In the Second World War, Minato had been too slow to save his teammates from dying. He'd worked himself into the ground to create a way to travel near instantaneously, so he'd never be slow again, so he'd be fast enough to save anyone else he cared about.
And yet…and yet.
(Miho. Dekai. Obito. Rin.)
He jarred himself to the present, where the sun beat down on his face. He stood, solid, at the podium. Hiruzen-sama gave him an odd smile, something that couldn't quite be called pity but looked like it. Lord Third sat the Hokage hat on Minato's head, and the crowd roared.
Minato was officially Hokage. He could officially do whatever he wanted. He could change everything he set out to years ago when he had many more friends and much fewer injuries. He smiled at the crowd, his villagers. He began his speech, but his mind had drifted.
He understood, with painful clarity, that this wasn't happening because of his ideas, or his plans for Konoha. The dreams he created under firelight with Kushina, Hizashi, and Mikoto were just that, dreams. The forces had been all but decimated in the war. Konoha had never been weaker. The council had chosen him because Minato had made a name for himself, speeding towards all the targets that didn't matter.
Yellow Flash. How ironic.
(He needed to find Kakashi. Yesterday.)
But Miho didn't push him away from that Sunese poison specialist for nothing. Dekai didn't buy him time with his own life for nothing. Minato couldn't let it be for nothing. He had to create a Konoha that would see those ghosts and their legacies thrive, for the few years they had a chance to live at all.
As soon as the inauguration started, it was over. Celebration spilled out across the streets. With the Academy closed for the day, he could hear children shrieking in joy, families moving slowly through clogged streets for their evening meal. He knew at home, in their new house, his fiancee (his fiancee!) was preparing a surprise party he shouldn't know about. But Minato had other tasks at hand, and an office to see.
Minato walked down the silent hallway, feeling his ANBU guard keeping pace. It was just another aspect of life he'd have to get used to, guards that followed him everywhere, in peace and in war. He'd have to get them some Flying Thunder God seals in the future.
He flicked on the light of the Hokage office, his office, and paused. A person was sitting in his new seat. Had it been anyone else, anyone, Minato would have thrown them out.
Jiraiya-sensei swiveled around in his chair. "Congratulations, kid," Sensei said, with a familiar smirk. "Or should I say, Hokage-sama?"
Minato stepped into the room, shutting the door. With a careless flare of chakra, he warded the room. If it were any day except today, his inauguration day, Sensei would likely chide him on it. Other than a narrowing of his eyes, his mentor did nothing. Minato walked into the room, feeling younger and older than he'd ever been.
"I didn't think you'd come," Minato managed. Jiraiya was deep in infiltration missions, the unofficial head of the Petal Squadron. He should be on a mission near Kumo right now. But more than that, this man who'd raised him since he had just made it out of the Academy. The man who listened to his dreams, encouraged them. The one person Minato didn't kill who managed to stay…
"Wouldn't miss this for the world. Kushina would gut me."
They laughed together in the quiet room. Minato stood, somewhat unwilling to sit in the chair opposite his new desk. He could feel Sensei taking him in, and Minato did the same, noting injuries and scars he hadn't seen before. This was their way, after all. The way they kept in touch, despite so much death.
Finally, Jiraiya snorted. "How does it feel? You've been talking about that hat for years."
Minato tipped said hat up, saying nothing. Even though the robes had been tailored for him, the kanji for 'Lord Fourth' patterned on the back of his white robe, he could almost feel them dragging on his shoulders. He'd imagined this moment before—Obito would complain that he wasn't made Hokage. Next to him, as always, Rin would tell him that it wasn't his turn yet, and congratulate Minato, sweet as always. Kakashi would be behind them, looking out like he usually did, nodding his own congratulations. Kushina would wrangle them all for a celebratory meal.
He wasn't sure what his face he made, but Jiraiya's smile faded. He stood up abruptly, rounding the desk. Minato could feel his hands trembling behind the cover of his robes, and he clenched them tightly.
"I heard about Rin, kid." Minato's head ducked. He could hear Sensei's steps, closer and closer, until Minato could smell his ink-stained fingers, the presence of the toads they shared. A large hand landed on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier."
For a moment, no one spoke. The chakra of the ANBU outside prickled on his skin. The trembling in his hands had spread across his body, and his vision shook. Through the open window, Minato could see fireworks bursting in sparks red and yellow in the sky. This was his inauguration day, and somehow, it all felt empty.
Minato breathed in once, twice…and broke.
It came from somewhere he couldn't even name, something that sounded like Obito's excuses and Rin's laugh and looked like Dekai's unwavering faith. Something that looked like Miho's proud stance in the morning light, every stubborn inch of her tilted towards the rising sun.
He grabbed fistfuls of Sensei's robes, and sobbed. That large hand cupped the back of his head, and Minato cried into his neck. "It's not your fault, Minato," Sensei whispered urgently in his ears. Minato clenched his fingers deeper, shoving himself closer."You did all you could, kid."
"I wasn't fast enough," Minato whispered. "I'm never fast enough."
"If you're not fast enough, then all of us must be Tsuna's snails." Jiraiya rustled his hair, like Minato wasn't Hokage, like he was still 10 years old and incorrectly attaching his weapons pouch. He sagged into the man, boneless.
"I don't know how to help Kakashi," Minato admitted. He swallowed. "Sensei, what do I do?"
And that was the problem, wasn't it? Kakashi barely spoke. He barely ate. He only did as he was told when he was told. Despite the trauma of Rin's death, he kept using Chidori, and Minato thought another piece of Kakashi died with every life he took with the move. He only had to watch the electricity flashing across Kakashi's blank face once to know it wasn't healthy for him.
His gentle requests for Kakashi to talk to Inoichi didn't work. Putting Kakashi with Gai's team didn't help the way Minato thought it would—Kakashi had looked at them with such longing, such loss. He recognized it keenly. It was the same way he looked at Kushina's genin team, whole and together, despite the odds. He appreciated Hizashi's grounding presence, Mikoto's snark, and Kushina's everything, but sometimes he looked at them and just wanted.
"Be there for him," Jiraiya said gently. Minato took a step back, dislodging from Sensei's grip. He winced at the tear stains on Sensei's clothes. Still, Jiraiya looked him head-on. "All you can do is be there for him, and keep him as close as you can."
Keep him close…Minato thought of the ANBU guards, their prickling chakra. For the first time, Minato sat in the chair that he would spend most of his time in. He looked up at Jiraiya, setting his hat down on the table.
"I know what I'm going to do."
Jiraiya smiled, ruffling his hair once more. "That's my boy."
Before he could respond, two knocks thudded against the door. A familiar wildfire of chakra roared behind the wood. Without waiting, the door opened, and Uzumaki Kushina stood in front of them, scarlet hair swaying in angry tendrils above her head.
"Hokage-sama," she said sweetly, and Minato knew he was in trouble. Jiraiya laughed nervously, moving out of the way. She marched forward. "Aren't you forgetting your celebration dinner?"
Minato smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, my mistake, Kushina." He picked up the hat, and started walking towards the door. As he reached his fiancee, slipping a hand around her waist, he looked back.
"Coming, sensei?"
Jiraiya laughed. "I'll meet you there." and flickered away. Minato threw his kunai out the window, and teleported, with Kushina shrieking in tow.
The race was on.
Rin awoke to the smell of brewing tea—jasmine. Just like the mornings when her mother was home, and she'd wake up to her quiet form hunched over two cups of tea. The flavors always changed—her mother usually splurged on the fancy civilian teas at the market. They would sit together in silence, nursing their cups before Rin had to go to the Academy.
She blinked her eyes open, smile already on her face, before it hit her.
Rin wasn't in Konoha, she was in Ame. Her mother was away, likely on some mission taking her far from the village. Rin had only weeks before she would come face to face with Obito. Her grin dropped.
"Someone's not happy this morning," a voice said to her left. Rin jolted. Her neck ached from her sleeping position. Someone had tucked a pillow beside her, and thrown a thin blanket over her body. "Bad dream?"
Kie stood before her, one arm in a sling, and the other with a cup of tea, outstretched towards her. Rin blinked, before accepting the cup. She stared at the arm. Beneath his dark sleeve, she couldn't see anything, but he didn't appear to be in pain. She hoped his range of motion wasn't impacted.
Too much time had passed for a proper response to his question, so Rin shrugged. In truth, her dream consisted of trying to summon as many clones as possible with Naruto. Rin had made it to fifteen before she felt the chakra strain. She held the hot cup with both hands, blowing on the steam.
"I wanted to thank you again," Kie said, earnest. "I've been trying to look after these boys, but after fighting that Suna nin, I thought I was done for." His head tilted, and brown strands fell in his face. "How did you do it? I've never seen Mystical Palm like that."
Rin shrugged again, helplessly. She still had to adjust to her new chakra, the way it flooded her body. Not even she was used to the new color. Mito's chakra looked the same when she healed, Ashura said, and she could hear Hashirama's timbre in his tone. It's from Sanbi-sama.
Kie let out a low chuckle, sitting on the bed. "Not much of a talker, are you?"
That space was normally reserved for Obi. He could talk about anything for hours, and Rin tried her best to listen, adding input when necessary.
(Every day is quiet, Grandma Masae said, after the funeral. Rin had agreed.)
"Is she awake?"
Rin turned towards the door, and she could see Kyusuke, who looked at her with awe. He walked closer, surveying her with what felt like new eyes. Behind him, Daibutsu towered over them all, nearly hitting the doorframe. He looked at Rin like she was a jigsaw puzzle spilled at his feet.
"Never seen a mystical palm like yours before," he grunted.
"That's what I said," Kie shifted on the bed. "Did any of you get breakfast?"
Kyusuke grinned, holding up two loaves of bread. "Ame's finest shokupan," he bragged. He brandished a knife, and in a few smooth cuts, had distributed chunks to the group. As he gave Rin a piece, he slumped down beside her.
She hadn't eaten shokupan like this before. It was soft as clouds, with an underlying hint of cinammon, but surprisingly dense. Before she knew it, Rin polished off her piece. Her stomach rumbled, and Kyusuke, bless him, passed her another chunk.
Kie frowned at his piece, turning it over in his hands. "Kyu, how did you get this?"
The boy spoke through a mouthful. "Bought it."
"How?"
Rin could feel his glance in the corner of her eye. "Uh, bartering?"
"But we don't have anything," Daibutsu said slowly. "This house isn't even ours." Rin blinked in alarm, taking in her surroundings. If they didn't live here, who did?
"We don't," Kyusuke agreed, and he stared at her."But Nori does."
Unconsciously, her hand drifted to her bag. All she had were herbs and the Bodhi tree stick—nothing worth two loaves of fresh bread. Maybe they had seen her sealing paper?
She wasn't sure what she looked like, but Kyusuke laughed, just a bit nervously. "I may have told the baker that we could heal his daughter's sickness if he gave us bread."
At that moment, someone rapped sharply at the door. "Hurry up, Kyusuke!" a man's voice called. "Akari will get worse if she stays in the rain."
The three boys turned to Rin.
This could be useful, Ashura said. If you heal others, you may receive information on Akatsuki's whereabouts in turn. It will help your chakra control as well.
Rin sighed. She stood, ignoring Kyusuke's panicked squeak, and walked to the table. She reached for the remaining bread. "I'll heal her for the rest of this," Rin said.
Daibutsu's eyes narrowed. "Half."
"Three-quarters," she shot back. Rin wouldn't be able to heal while hungry.
The door banged three more times. "Kyusuke!" the baker bellowed.
"Deal," Kyusuke said. They shook on it, ignoring Daibutsu's shout. Isobu cheered in her soul.
—-
Akari was four (and a half) and had been in Ame for the past year. She loved pelicans, hated the Academy, and coughed up bloody mucus when she laughed. Rin set her down on Kie's bed immediately and began to scan Akari with her chakra.
Pneumonia. Of course, it was pneumonia.
"She needs a hospital," Rin said to her father, as she began pulling fluid out of the girl's lungs. She tried to numb the girl's throat with chakra, but it didn't seem to be working. Akari's coughs sounded painful, a deep wet sound. "I can't take care of the whole infection alone."
Hikaru, the baker, looked pained as his little girl wheezed. "Do you think I haven't tried? The hospital won't take anyone in unless they're dying, and there's still a line."
Akari could die, Rin wanted to say, but looked at the man's worn face, and bit her tongue. Her chakra flared, and she set back to work, teasing the fluid out of Akari's right lung with one hand and wicking the moisture away with another.
She hadn't realized just how different the medical systems were between villages. In Konoha, she'd be able to hook Akari up to their machines, have an IV ready for the girl and antibiotics that could fight the infection. Akari's life wouldn't be in her hands, as Rin healed her on a sick man's bed with only a few sprigs of echinacea to treat a bacterial infection.
Rin removed as much fluid as she could and began burning the remaining infection. The girl wrinkled her nose at the honey-less echinacea tea, but drank two cups before Rin allowed her to sleep. She pulled her father to the side.
"She'll need rest, and warm fluids. If you can bring her to the hospital, please do. In the meantime, echinacea will help with infection, and clove should help with her cough."
The baker huffed a laugh. "You think I have those on hand? You must be new here."
Rin grimaced, looking at the Akari, sleeping fitfully on the bed. Absentmindedly, she brought a cooling hand of medical chakra to the girl's forehead. At least her fever had gone down. "Can you bring me dirt?" she asked.
At the baker's confused look, she added, "Soil from outside—the least rocky soil you can find."
He blinked at her but walked out the door. When he returned, he held a small fern, drenched by a hard rain. "I found a plant outside, with no owner," he said, shrugging. Rin couldn't complain—not even this house belonged to the group. She thanked him, and put a hand on the soil, the other in a seal.
Breathe in with the earth, Hashirama's voice echoed in her head. She thought of echinacea, the few sprigs she had from Fuyuki. The way echinacea blossomed in summer, purple petals spreading in the sun, like cheeks turned to the sky. The dried roots from her herbs, and a hardy stem.
Rin heard a gasp, and opened her eyes.
Tiny coneflowers had grown, a small bunch of purple crowding out the original plant. She smiled. The baker's eyes were wide. Rin held a hand to her lips in a silencing gesture, and picked the sprigs, handing them to him.
"I can't make clove," she said, apologetic. "You'll have to find that in a local market." The man's eyes hadn't returned to their normal size. He looked at the echinacea sprigs in his hand, then at her, then back, similar to Kie. Before he could say anything, Rin heard shifting. She turned to see Akari, sitting up in bed.
The girl inhaled, and her eyes shot to her father. "Papa, I can breathe!"
The baker chuckled, a hoarse noise, as he crossed the room. He held his daughter like she was going to break. "You can, can't you, 'Kari." He turned to Rin, brown eyes watering. "You're a miracle," he said, hushed.
Rin could feel herself blush, and looked down. "I just did what I could."
Hikaru was still speaking in his hushed voice. "I don't have much, but whenever you want bread, you know where to find me."
Akari waved at Rin, and just as quickly as they came, they were gone. Kyusuke popped his head in a moment later. "I completely forgot," the boy said, "We were supposed to get your documentation at the refugee center. Are you ready to go?"
Once again, that strange feeling of deja vu arose. There was a familiarity to Kyusuke that Rin hadn't felt in so long, since Konoha. She would have to examine it later.
Rin slung her bag over her shoulder, and began walking out the door.
"Never seen the baker cry before," Kyusuke said. "Where'd you learn to heal like that?"
As they walked further into the city, Rin could take in Ame. Today's rain was harsher than yesterday, casting gray gloom across the buildings. Down the street, a small boy splashed in a puddle. When they passed, Kyusuke gave him a high five.
"The hospital," Rin said, shrugging. "Maybe Kusa does it differently?"
Kyusuke shrugged in turn. "I guess now we know how you made it across all the nations."
How long had it been, Rin wondered, when she wandered around Mountains Graveyard, fighting the Zetsu with burning chakra coils? Each day smeared into the next. All she could do was hope her timeline was correct.
Rin blinked, as a droplet landed directly in her eye. Next to her, the rain practically slid off Kyusuke. The boy's hair didn't even seem to be wet.
"What are you doing to stay dry?"
Kyusuke looked at her, then did a double take. He smacked his forehead. "I knew I was forgetting something! If you let your chakra buzz on your skin, the rain slides right off. No need for a coat, though it does get cold at night."
Buzz?
Rin imagined her chakra right under her skin, vibrating with her energy. In response, the rain around her flew outward, splashing a nearby walker. She turned to apologize, and the words died in her throat.
The girl's amber eyes stared back at her, as still as the lake. A paper flower was entwined in purple hair, dry despite the downpour.
Smiling, Konan squeezed water off her black sleeve, free of red or any clouds. "You're new here," she said, and it wasn't a question. Rin nodded slowly. Where was Yahiko? Nagato? Konan continued to look at her, with that quiet stare.
(She never realized how similar Konan and her mother looked out at the world.)
"You'll learn to stay dry," Konan commented idly. She raised a hand, as if to wave, but her pale fingers stayed still. "Welcome to Ame. May the rain bless you," Konan said quietly, and she was gone as quickly as she came, disappearing down a side street.
Did she…did Rin just miss her chance?
"…Maybe a little less chakra?"
Rin turned back to Kyusuke. The boy was trying not to laugh, she could tell. Rin pushed away the deja vu right under her skin, sighing. She'd have to get another chance. There was no choice otherwise. She took a thread of her chakra, like she was going to heal, and imagined it spreading right under her skin. This time, the sensation of the rain was muted, but she still could feel the droplets as they rolled down her shoulders.
"That's the spirit. Kinda."
Rin shot him a glare. The boy chuckled nervously, clan marks wriggling. He turned left abruptly, and Rin nearly walked into his back. "Here we are!" he chorused.
The refugee center was a tall, imposing building, made of mechanical pipes and an industrialised exterior. A line of new Ame citizens streamed out the door, to the sidewalk, and down the city block. Kyusuke and Rin slowly shuffled to the back of the line.
"The line moves pretty quickly," Kyusuke said. "I didn't want Ayako to come after us if you don't receive documentation."
"Are you two friends?" Rin asked. Kyusuke chuckled.
"Sorta. We were in the same group when we got to Ame." His lips quirked as he looked up. Rin watched the rain slide down blue clan markings. "We were being chased by Konoha shinobi who thought we were the enemy. A couple of us stayed back to fend them off as the rest of the group sought shelter in the village. Ayako fought with me."
"I'm glad you made it."
"We almost didn't," Kyusuke admitted. He scuffed his shoe on a rock. "Bastards nearly killed Ayako with some hellish fire jutsu. They had already gotten…" he trailed off, swallowing. When he looked back at Rin, his catlike pupils were thin. "It was them or us, and I chose us. Got a few of them good too, before they took off."
Fire jutsu. It could have been anyone in the village—at least half the forces had a fire nature. It didn't make sense, though. None of the others in the line looked like Suna or Kumo or even Iwa ninja. They looked bedraggled and worn, heavy steps leading towards their only hope.
"Next!"
Rin jolted. They had made it to the entrance. The inside of Ame's refugee building was lined with the weary. Worn faces lay on small cots, dotted around the area. There were too many to count. She stared into the eyes of a woman around her mother's age, with wispy brown hair and green eyes.
"Welcome to Ame. Identification number?" the woman asked idly. Rin fished into her bag, picking out the slip of paper from Ayako. She held out an expectant hand for Kyusuke, but he held up a crumpled piece of blue paper.
"I'm already a citizen."
The woman squinted at the paper, then rolled her eyes. She ran Rin's number into her machine and out slipped a few sheets of paper. She squinted at one sheet. "Nori, no clan name, from Kusa. Is that correct?"
Rin nodded.
She looked towards Kyusuke. "And you, you vouched for your character?"
Kyusuke nodded. The woman straightened the papers on her desk.
"Do you hold any allegiances to other villages, Nori-san?"
Konoha. Always, Konoha. But she held her tongue, shaking her head.
"Do you swear to live by the rules and regulations of this village, set forth by our Great leader, Hanzo?"
Kyusuke muttered something under his breath, but it was too low for Rin to hear. She forced herself to nod.
"Do you swear to protect Ame and her interests?"
She nodded again.
"Lastly, do you have any abilities that can support our village? This includes kekkei genkai, dojutsu, clan jutsu, and past Academy experience. At this time, if you have a hitai ate from another village, you must forfeit it."
Kyusuke's eyes shot to her, wide-eyed, and Rin had the feeling he'd forgotten something else. He was urging her to do something, but she wasn't sure of what.
Do I say yes? Rin thought.
Probably not, Ashura said. It will make you more identifiable.
With an apologetic look, Rin shook her head. The woman nodded, filing through more papers. "You will be assigned general duties to support our village. Please arrive on time, ready to work."
What would the work entail, Rin wondered.
"Do you have a place to stay, or will you require housing?" the woman said. Rin shifted her feet.
"Uh, she's staying with me! With us, I mean," Kyusuke said in a rush. The woman stamped a sheet, and handed Rin a green paper, unlike Kyusuke's.
"This is your proof of temporary residency. Please don't lose it." At this, she shot a glance at Kyusuke, whose face had gone suspiciously red. "Welcome to Ame, Nori-san. May the rain protect you always."
Rin and Kyusuke finally stumbled out of the center.
"What did she mean about abilities?" Rin whispered under her breath.
Kyusuke took her by the arm, and led her into one of the alleys of the village. She watched a rat take cover from the rain in a trashcan. "If they know you can heal, they'll put you in the hospital and not let you leave," he said, hushed. Kyusuke gave her a quicksilver smile, just a flash of teeth. "I'm glad you said no."
As they walked back to the house, Rin blew out a breath. She'd done it. She declared allegiance to another village, just like Obito technically did in Kiri. Rin was a missing-nin.
Missing nin is a bit harsh, Ashura said. Think of it as… a long-term infiltration mission. You're still a Konoha shinobi.
Rin didn't even have her hitai ate, thanks to Obito. She didn't know whether to thank him or curse him for it. How could she say she was a Konoha shinobi?
On the bright side, at least you have a place to stay in the village and allies, Rin, Ashura said. We take it one step at a time. It's just an infiltration mission.
Infiltration…slipping on different faces, different masks, just like her mother. If Nohara Tsutsuji could do it for years on end, maybe she could become clanless Nori, a Kusa refugee.
If she wanted to succeed, she'd have to be.
