Sorry it's short.

"Talking"

Thinking

Chapter 15: Uncertainties

"K-Kurenai-sensei?!" Hinata gasped only halfway through Kurenai's explanation.

"Hinata, it's a simple mission. Barely even C-rank and both of you are Chuunins," she said reassuringly. "You two can handle this mission without Shino and me." Currently, Kiba was smiling so that the two crimson marks on his cheeks were folded nearly to half their normal size. He had no clue why they were doing this, but he was just happy to spend some time with Hinata.

Hinata, however, was more scared than usual of her mission. She trusted Kiba but she didn't want to leave the village with just him to help on the mission. "How l-long will it t-take?" she asked quietly while nervously tapping her index fingers in front of her.

Shino looked up and answered for Kurenai. "Don't worry, Hinata. It should only take about a day. You shouldn't even run into trouble on the way." Kiba was stunned that Shino had talked that much, not to mention that it somehow managed to calm Hinata down a bit.

"Well come on, Hinata! Let's get moving! Akamaru!" he called out. "Let's do our best!" Akamaru and Kiba then began the odd ritual of roughly playing before a mission. Hinata laughed lightly and nodded.

"Kiba, we have to go pick up who we're going to escort before we can start the mission," Hinata reminded her teammate.

"Hm? Oh, alright." Kurenai and Shino took this as their signal to leave.

"Think it'll work?" Shino asked her quietly.

"Well it should help with her nervousness at least a bit," she muttered the reply so the two behind her wouldn't hear.

"It's not working," Naruto mumbled again.

"Quit complaining. I don't know how it works," Minato sighed again. His head still rested in his hands as if the weight of bad news was too much for his neck to hold up.

"You sound a lot like the fox," Naruto murmured after a few moments. He had closed his eyes again and had started to concentrate.

After a few minutes of shock, Minato looked over to where Naruto's voice had come from. "Huh?"

"I said you sound a lot like the fox," he placed emphasis on each syllable to exaggerate. Naruto went back to concentrating but Minato wouldn't let him.

"You mean he's talked to you?"

Naruto sighed deeply and nodded. Then he remembered that Minato couldn't see him nod. "I told you the seal was weak, didn't I? Yeah, he's talked to me a few times. Why's that so important?" Minato sighed loudly again.

"Just focus on getting back."

"It's not working!" Naruto jumped up and felt a wave of dizziness but it passed quickly.

"Then focus on something in that life that you couldn't live without and imagine yourself with it. Maybe that pure emotion will draw you back," Minato offered. He didn't really think it would work, but anything was worth a try.

Naruto muttered a few curses at his father and sat down again. Focus. I've always had trouble with that. He sighed and let his mind wander. He thought of ramen, which just made him hungry. Random thoughts popped into and out of his head, but not a single one was strong enough. Maybe I shouldn't have used that mask. That's why all of my bonds aren't strong enough. Sasuke was his next topic of thought, and he couldn't tell how he felt about that topic. He hated Sasuke for breaking the bond that they had created, not to mention how he had hurt Sakura. Then again, he wanted to bring Sasuke back and recreate those bonds. It was a bit confusing, but he knew that was what he wanted.

"Anything yet?" Minato asked while formulating a new seal in his head. He forgot about that part after hearing the bad news but now it was the main thing occupying his time.

"I think so," Naruto replied, unsure of himself. He could feel a small tugging sensation pulling at his limbs, but he had no idea what it was.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked. He didn't want to lose this chance when his son needed him alive again.

"Kinda feels like someone's playing tug-o-war with my arms and legs." Minato's eyes widened with realization.

"Naruto, that's it!" Minato yelled loudly.

"Huh?" Naruto was confused now. "What's it?"

"Whatever it is you're concentrating on!" Minato explained frantically.

"I still don't get what you're saying…" The tugging sensation went away but he didn't notice.

"That thing is what's binding you to your body!" Minato was evidently excited about his discovery, but Naruto still didn't understand.

"What are you talking about?" he asked again even more confused now.

"My body was no longer capable of holding a soul so that's why I couldn't return. But the soul is, in some instances, considered the manifestation of emotions. So if you concentrate enough on your emotions then it makes sense that your soul would be drawn to your body." Naruto was still confused, but he was starting to grasp the subject a bit more. "So if enough emotions are drawn out by the soul at one time then the bond between body and soul is strengthened. This explains why different emotions affect your body in different ways!"

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto demanded again. "I know you've been dead for sixteen years, but try and talk like a normal person!"

"Oh, and you're one to talk about talking normally?" Minato asked skeptically.

"Well, compared to the nonsense you're babbling, yes!"

"Oh please! Could you have thought of a better explanation?"

"That's not important!" Naruto retorted.

"Then how is it nonsense?" Minato asked.

"Just the way you worded it," Naruto murmured.

"Don't try to argue with me!" Minato demanded of his son.

"You can't boss me around!" Naruto yelled and jumped up, ready to fight it out.

"Really? The last time I checked, I helped create you!" Minato stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Who cares?!" Naruto yelled to try and prove that he didn't.

"Custody papers," Minato stated.

"What?" Naruto asked, unsure of what Minato was saying.

"Custody papers. I can have possession over you as a guardian which means you have to listen to me. Therefore, I am your boss." Minato was now vaguely reminded of his play arguments with Kushina.

"Oh please, I've gotten through life so far without a guardian. I don't need you to boss me around!"

"Well obviously living without a guardian has turned you into a brat!" Minato had no idea why he was getting angry at his own son like this.

Naruto clenched his fist, ready for a fight. Unfortunately, he had no idea what to say to truly express his anger. He let out a frustrated grunt and let his fists clench tighter.

Minato sighed and knew that they were both just tired of being there. "Look, Naruto…" he murmured.

"What?!" Naruto snapped, just about ready to find Minato's face with his fists.

"I-I'm sorry. Let's just focus on getting back bef—"

"Can we just deal with this later?" Naruto interrupted. He was used to being in actual fights, not fights with words.

"Yeah," Minato said while sighing in defeat. He shrugged and sat down again. "Just don't go wandering off."

"Yeah, yeah. No wandering off," Naruto said absently. He didn't even know what he had just said.

"Naruto, I'm serious. There aren't any chakra signatures or anything here. I won't be able to find you." Minato wanted to make sure he got his point across.

"You worry too much."

"I've been dead for sixteen years and then you came along. What do you expect me to be, carefree?" Minato asked skeptically.

"Carefree would be nice." Minato could have sworn that Naruto's voice seemed farther away than before. "Naruto! Where are you?"

"Just over here. I'm restless. Gotta walk in circles. Ero-Sennin said it helps," Naruto murmured.

Minato let out a sigh of relief. "I mean, it's not like we're alone. They've left me alone for years now but I was already dead so they couldn't do too much. Since you're still alive I need to keep an eye on you."

"But you can't see me," Naruto said, completely oblivious to the fact that Minato had just warned him about something.

"Quit being a smart-alec. I haven't been able to see for sixteen years, my other senses are more defined now," Minato explained. He was currently following Naruto's progress by the sound of his footsteps.

"Hm," Naruto mused. "So if I yell, you hear it extra well?"

"Yes."

"You can smell things better?"

"Yes," Minato sighed out.

"Can you taste things better?"

"Dunno."

"Why not?"

"There's no food here, Sherlock."

"Oh," Naruto sounded disappointed. "No ramen?" he asked, hopeful that his guess wasn't right.

"It would be nice to have some," Minato admitted.

Naruto sighed and shrugged. "What now?" he asked after a few moments.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked, surprised by the odd question.

"What do I do now?" Naruto asked again, this time more clearly.

"Who knows? You might as well try to get out of here. Mind you, I am going to tag along. And hopefully it'll work." Naruto shrugged and then returned to his thoughts.

Emotions connect me to my body? How in the hell does that work? Naruto found himself thinking. Custody papers, please. I've been living on my own for years now and this guy expects me to live with him? I'm better off alone.

Minato, currently combing his fingers through his hair, was thinking similar thoughts. Custody papers? What the hell did I even bring that up for? He silently shook his head and then turned to look straight up. He came to help get me out of here and all I do is argue with him. Kushina was right, I didn't turn out to be a good father.

"Kiba, stop it!" Hinata firmly told her teammate again. Kiba was currently running around with Akamaru and playing some sort of game, but they hadn't even finished the mission yet. "Kiba…" Hinata sighed.

Kiba's ears perked up and he look at Hinata with what could be called a 'puppy dog look'. "What is it, Hinata?"

"Well… uhm… don't you think we should finish the mission before you and Akamaru play?" she asked somewhat nervously. Kiba straightened up and shrugged.

"The most we're going to fight is a few lowlife bandits, if even that. Stop worrying, Hinata!" Kiba laughed. "I'll either sniff people out or you'll see 'em coming." Akamaru barked reassuringly and Hinata smiled.

"Well, okay then," Hinata caved. "But take the mission seriously, Kiba. Please?" Kiba nodded. He got back into the line behind the woman they were escorting, an eldery woman, and Akamaru decided to trot next to Kiba at a steady pace.

"It's back," Naruto reported disdainfully. He would have much rather not have informed his father and just left him there; he could have told Tsunade that he just never found him. He let out a small cry of surprise when Minato ran over and latched onto his back in a tight embrace. "What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto yelled out to try and mask the small yelp he had let out earlier.

"Hitching a ride. Now shut up and concentrate like I told you to!" Minato yelled back, hoping that his plan would somehow work. He felt Naruto tense up and he was almost expecting to be tackled to the ground by his own son.

"What happens now?" Naruto asked, a small quiver in his voice.

"I have no idea. Hopefully you just return to your body, but then again the Shinigami never did like letting people just go free from here." Naruto gulped and kept his concentration. It was much better than thinking about what might happen otherwise.

AN: Well, seeing as my parentals still have control over what I do, I am now only allowed on the computer for a total of two hours a day. This of course is going to effect my writing at least a little bit. Guess I can't fight it though. Anyway, I've decided to answer to reviews in this part now. It saves a little bit of time, which I need.

Alright! First off, thanks Werewulf and Kuma in Pink for reviewing! I'll try to keep up the good work and I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the last. It's wonderful to know how much you guys enjoy this story. ((I had no idea anybody liked it this much.))

Huge shoutout to my beta, AnimeOtaku31821, and my best friend, kTD. You guys are such an amazing help and trust me, this would never have gotten anywhere near this great without you two. Thanks for being there for me so much! I love you two!

I apologize in advance for any chapters that are too short or a little lacking. The two hours I am given a day just isn't enough sometimes. I'm also sorry if updates start coming later. I'm also not entirely sure where this story is headed, but I plan to make it interesting till the very end. Thanks for following Scars for 15 chapters and I'll see you next week.

Elizabet639