"Alright! That's all for today, guys! See you Monday! We'll be focusing on taijutsu again, so I suggest reading up and doing some practice in your spare time to prepare." Iruka started wiping the board and packing up his teaching materials as the students began to file through the door and into the hallway. The air was filled with chatter as students began to make plans for the evening, signaling the start of the weekend.
Naruto and Sasuke gave each other the usual glance as everyone left their seats, taking care not to be caught by any girls. Each made their way out of the classroom alone, Sasuke just barely managing to duck away out of sight before any girls got onto him.
Both stealthily made their way through Konohagakure, with Naruto hiding from angry villagers and Sasuke not taking his chances with assuming that he was out of the woods with the girls. It would be a royal pain in the ass to be found out and stalked to even the training grounds forevermore.
The boys practiced their fundamentals and sparred at the training ground until late in the afternoon. Covered in sweat and grime, they decided it was time to call it a day.
"Hurry up dobe… whew… I'll miss… the sunset because of you," said Sasuke.
Naruto, who had taken a deep breath of his own, took off at a sprint just then.
"WHAT'RE YA TALKING ABOUT, 'TTEBAYO? YOU BETTER KEEP UP, TEME!"
"Tch. How stupid can you be, wasting your remaining energy like that?"
Sasuke proceeded to infuse chakra in his feet and give chase to his friend.
In the end, Naruto maintained his small lead by infusing some chakra of his own. He collapsed a few steps before he could reach their modest home in the small Uzumaki compound, though. It was mostly empty today, as residents of all the other houses were off enjoying their Friday night.
"What are you doing down there? Get up, you can rest after we freshen up and get food taken care of."
"We have to cook AGAIN? Already?!"
"Yeah, only because you can't help but eat so much, you glutton."
A smell tickled Naruto's nose, causing him to perk up.
"Hey, do you smell that? Did someone bring us food?"
Sasuke shrugged, putting his hand up to their door and feeding a smidge of chakra into it. The chakra revealed a seal that glowed blue in reaction. The seal faded back into the door, which swung open to reveal a lit room with sofas, a TV, and bookshelves.
"We're home~," they said absentmindedly, not expecting anyone to be there to hear it.
The two proceeded towards the stairs, intending to bathe before worrying about food.
As they passed by the kitchen, they found freshly cooked food being kept warm by the low heat of a stove as well as a young woman in sleepwear hunched over a scroll and notebook, stray strands of her long, light caramel hair framing her profile. The boys' faces instantly lit up.
"Onee-chan!/Mina-chan!" The pair practically hurled themselves at her, and she simply moved away, leaving them to fall on top of each other. She turned to face them, the visible tiredness in her violet eyes overshadowed by that slightly playful glint that accompanied her small laugh.
"No hugs for you yet. Go freshen up first."
As the sounds of the boys' footsteps receded, she turned back to her work.
The scroll had seven distinct markings on it, one for each of the main chakra natures. Each contained a unique symbol in its centre.
Closing her eyes and breathing more deliberately for concentration now, she put her hand to the first marking, which was characterised by multiple strokes and dominated by sharp angles. Slowly, she let the chakra flow. The marking took on a barely visible green tinge and she could feel the chakra enveloping the page like a mist, searching for edges to bind to. Satisfied, she moved her hand to the seal for Fire chakra, which contained many strokes that looped and coiled back around and over themselves. This one responded by taking on a slight red hue. Not wanting to ruin the scroll, she withdrew her hand, grabbed the scroll and notebook, and went upstairs to her room.
—Short timeskip brought to you by Naruto and Sasuke relaxing in their respective baths in total peace—
Naruto was far too hungry and fond of his sister's cooking to relax like that for long, though. Unsurprisingly, he was out before Sasuke and would've launched himself right down the stairs if it weren't for the all-too-familiar sound of something striking against metal. He padded across the hall, stopping at the ajar door that read "Minako" in an intricate calligraphic script.
"Onee-chan, are you gonna join us?"
The clanging ceased for a brief moment. "Mmm, I think I'll just finish this seal and sleep. I'm dead tired. Shadow clone sleep is not it."
Sasuke could be heard yawning in the hallway.
"You two go and eat your karaage. See you in the morning or whatever." Minako waved to Sasuke as he passed by, bid the two of them good night, and promptly flopped onto her bed.
"She didn't even give us our hugs."
Sasuke sighed. "Leave her be, dobe." His pride absolutely could NOT afford to show Naruto that they shared the same disappointment.
Regardless, neither could hide the smiles playing at the corners of their mouths or their visibly more relaxed body language.
Minako was back and man, was it nice to once again have the house feel like home.
A/N Please leave your feedback on this chapter! I kinda tried to have it feel a bit like a oneshot to test the waters with. Also the Minako in this story is essentially the same person as from The Legend of Minako Namikaze but with some minor differences in personality and no OC tailed beast shenanigans, so I hope you enjoy!