A/N: Welcome to another chapter of Hidden Sunray! As always, thank you for your support on this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Reviewer responses:
To the reviewer who didn't leave a name: Thank you for pointing out to me where I can improve my writing. Seeing that I'm not writing this story (or any story on this site) in my native language, any tips on how to improve my writing are welcome. Also, regarding your comment about Kushina: I'm sorry that you didn't like my characterisation on her, but that is how I've interpreted her character. Therefore I will not change my characterisation of her.
Edit 2011/02/07: Editted some minor parts of the Council scene and the conversation between Kushina and Minato, seeing that BundleofContradictions pointed out something that I've completely forgotten about. Thanks, BundleofContradictions!
Hidden Sunray
Chapter 3
A soft mist hung over the village, signaling early dawn. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon and the birds were just starting their daily morning songs. The hour was such that most people were still in bed, excluding shinobi departing on missions or business owners opening their shops before the rush of morning traffic started.
In a house in the village, a certain blonde was readying himself for the day as well. A lot of things had to happen this day, including a very important meeting with the infamous council. Minato knew he would get grief from them, but he was adamant: they would not prevent him from going on this specific mission. However, before he could amount to anything, he needed to talk to a certain person.
Kushina leaned against the wall with her dressing gown thrown over her shoulders and a cup of coffee in her hands. She regarded her husband with neutrality as she continued to watch him get ready for the day.
"I take it you're going to talk to Sarutobi first before you take on those fools on the council," she stated levelly, taking a sip of her coffee. Minato threw her a glance over his shoulder before he turned back to the mirror where he was trying to tame the unruly mop he used for hair.
"Of course. I will need his support in this. The council's not going to take this well," he answered her, focusing more on his hair than his words. She made a soft noise of agreement in her throat and took another sip of her coffee.
"How will the clans take it?" she asked him calmly. It felt almost strange to him to see her so mellow, but he knew she wasn't normally a morning person. She needed some time before she awoke completely and became her normal cheerful self.
"I'm not really sure. Fugaku might have some problems with it, but I'm pretty sure most of them won't have any problems, although I can't be too sure. All of them are very unpredictable. Still, I think the only problem would be to get past the advisors. They won't be very impressed with my demand," he told the redhead. Kushina snorted at his words and he allowed a small smile to slip onto his face when he heard the snort.
"I can just imagine: 'You are the Hokage! You cannot allow yourself to be held up by such trivial details! Your presence in the village is much more needed!'" Kushina enacted the scene. Minato chuckled at her words and adjusted the collar of his cloak before he turned around and faced her.
"I doubt they'll say it like that, but that's most likely what it's going to come down to. They're not going to be willing to let me leave the village and personally lead this mission," he stated. "But they won't succeed in trying to dissuade me. I may be the Hokage, but I'm a father and shinobi as well. I will get my son out of there personally," he told her with determination in his voice. Kushina's eyes softened slightly at his words and a small, but still determined smile slipped onto her face.
"Not alone, you won't. I will definitely go with you," she told him with a hint of challenge in her voice, as if she dared him to cross her. He sighed and shook his head in frustration.
"That's going to be another reason why the council will give me grief: they won't be too keen on letting you go, seeing that you are the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. They'll probably say something like: 'We cannot allow you to take Uzumaki Kushina out of Konoha on something like this! That's ridiculous! How do you know this isn't a trap to capture her?' They definitely won't agree to that," he assured her with disgust in his voice. She snorted at his words and looked away from him. She knew exactly what kind of grief the council would give him because of her, but Minato knew she couldn't care less.
"It's not like they'll be able to prevent me from going. I want my son back; and I will not sit at home and wait for somebody else to bring him to me. I'll show them just how independent I can be," she told Minato. Minato sighed again, but still allowed a smile to slip onto his face.
"Try not to be too independent: I don't want to receive grief from the council for the next couple of years. I already get enough from them as it is," he told her with a soft chuckle. She pouted slightly at his words before a smile slipped onto her face.
"Those old farts can handle it. I need to keep them on their toes lest their instincts dull by doing nothing all day," she told him with a pert tone in her voice. He laughed at her words and walked towards her.
"Still, I don't want to listen to their complaints all day. I have to go now, so I'll see you again later today. Don't cause too much trouble okay?" he told her jokingly. She lifted an eyebrow at his words and looked levelly at him.
"Treating me like a child now?" she asked him with a slight edge in her voice. He smiled slightly and shook his head in wordless denial.
"Of course not. But I know you. You're impatient and frustrated right now, so I think some people might receive a…visit…from you and your…hobbies. I know it's one of the only ways you get rid of your frustrations," he told her gently. She glared at him in mock anger before her eyes softened again and a smile slipped onto her face.
"Yeah, yeah, Mr Know-it-all. I already know that you know all about my methods to let off some stream. Just leave me to my own activities and go on with your own business. You won't even notice my actions," she assured him with a smile on her face. He lifted an eyebrow at her words and she lifted her fist in a threatening method, but he could read the humor in her eyes. Still, it might've had more of an effect if she hadn't forgotten that the now-empty coffee mug was still in her hand. A bright smile slipped onto his face when he saw she finally noticed the mug. She turned scarlet when she realized she threatened him with an empty coffee mug and embarrassedly lowered her hand.
"I love you," Minato assured her with a laugh. Her actions never failed to cheer him up, especially the actions she did unconsciously. She turned even more scarlet at his unexpected compliment. She should've been more used to it by now, but somehow he still managed to surprise her. She turned her attention to him again and narrowed her eyes in mock anger.
"Fine, laugh all you want. Just don't say I didn't warn you when you wake up in the morning with some new…accessories on your face. Or bald," she warned him before her eyes softened. "Now go. Don't waste any more time. The sooner you handle the council and everything that goes with it, the sooner I can see my child again," she told him with a faint hint of longing at the last sentence. His eyes softened at her tone before he walked to her and softly caressed her cheek.
"I know, Kushina. I know," he softly assured her and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "I'll be going now," he told her with a smile and quietly left the room. He knew that she was trying to contain her impatience with trouble. He left the house and set off towards the house of the former Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He knew the Sandaime would be awake at this hour, since habits that spanned years weren't broken easily and Sarutobi had gotten up with the birds every morning of his reign as Sandaime, a habit that had been carried over to the Yondaime.
He greeted the people who greeted him while he walked through the streets of the village. He arrived at the Sarutobi house and inhaled deeply before he softly knocked on the door. He waited for a minute or two before the door opened to reveal the Sandaime's wife. She looked at him in surprise before she fully opened the door.
"Yondaime-sama! What are you doing here? Do you want to come in?" she asked him in surprise and stood aside so that he could enter the house. Minato bowed respectfully at her before he addressed her.
"Good morning, Biwako-sama. I'm sorry to bother you this early in the morning, but I need to speak with your husband. Is he here?" he asked her respectfully. Even though he was the Hokage, he was always respectful towards her. She was the previous Hokage's wife, after all. She had also been one of the midwifes that had delivered his son about ten years ago.
She smiled at him before she mentioned him inside.
"Of course Hiruzen is here: where else will he be at this hour? Please, come in and take a seat! I'll let him know you're here," she told him with a smile on her face. He accepted her offer and entered the house. He waited in the sitting room in solitude while she fetched her husband. The Sandaime finally arrived after a few minutes, his eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise to see the blonde sitting in his sitting room.
"Minato. Is there something I can help you with?" the Sandaime asked the Yondaime in surprise. Minato stood up from the chair when the Sandaime arrived and bowed slightly at him. Sarutobi waved his actions away with his hand. "You know you don't have to do that, Minato. We're equals in rank, seeing as you are my successor. Now what brings you here?" he asked the blonde Hokage in front of him. Minato hesitated for a second before he finally confessed his problem.
"I don't know if you've heard about this, but we've finally found my son," he started. Sarutobi's eyes widened in surprise and his ever-present pipe fell out of his mouth.
"Really? I must say, I'm surprised. Not that I doubt your skills, but I never thought you'd find the boy again. It's been a long time, after all," he told Minato with surprise in his voice. Minato inclined his head at Sarutobi's words.
"I know. I even started to doubt it myself. However, we had finally found him, but he is not in the village, although I guess that's pretty obvious. I will need to leave the village in order to rescue him, but in order for me to do that, I will need someone to take care of affairs in the village while I'm gone. Will you be willing to do that?" Minato asked his predecessor. Sarutobi took a pull from his pipe while he contemplated his answer. A few seconds passed in silence before he spoke.
"Sure, why not? I can understand your request. I would most likely have asked the same of you had I been in your position. Don't worry; you can go rescue your son without worrying about the village. I will watch over Konoha in your absence," he assured the blonde. Minato sighed inwardly at relief at Sarutobi's assurances. The Sandaime would have been the largest threat in Minato's plans if he didn't agree. He was lucky he knew that Sarutobi valued family above anything else. That's why he had been such an amazing Hokage, since he considered the entire village a part of his family. Minato smiled gratefully at him and bowed again.
"Thank you, Hiruzen-sama. This means a lot to me," he told the Sandaime gratefully. Sarutobi waved his thanks off with his hand.
"It's not a problem, Minato. As I said, I would most likely have done the same you are planning. Tell me, what exactly do you have in mind?" he asked the blonde Hokage with curiosity in his voice. Minato hesitated for a second before he divulged his plans.
"Well, I'm planning on taking a team of handpicked shinobi to the location of the building and infiltrate the place. Once we are there, we will…"
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Minato sat in his office, working through some of the paperwork on his desk. It was almost time for the council meeting, but he still had a bit of paperwork to complete before he could leave the village in the Sandaime's capable hands. The least he could do was give a desk without paperwork to the Sandaime.
A knock sounded on the door and he looked up from his work to meet the gaze of his assistant. She bowed respectfully at him before she addressed the reason she entered the office.
"Hokage-sama, the council meeting is about to start," she told him respectfully. He thanked her for her reminder and walked towards the meeting room, his assistant following with the necessary documents. The rest of the council members were already in the room when he entered, making small talk with each other. After all, nothing could be decided by the council without the Hokage present.
Silence fell across the room when Minato entered and took his seat. Most of the council members looked at him with expectation, most likely wondering why he had called them there. He took a deep breath before he addressed the council. They talked about minor matters for a while before Minato addressed the reason he had called the meeting.
"Together with Hatake Kakashi, Hyuuga Hizashi, Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina and the ANBU team consisting of Bear, Panther, Wolf and Cat, I will leave the village on an S-ranked mission within this week. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, has agreed to stand in for me as the reigning Hokage in my absence," he told them bluntly, not giving them the chance to disagree with his words. A stunned silence fell across the room for a second or two before chaos broke loose. It was very rare that the Hokage himself went on a mission, so just the fact that the Yondaime himself was going on a mission raised several eyebrows.
"What mission can be so important that the Hokage himself has to go?" Homura, one of the advisors, demanded from the Yondaime. Minato fixed a level stare on the elder.
"The rescue of my son," he told the elder bluntly. Amazed mutters broke out in the room at the information.
Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara clan, showed a rare case of interest by raising an eyebrow.
"You found him?" the shadow user asked incredulously. A small hint of happiness flashed across Minato's eyes before he assumed a neutral expression again.
"I've received reliable evidence that he is currently located close to Amegakure. I have contacted the leader of Amegakure after I've learned about my son's position and the leader had agreed to send assistance," the Yondaime replied to the clan head.
More mutters sounded across the room until Uchiha Fugaku raised his hand, silently asking for permission to speak.
"Is your son really so valuable that you have to go yourself, Yondaime-sama? Your presence in the village is vital and I'm sure you can send someone else, could you not?" he asked the Hokage respectfully.
Minato fixed a level glance on the Uchiha clan head before he addressed him. "Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto is not only my son, but he is also the heir to the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans. If this was your son and heir, would you sit back and let someone else rescue him?" he demanded from the Uchiha. Fugaku merely shook his head, mutely accepting the Hokage's point.
"Besides, seeing as this is also a joint mission with Amegakure no Sato, it would be an insult to them if the Hokage asks them to aid in the rescue of his son without even bothering to be present," the Hokage continued.
Silence well across the room as everybody conceded his point. Koharu, another one of Sarutobi's advisors, raised her hand after a few seconds.
"I understand the necessity which drives you to attend this mission, but is it really necessary to send Uzumaki Kushina along on this mission? I can't see how it would be necessary to send her along and there are many other villages that would love to get their hands on her," the elder said respectfully. Even though she did not always agree with the Yondaime's choices, she was always respectful towards him, unlike Homura who tended to be a bit disrespectful at times.
Minato fixed his gaze on Koharu. "The person in question is more than capable of protecting herself. She is a jounin of this village, after all. Her presence is necessary on this mission for the same reasons as mine, so I cannot excuse her," he told the elder, his tone once again leaving no room for protest. A slight frown appeared on her face, but she did not make any more comments.
He turned his attention back towards Uchiha Fugaku. "In response to your statement regarding the necessity of my presence in the village: I will return within a week or two at the most and since the Sandaime will be presiding over the village, my absence will not largely influence the affairs of the village," he told the Uchiha clan head, who seemed to accept his explanation.
The Yondaime turned his gaze to the entire council again. "Is there anyone else who wants to say anything?" he asked them levelly. Nobody uttered a sound, although some of the members were looking at him with displeased expressions, especially the two advisors.
Minato looked at each of the council members in turn, before he addressed them again, apparently satisfied by their responses.
"If there is nothing else, then this meeting is adjourned," he told them with authority and stood up. Noise immediately broke out in the room when the members started talking to each other and leaving the room, no doubt discussing the events of the meeting.
Sarutobi approached Minato. "That was well done," he complimented the blonde Hokage. "You didn't give them a chance to protest."
Minato smiled slightly at his predecessor. "I had a good instructor," he told the Sandaime, who smiled at his words. After all, it had been Sarutobi who had trained Minato for the Hokage position.
Sarutobi took a pull of his pipe before he exhaled and spoke again. "I suppose you will leave before the day is over, am I right?" he asked Minato. Minato inclined his head, mutely confirming Sarutobi's guess.
"Yes, the sooner we can go the better. I don't want to leave him there for too long. Besides, Kushina is about ready to go alone. She won't wait much longer," he told the Sandaime. Sarutobi snorted lightly at Minato's words. He knew the red-haired Uzumaki well enough to know how impatient she was.
"Well then, do not let me hold you up. You have a mission to complete," he told the Yondaime and left the room. Minato smiled after the retreating Sandaime, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a woman's voice.
"Got to say, that was an interesting meeting," the woman said neutrally. Minato turned his gaze to the speaker, immediately recognizing the busty blond sannin. "You only made one mistake though: when you spoke of the people accompanying you, you left some one out," Tsunade told him without preamble.
Minato raised an eyebrow at her words. "Oh? And who might that be?" he asked cautiously. He had a very good suspicion that the blond woman was referring to herself. Ever since Kushina had convinced the woman to remain in the village after her losses in the war, the Slug Princess and Bloody Hanabero had been the best of friends. Kushina had also been adamant in naming the woman the godmother of her child, back when she had been pregnant.
Tsunade looked at him with a challenging look in her eyes. "Myself. Kushina told me what happened. I will not allow you to go alone. I will accompany you on this mission," she told him with a challenging tone, her entire bearing daring him to refuse.
Minato raised his other eyebrow as well at her words. "Will not allow?" he asked her with an interested tone in his voice. She continued to look daringly at him.
"Yes Minato, will not allow. I will do anything in my power to stop you if you refuse to let me accompany you," she told him. He rubbed his nose bridge in exasperation and looked at her while he contemplated her threat. He could understand her desire to accompany them, since she had always been close to the boy before he had been abducted.
He fixed his gaze on hers again. "Okay," he agreed with her request. She blinked at his answer in confusion before an incredulous look settled on her face.
"Okay? Just like that? It's fine with you?" she asked him with disbelief in her voice. She had clearly expected more resistance. He allowed a slight smile to slip onto his face.
"It's not like there's anything I can say to stop you, is there?" he asked her. "Besides, your help would be welcome."
She blinked at his reply before a determined expression slipped onto her face.
"Of course you won't be able to stop me. I will accompany you and that's that. You cannot seriously expect me to remain here while you're off rescuing my godson," she told him with determination. He chuckled at her words.
"Clearly Kushina doesn't. If she wishes you to come along, then I will not stop you. I have no right to stop you then. He is just as much your family as he is mine," he told the blonde sannin. "Just meet us at the gate in three hours' time. If you're late, we will leave without you."
She snorted at his words. "Kakashi is coming as well, isn't he? In that case, I don't have to worry about being late," she said, referring jokingly to the masked jounin. Minato smiled at her reference. Everybody in the village knew about Kakashi's habit of being late for everything. Rin sometimes joked, saying that Kakashi would be later than her at their wedding.
"Don't be so sure about that. I gave him enough reason to be on time for this mission," Minato told Tsunade. He had threatened to give Kakashi a certain D-ranked mission if he dared to be even one minute late. Some kind of idiot had been curious about the amount of animals in the village and requested a mission of tallying every single animal inside the village.
Tsunade gave a snort at his words. "I'm sure," she stated amusedly. "Well then, I'll see you in three hours' time," she told the blond Hokage and left the room. Minato left the room as well, walking towards his office. He needed to complete the last arrangements before they could leave. A smile slipped onto his face in anticipation of the mission. Those missing-nin would remember once more why Konoha's Yellow Flash should never be crossed.
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Minato flashed his hands through a single handseal and touched his hand to a scroll, sealing the last of the provisions for the journey into a sealing scroll. He picked up the scroll and pocketed it in a scroll pocket on the jounin vest he was currently wearing. A slight sound in front of him caused him to look up, meeting the grey gaze of his crimson-haired wife. She was wearing her standard shinobi wear with her forehead protector firmly tied around her forehead, proudly displaying her village affiliation. She waited impatiently for him, her foot tapping slightly on the floor.
"So? Can we go yet?" she asked her blond husband impatiently. He sighed at her words before he answered her.
"We still have half an hour left before we're supposed to meet at the gate, Kushina. We have to give the others a chance to get ready as well," he told her solemnly. A faint hint of frustration flashed across her face at his words.
"Why do we need to take them with us in any way?" she demanded in frustration. He fixed a level gaze on her until she started to fidget slightly.
"Because we need them, Kushina. We cannot do this alone," he told her levelly. She looked away from him and grumbled something under her breath, but he could see that she accepted his answer, as much as it irked her. She sighed impatiently and looked away, tapping her foot in irritation for a few seconds before she turned around and left the room. Minato stared after her and shook his head. He could understand her impatience, seeing that the same impatience was present in him as well.
He took one last sweep of the house, ensuring that everything would be fine in his absence before he returned to the living room where Kushina was waiting impatiently for him.
"Right, let's go. I don't want to let him stay there any longer than absolutely necessary," Minato told his wife. A smirk crossed over her face for a split second, but she was out of the door before Minato could see anything else. He allowed a small grin to slip onto his face before he too set off towards the village gate.
They arrived at the gate after a couple of minutes. Minato felt a flash of satisfaction when he noticed that all of the members were there, but the satisfaction disappeared when he noticed they shorted one. A slight frown slipped onto his face when he noticed that the Copy Ninja was not present. He clenched his fist slightly in frustration. He wanted to leave already, but he could not leave without a certain jounin.
A soft chuckle sounded to the left of him, drawing his attention. He looked to his left and met Tsunade's gaze. She was looking at him with amusement written clearly on her face.
"Looks like he didn't take your threat seriously," she told him somewhat smugly, referring to the Copy Ninja. He opened his mouth to reply to her statement, but another voice interrupted him.
"Oh, he'll come. He'll definitely come on time. There's still five minutes left, so he's not late yet. He'll be on time," the voice assured them cryptically. Minato turned his gaze to the speaker and met his wife's twinkling gaze. He crossed his arms and looked suspiciously at her.
"You're defending him? How can you be so sure that he'll be on time?" he asked his red-haired wife. A dangerously satisfied smile slipped onto her face and her eyes twinkled smugly.
"He might not have taken your threat seriously, but he has definitely taken my threat seriously," she assured her husband. "He cried like a baby," she continued gleefully. Minato lifted an eyebrow at her words.
"Exactly what did you threaten him with?" he asked her, even more suspicious than before. Her smug smile grew slightly larger and she turned her gaze away from his.
"You'll see," she replied cryptically. He opened his mouth to reply to her comment, but another presence that had just arrived captured his attention: judging by the chakra signature, the new arrival was their last missing member.
Minato turned around to face the new arrival, his mouth already forming words, but the words disappeared in astonishment at the sight of the Copy nin's face. The other members of the party also drifted off into silence as they stared at him and somewhat to the left of Minato, he could hear somebody snicker. Even the normally stoic Hyuuga accompanying them had a look of astonishment on his face at the sight of the former ANBU captain. Kakashi ignored the gazes, but Minato could see that it irritated his former student.
A suspicious feeling grew in Minato's chest and he turned around again to face his wife. She was trying to suppress her laughter by holding onto her sides, but she was clearly losing the battle.
"Kushina," he sighed in exasperation. This had to be what she had been talking about prior to the Copy nin's arrival. "What did you do to Kakashi's mask?" he asked her. She finally lost the battle at his words and silver laughter peals filled the air. Kakashi (who had been keeping a stoic expression on his face, but with a noticeable twitch in his visible eyebrow) glared at the Bloody Hanabero with a slightly sullen look in his eye, but his glare did nothing to suppress her mirth.
"Re-really, Kakashi...you...you," Kushina struggled to speak, but failed miserably. The twitch in Kakashi's eyebrow intensified slightly. "I have never...never...thought that...you...would be...so...so desperate as to...wear...a dishcloth when...your masks are gone!" she exclaimed and burst out laughing again. Tsunade made a snickering sound and turned her head away, trying to hide her smile beneath her hand.
The twitch in Kakashi's eyebrow gave one last violent twitch before it stilled.
"I am on time, am I not? And if you don't give me my masks back we will never be able to set off towards Amegakure in time," he told her sullenly.
She stopped laughing and a slight pout formed on her mouth. "You're no fun," she complained jokingly, but all signs of mirth disappeared from her face when she handed him his mask.
"But you're right. It's time to go," she said solemnly. Everybody immediately straightened at her words. The mission was about to start and everybody knew that failure was not acceptable on this mission.
Minato gave the village one last glance before he looked at his team members for this mission. Kakashi replaced the dishcloth with his mask and Tsunade flexed her fist slightly.
"Right, let's go," Minato ordered and set off out of the village. The others all followed, all signs of mirth completely replaced with focus. They had a mission to complete.
_~...end of chapter...~_
A/N: And that's another chapter! I added the dishcloth part on a request from one of my friends, but I would really like to know what you thought about it as well! Any other thoughts are welcome as well!
Also, I want all of you to know that English is not my native language. Therefore, if you find places where the grammar is messed up or the wrong words are used, please notify me about it!
Remember to review! ^_^