Time Flows Like Ink
Summary: After a fuinjutsu experiment gone wrong, Minato is yanked into a future where his family is dead, his team fell apart and the Uchiha were slaughtered. With the defective seal burning in his palm, Minato struggles to stay afloat in a Konoha that isn't his.
Chapter 3
There were many things Minato had to take care of. Missions had been completed and assigned while he was gone. Two meetings had been held without him. There were major updates about the other villages' movements. Minato had to get up to date and familiarize himself with everything he had missed during the last two days.
War was a busy time for hidden villages and Minato was at the very center of it. He could be lucky that Sarutobi had taken over some of his duties and helped to hold things together while he'd been gone. The title had passed to Minato only recently, and Sarutobi had agreed to postpone his retirement in order to make the transition easier for him.
Then there was the matter of explaining where he'd been. Kushina and he had agreed that time travel – at least at the moment – was too much for most of the council members to handle. They'd settled on a vague but believable excuse that wasn't so much a lie as it was leaving out the core information.
"A training accident," Fugaku said, repeating his words stoically. There were chuckles and sighs of exasperation all around the table, and even a muffled "Again?"
Inoichi was openly laughing. "Could have been worse. Nothing was even on fire."
"Have you been experimenting with your teleportation seals?" Chōza sounded genuinely curious.
Minato gave a sheepish grin, mildly regretting his insistence on a casual setting. "A variation of them, yeah. Fuinjutsu can be unpredictable."
Minato improvised the questions he was asked with ease. Soon all of his friends seemed satisfied and they moved on to the less essential developments that had taken place during his absence. The gossip.
Minato would decide later if and how many people he would let in on his little secret. So far he had no clue what he was supposed to be doing with his scarce knowledge of the future.
Well, there was one thing.
"You're going to what?!" Obito was not impressed, to put it mildly.
"I said I'm putting you three on standby for a while." Minato's voice was apologetic, but relentless. He knew it was selfish. They were in the middle of a war. But if there was nothing else he could do, there was at least this. "It's not permanent. I have to take care of a few things, and I want to keep you three in the village until then."
"But Sensei!" Obito yelled, half protest and half whine.
Kakashi was calmer but no less irritated. "What did we do?"
"It's not punishment, Kakashi."
"Then what? Why forbid us to go on missions? Why now?"
"Yeah!" Obito agreed. In any other situation Minato would be amazed that the two boys were on the same page for once. "Why are you babying us? We can handle missions, we're not genin anymore."
"Sensei." Rin was calmer than both of her teammates, but that didn't mean she was happy. "Is it really a good idea to keep us off the roster? With Konoha's current position?"
Minato felt a spark of pride. His students were smart, and they were right. But when he looked at Kakashi he saw Obito's eye staring back at him drowned in Kakashi's grief. He saw Kakashi and Rin's names glaring back at him from cold stone.
"I have to ask you to trust me on this. There are enough duties to complete within the village, and you can use the time for training." Seeing Kakashi's defiant glance and Obito's pout, he added, stricter, "That's an order. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sensei," Kakashi said, closely followed by Rin. Obito crossed his arms but followed suit.
Minato could breathe a little easier knowing he had taken a step towards a better future.
He and Kushina continued to work on improving their seal work, Kushina more so than Minato. Not only were his duties as kage and teacher taking up his time, between the two of them Kushina was easily the more skilled sealmaster. The designs she came up with were both breathtaking and insane – her ideas were the sort that nobody else could dream of.
Every time he came home to Kushina sprawled in an odd position with her tongue between her teeth, paper and brushes strewn around her and ink smudges on her face and their furniture, he was reminded of all the reasons he loved her so much.
It was on one of those evenings a few days after the incident, both of them sat on the floor surrounded by fuinjutsu seals, that he felt it again. The tugging in his hand, weak but getting more insistent as the seconds passed.
"Kushina. I think it's happening."
Kushina abandoned her project, leaped up and grabbed the bag they had prepared from the couch. She dropped it into his lap and took his hand to look at the seal. "It's not glowing or giving off heat. No signs of it activating. Are you sure?"
"I can feel it."
Kushina accepted his judgement with a nod. "Come on then." They were out of the window and sitting on the roof only seconds later. Minato wanted to avoid arriving in some stranger's living room.
"How long do you have?"
Minato hesitated, contemplating. "I don't know. It feels slower than last time. Still, not long."
"Quick then. What's the plan?"
"Go back, find out more about what went wrong. The Kyūbi first, then the kids. Find out about other major events, anything that could tell us what to expect."
Kushina nodded along with him. "Don't forget to be thorough. Don't get distracted, and don't let anybody stop you. If they try, kick their butts!"
Minato laughed. "I don't think that would make them trust me more." He checked the bag to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. Fuinjutsu equipment. A notebook. Standard shinobi gear and his custom made kunai.
The seal started to feel warm. He spoke faster. "What about you?"
"I'll tell everyone that you caught something while you were gone and you're too sick to work. I'll take over your most important duties – I memorized the plan for the next week, don't worry – and deflect questions until you're back. Take care of anyone who gets too nosy."
Minato resolutely ignored that last one. "Remember, it doesn't matter if people get suspicious. You only have to keep it up for a few days."
"Piece of cake. The only thing you should worry about is me stealing your title while you're gone." She grinned, her eyes glistening mischievously. "Just wait, they won't want to let me go once they see me in action."
"What about me then?"
"You can be my trophy husband. And a stay-at-home dad."
Minato laughed, pulling Kushina closer. The seal burned hotter. "No complaints from me." He kissed her, tender and lovingly in the moments they had left. It would be easier, this time around. Knowing she was waiting for him, taking care of the village in his stead.
He pulled away, keeping one hand to gently cup her cheek. "See you soon."
"Don't screw it up, Namikaze." She looked away and Minato knew her well enough to see the concern in her expression.
The seal was ablaze and Minato had enough time to clutch his bag closer and smile at Kushina before it yanked at him and dragged him away.
When Minato opened his eyes he was alone. He felt calmer this time, knowing what had happened and what he had to expect.
He didn't try to hide, trusting that someone would notice him sooner or later. Hopefully this time it wouldn't end as badly, now that he had proven his identity once.
Minato decided to take a closer look at the village and leaped over Konoha's rooftops. He saw buildings that had either been renovated or expanded since he was gone. There was an entire street of relatively new buildings, perhaps rebuilt after the Kyūbi attack. And further back, close to the borders…
That was odd. Minato frowned, heading over to take a closer look. It was an entire district of the village that looked empty. Minato shuddered, an unsettling feeling in his gut. There were no people, no movement, nothing but abandoned buildings and a faint sense that something was wrong.
He jumped down, feeling someone landing behind him. Genma. Perhaps he wanted to continue their confrontation from before, hopefully on better terms.
Minato's question died on his tongue when he saw Genma's wide-eyed stare. He blinked in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"You're back."
"Oh." Of course. Minato had appeared and disappeared without a trace. They likely hadn't expected to see him again. "The seal goes both ways. I don't think it will stop anytime soon."
"Minato," Genma said, his voice slow and clear like Minato was missing the meaning of his words. "It's been weeks since you've been here."
His eyes widened. "It's only been a few days for me." This was worrying. He had no control over the seal when it dragged him through time. What if it missed its mark completely? What if it brought him years further into the future, a future without anyone that he knew?
"I'm sorry," Genma said, avoiding his glance. "It's just… I didn't expect to see you again."
There was a moment of silence, and Minato decided to change the topic before it became too uncomfortable.
"What happened here?" he asked, his eyes wandering around the lifeless streets.
Genma hesitated. Alarm bells went off in Minato's head. "Is that really how you want to start the conversation?" He was stalling.
"Genma, please." He glanced towards the closed gates, proudly displaying the Uchiha crest. "The Uchiha lived here. Why is it empty?"
Genma sighed, a tired, defeated sound. "They... I'm sorry, Minato. They were killed. Slaughtered."
Minato stared. "Killed? All of them?"
"All but one, yes. Two, I suppose."
Minato's mind was reeling. "But– they had the Sharingan. The entire police force were Uchiha. I don't– Who could have been strong enough? And why?"
Genma's eyes wandered through the streets, slowly as if it had been a while since he'd been here. How long ago had it been, for Genma?
"It was one of their own. Somehow managed to kill his entire clan without anybody getting the better of him. Itachi Uchiha, left only his–"
"Itachi?" Minato burst out. "Fugaku and Mikoto's kid?"
"Him, yeah." Genma looked mildly surprised at Minato's recognition. "Only left his little brother alive. Everybody else…" He trailed off, letting the eerie silence around them speak for itself.
"Why did he do it?"
A shrug. "No one really knows. Some say the strain of being an ANBU at that age was too much for him. The Uchiha madness finally caught up to their clan, people say."
Minato's mouth stiffened. He'd known Itachi since he was born. He'd been his babysitter with Kushina more than once. The picture Genma was painting was impossible to connect to the five-year-old Minato knew, the quiet, polite boy who was too smart for his own good.
"How long has it been? When it happened, how long had I been… gone?"
Genma moved the senbon in his mouth, thoughtful. "Not long. It's been about five years."
Minato did the math and frowned. Itachi couldn't have been older than twelve, maybe thirteen years old.
"You know," Genma started, his voice oddly stiff. He was holding eye contact now. "It wasn't easy, after– I mean. After you died. The war ended, but you. You were gone. And the Third, he tried his best. Still does." Genma paused. "But he wasn't you. And there was a reason he retired, back then."
"Why didn't he pass on the hat?"
Genma laughed, short and without humor. "Who could have taken it?"
Minato hesitated. He hated the bitter lining of Genma's words, hated that he was responsible for it. "I'm sorry." He was taken aback at Genma's laugh, genuine and bright.
"Only you would apologize for dying." Genma smiled and it lightened the mood a bit. "You know, even though I was never officially your student, I still never had a better teacher than you."
That stole a smile out of him. Minato loved teaching and could have probably been happy as a jōnin instructor, had he not set his eyes on the Hokage's position instead. But that reminded him. "Sorry for changing the subject, but speaking of teaching. Do you know where my student is?" He hadn't exactly left Kakashi on good terms last time.
"Your student? Which one?"
Hope flooded his chest sweet and dizzying. So far all he had done was forbid his team from attending missions. There was no guarantee for how long his orders would be followed. They were teenagers and itching to prove themselves.
Did this mean it had been enough? Had he prevented Rin and Obito from dying?
"Where are they?" He didn't try to hide his excitement.
Genma gave him an odd look. "Rin just returned from a mission. You can try your luck, but she probably won't talk to you." His voice was matter-of-fact with a bitter note to it. "Kakashi is at his usual place."
Minato's heart sank.
Genma was right. He found Kakashi at the memorial. The same air of exhaustion and grief surrounded him, the only difference being that he wore his forehead protector properly. Obito's eye was gone.
"Kakashi."
"Ah. So you're back." Kakashi didn't turn to look at him. "I wasn't sure if you would be. I thought I'd missed my chance for a reunion for good."
Minato hesitated. "Genma told me that Rin is back."
"She is?" Kakashi's voice wasn't even mildly interested. "She must have finished her mission early then."
Minato didn't answer. That wasn't what he'd meant with 'back', but it told him what he needed to know. Kakashi wasn't aware of the change. He didn't know that Rin's name was supposed to be written on the stone with Obito's.
"Do you remember our conversation from last time?" Minato asked slowly. Kakashi had told him the story of how Obito and Rin had died. He'd shown him his Sharingan. If Minato had changed it, he shouldn't be able to remember any of it.
"Of course."
"Really? What did we talk about?"
"We talked about…" Kakashi trailed off, blinking in confusion. "We talked about Kushina, and… and Obito..." He furrowed his brows as if in deep concentration. His hand twitched upwards to his uncovered eye. Interesting.
"Do you know where Rin is?"
Kakashi hesitated, and the dazed look in his eyes faded. "Probably."
"Bring me to her."
Kakashi's eyes flickered back to the memorial stone. Back to Obito. Minato wanted to tear Kakashi's eyes away from it. It was killing him, seeing Kakashi in pain without being able to do anything.
"If you insist." Finally, Kakashi turned. "She doesn't tend to be great company."
They set out into the streets, Kakashi leading the way. Minato tried not to stick out, but he was still attracting attention. There wasn't much to be done about his bright hair, not unless he wanted to use a Transformation Technique. Heads turned towards them as they walked by, most of them frowning as if they tried to place where they knew him from.
Nobody approached, but Minato hadn't expected them to. They were more likely to assume they were seeing things than connect him to their dead Fourth Hokage.
"– were trying to steal, don't act so innocently!"
Mild curiosity made him look for the raised voices.
"I wasn't! I didn't take anything!"
"Get out of here. If I see you again you'll be in real trouble!"
A young boy stormed out of a shop, scowling. It was the troublemaker from the old lady's stall, back during Minato's first jump. Minato's eyes lingered at the unusual color of his hair, the same shade of bright blond as his. The whiskers had to be the markings of a minor clan, although he didn't recognize them.
"What are you looking at?!" the boy yelled and stormed off before Minato could muster an answer.
Kakashi had already set off again. Maybe a little too fast. But before Minato could ask, Kakashi stopped in front of a bar.
"She's probably in here. She always is, after missions."
Minato waited for Kakashi to enter, but he didn't move. "What's wrong?"
Kakashi avoided his gaze. "You go ahead. I'd rather sit this one out." And, in a puff of smoke, Kakashi vanished.
Minato frowned, but didn't try to follow.
He found Rin in a far back corner, tucked away and isolated. A scar marred the skin on her cheek close to her eye and she reeked of alcohol and blood. Rin's eyes flickered up as Minato took the seat opposite of hers.
She took a swing of her bottle and grimaced. "So they were right. It's you." Minato didn't answer. Rin scowled. "Don't look at me like that. Sad eyes won't get you anywhere."
"Where's Obito?"
"He's dead." The lack of emotion in that sentence was concerning. "You know he is. I was briefed, I know that Kakashi told you."
"He didn't tell me how it happened." At least not how it happened this time around. A knot formed in Minato's gut. What on earth could have turned Rin, sweet, wonderful Rin, into this?
She stared at the table, acting like it was only her and the bottles of alcohol around her. The air around them was stale and heavy with tension. "If you must know," she started, still avoiding his gaze, "there was a mission. Later into the war. You were gone. Konoha needed shinobi and we were available."
Minato tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He could see where this was going.
"It wasn't anything special. The mission went haywire and Obito didn't make it. That's all."
"You make it sound like it wasn't a big deal."
"People die," Rin said bluntly. "Obito wasn't special. We were at war and people died. He was just one of many."
"You say that," Minato said, pressing against his better judgement, "and yet you're here. Still grieving."
Rin didn't answer, so he switched tactics. "You're an ANBU. Aren't you?"
"How could you tell?"
"Lucky guess." ANBU was a magnet for broken people, so it felt. "What happened to becoming a medic?"
"Didn't work out."
"Rin." He waited until she looked him into the eyes. "Is that because you couldn't save Obito?" Pain flashed through glassy eyes and Minato had his answer. "It wasn't your fault."
"How would you know?" Rin whispered.
"Because I know you. And I know you would have done everything you could."
She chuckled humorlessly. "Well, it wasn't enough. You were gone and so was Obito and Kakashi just changed. Who else was there?"
Minato swallowed an apology, knowing it would not be well received. He couldn't take his eyes off Rin, took in the pain carved in her face like the scar that should not be there. "I changed it," he heard himself say. "Tried. I tried to change it. Rin, when I came back here before, you were dead, too."
There was a pause. "Maybe you should have left it that way."
Rin might as well have slapped him. But the sentence sounded like a dismissal and Minato took it as such.
He felt better than he had the first time around. Rin's story was a blow, but he now knew it was temporary. Seeing both of his students like this, both of them suffering because he hadn't been there to stop it: Minato would make sure to correct his mistakes.
He stepped out of the bar and was hit with something that sent water gushing down his hair and shoulders. He didn't move, standing dumbfounded and dripping on the street. A water balloon? It hadn't registered as a threat, so he hadn't dodged. But who–?
"Hah! I got you!" The boy from before sat on one of the lower rooftops, cackling gleefully. Something about his laughter sent warmth through Minato's chest.
He leaped onto the roof. The boy took a step back and raised his hands in surrender. "Woah. Calm down, it was just a joke."
Minato couldn't take his eyes off the boy's hair. The same shade as his. "What's your name?"
"Eh? Don't you know?" The boy frowned at him. "Aren't you from here?"
"I'm afraid I've been away from the village for a while," Minato said, smiling.
"Oookay," the boy said, still eying him suspiciously. "Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Don't you forget it!"
Minato's mind went blank. He stared at the boy, at the self-proclaimed Naruto. Who had his hair. Who had pranked him, laughing Kushina's laughter.
"What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked bluntly. "You're staring."
But it couldn't be. "How old are you?"
"What kinda question is that?"
"Please!" he burst out. He needed to get an answer. "Naruto. Just answer."
Naruto frowned at him, but obeyed. "I'm twelve. And you're weird."
It fit. His age fit. Minato stood gaping, taking in Naruto's appearance. Taking in his son. He was alive. Naruto was alive. Why hadn't anyone told him? Sarutobi or Genma or Shikaku, why had none of them told him? Why hadn't Kakashi?
"I-It's nice to meet you, Naruto." He choked out the words with effort, forcing a smile on his face. He resisted the urge to sweep up Naruto and bring him along, noticing the ANBU crowding in on them. He would only scare his son. "I promise, I'll be back."
"Eh? You haven't even told me your name!"
Everything in him was screaming at him to go back but he ignored it and headed towards the Hokage's residence. He could feel the ANBU around him, holding their distance. Minato didn't care. The Hokage owed him answers.
A/N: My betas are Igornerd, To Mockingbird and PyrothTenka! Go check them out, they're all wonderful writers!
Please take the time to leave a review!
~Gwen