village secret—one only the cool, important kids got in on—but he realized now that a small part of him had thought himself privy to such information. Wasn't he, like, a big deal? Hadn't he single-handedly won wars and been given bingo book titles? Wasn't the Hokage giving Minato his paperwork because the entire village trusted him?
Oh.
Part of Minato wants to smack himself for being an egotistical prick. Another part wants to shout at Jiraiya-sensei for not telling him sooner. Yet another part wants to shake every member of the ANBU command force and ask why certain ANBU—even certain test proctors who became jounin much later than him!—were privy to the information about the jinchuriki.
And finally, another, deeply-seeded voice just wants to know why Kushina hadn't told him—wants to know if he'd let her down or she thought him too weak to support her.
He's a hypocrite. He expects people to trust him without fully trusting others in return. Shikaku made a fucking good point in the exam, and yet Minato's still blaming others.
Tsunade registers the stricken look on his face.
"Listen, Minato, you're a good kid—no, a good man," the Sannin starts, awkwardly at first.
"The Hokage is on his way out of the office, but he needs to make sure we've got a good team of people in charge to help whoever transitions into the Yondaime position." She looks at him, as if sizing him up. For what, Minato isn't entirely sure. At least she deems him worthy of more information, since she continues.
"So as the last leg of his tenure, the Sandaime feels it's his responsibility to investigate the disappearance of patrol members. There's a possibility someone from the inside, someone privy to Konoha internal documents, knew enough about the parameters of the test to set this up—and they may be involved in what happened to Kushina, although she still doesn't remember much."
The lead in Minato's stomach is transitioning from deadweight to resolve, but it's taking its time. "I-is she okay?"
"Kushina heals fast. Always has."
Of course.
Minato, genius extraordinaire, had always believed her when she explained about her 'Whirlpool constitution'. Something about eating so much jellyfish as a baby she'd never get sick again.
Feeling like a loser of a boyfriend, not to mention gullible childhood friend, Minato asks: "Then, is there anything I can do?"
Tsunade huffs and shakes her head.
"Ugh, men. Just focus on healing up yourself first, before you try to impress your girl, brat."
Maybe she can tell that he's about to protest, because Tsunade shoots him a rueful smile.
"Just get her some flowers when you can walk again. I'll see you tomorrow at nine am sharp to start your therapy, Minato."
Suzu: Minato and Jiraiya have some bonding scenes, so I thought one with Tsunade would be a fun change. On the other hand, I reeeally want to write an Omake of sorts with Yoshino and Shikaku, haha. :) Aye or nay on this?
