Surprising reunion
Minato comes to in a white room, on white sheets. He gets up with a shout, startling the nurses around him. He felt two ANBU's chakra flicker around him, and calmed himself enough to look around to find himself in a hospital.
"Where am I…?" Minato mumbled.
"A hospital in the Hidden Leaf Village." Minato turns to find an aged Shikaku staring at him inquisitively. "Who are you? A henge would usually disappear after the caster is knocked out, but yours is still on." Shikaku muttered, mostly to himself. Was he expecting a response?
Minato felt confused by the question. Henge? Why would he be using a henge? And Shikaku was one of his closest friends, who acted as his aide after he took the mantle of Hokage. Out of everyone in the Village, Shikaku saw Minato the most, probably even more than Kushina, so how could he be unable to recognize him? "Namikaze Minato, Yondaime of Konohagakure," Minato still gave a response to the question, though he felt it was a stupid one. "Where- where's that kid… the one that looks like me, with the blonde hair?" Minato's mind was only focused on that, as his heart beat with anticipation.
"That... will come later. For now, we will be asking the questions." A authoritative voice. Sandaime Sarutobi Hiruzen, Minato realised. "We asked who you are, not who you're pretending to be. The Yondaime is dead and has been for 5 years now. Who are you?" That polite yet stern way of talking, but the unmistakable voice crack on the word "dead". It was definitely Hiruzen, Minato's mentor, though, Minato frowned. He had never seen his mentor look so serious and upset. Despite of this, Minato knew he wouldn't be able to get the wrong person even if-
"Wait… dead?" Minato choked out. "5 years?" The Sandaime, along with Shikaku, frowned heavily at his words. "This is common knowledge," snapped Shikaku. "You impersonated someone without even doing basic research? After five years, even if he werent dead, he would have at least changed his looks or some…" Shikaku's eyes trailed up and down Minato's body, from his unique blonde locks to the three-pronged kunai Minato was grasping tightly in his right hand. "That seal... it looks new..." Shikaku wondered out loud. "Could it be...?"
Shikaku stood up quickly, almost knocking over the chair he was sitting on. Running out the room, he told the Sandaime he was going to call over Inoichi, that he had something he wanted to confirm. The room felt quiet after he left, all Minato could hear was the heavy footsteps of the Nara. Minato could feel the Sandaime's heavy stare on him, and tried to break the silence, and get more information. "What's the year right now?" Minato asks, trying to act cheerful. "70 Konohan" Sandaime mutters out, eyes intently studying Minato, as if he was some inconceivable enigma. Minato, on the other hand, has his mind reeling. 70 Konohan. 70 years after Konoha was founded, which was 5 years after the Kyuubi's attack. Minato frowned, brows pinching together as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for the fact that he just time traveled. Had it been his incompleted space-time seal? He glanced down at his pouch, knowing that the seal was on there somewhere. Should he risk it and take it out?
"Sandaime! I've brought Inoichi!" A sudden shout, and the banging open of the hospital door dragged Minato out of his thoughts. Minato knew what would happen now. Inoichi would enter his mind scape and read his memories, to see if he was who he claimed to be. Inoichi narrowed his eyes at him, seemingly incensed.
Keeping up the facade of choice, Inoichi, who now sat in front of Minato, asked "Do you consent to having your mind searched?" Minato scoffed inwardly. There was no actual option. Just whether it would be done peacefully or forcefully. Instead of answering, he turned to Hiruzen and asked, "If I am who I claim to be, can i see… that child?" His voice cracked. Minato cringed. He was showing off his weakness so openly. Had this been during the 3rd Great Shinobi War, he would have gotten his head on a stick for that.
Eyes narrowed at him, Hiruzen thought for a moment, considering, and nodded to give his permission. Letting out a small sigh, Minato turned back to Inoichi, smiling as he nodded his head, signaling Minato's consent for him to proceed. Minato took a small breathe and prepared himself for the... unique experience in Minato's opinion. Not painful, but definitely not pleasurable either. He could manage if it meant he could see that boy again. Minato held out hope that that boy could be who he believed him to be.
Inoichi entered Minato's mind, and Minato felt as if vice-like claws were scratching on his brain. He cringed. Inoichi searching desperately for memories go prove he wasn't who he said he was, and Minato didn't want to give him any reason to believe he was lying. Instead, he relived memories of valiantly fighting the Kyuubi, of Kushina, and of the teleportation here. Inoichi retreated out of Minato's mind quickly, not wanting to wait even a second longer to share his news.
"It's him… I don't know how… but" Inoichi turned to Minato, stern and mean facade dissolving. His face had turned pale, Minato noted. "When… When we couldn't find your body, we declared you dead. What happened?" His voice was soft, as if he was talking to himself rather than Minato. And it was at that moment, Minato realised something. He had telephoned home after the battle with Kyuubi, too distraught to remember about reporting the battle status to someone. And there was no one else there to help him do it, all of the shinobi fighting there had perished or gone missing, and the nearby villagers had all been evacuated. Minato felt his face simultaneously heating up and turning pale, but he shook his head.
"That doesn't matter right now" (It does and he's embarrassed) Minato mumbled. Eyes steeling, Minato turned to Hiruzen and asked, "What about that child? Why does he look like…. Naruto died during the fight. And ANBU took his body away." A statement phrased as a question. He had distinctly remembered Naruto's cold body, and how his little cries had stopped. Minato took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to stamp out the hope in his heart. "He's dead… my Naruto, isn't he?" He asked flatly, telling himself he already knew the answer to that question.
However, Minato saw Hiruzen shake his head no. "Because of the Kyuubi being sealed into Naruto, his body stopped functioning, so we all assumed he was dead. The ANBU was sent to collect his body, but when he arrived at the morgue, Naruto started crying again, loudly. Our best guess is that the Kyuubi had just temporarily stopped his heart, and when the seal stabilized, Naruto came back."
Minato felt his heart start beating again. Faster. Louder. Like just knowing Naruto was still alive had given him another chance at life. He couldn't feel himself breathe. "So… he's alive?" Minato whispered, partly in denail. Alive. His son, his and Kushina's son, Naruto, was still alive. It felt like yesterday when the small body went limp, when the Kyuubi had wrenched their small family apart, leaving Minato all alone. Minato tilted his head back, and laughed. He laughed until his stomach hurt, until he had tears streaking down his face, until he could no longer breath. He laughed and cried. He mourned Kushina and celebrated Naruto. He cursed the gods and thanked them on his knees. He grasped at his heart, the force twisting the fabric of his shirt. And all of a sudden, his body disappeared from the hospital, and arrived back in the center of Konoha. He could imagine the chaos he left in the hospital, of both Shikaku and Hiruzen calling for him to come back, of how his wounds were not yet healed, and so on. None of that mattered. He finally had another chance to see his son again.
Minato closed his eyes, expanding his chakra's search area. He found a small, pulsating little dot of chakra, red like blood yet blue like the ocean. Kyuubi's chakra, mixed with what had to be his precious baby's. It felt like ocean salt, like a caressing gentle breeze, yet strong enough to sweep Minato off his feet. And he ran. Minato ran as fast as he could, pure emotion driving his body forward, pushing his legs up and down. Up and down, again and again. Minato ignored the ache in his limbs, the pain of his wounds and the pounding in his head, Naruto. Minato clung to that word. His son.
Minato followed the chakra signature to the forests. A place no child should be, he notes, somewhat angrily. The trees were too tall and blocked out most sunlight, leaving the area in perpetual darkness. The forest had animals, big and small, that could injure and scare children. This wouldn't do, Minato thought. When he found Naruto, he would chide him for coming to such an area all alone. He could have been injured!
Despite having such thoughts, a smile blossomed on the blonde's face at the thought of it. Him, being able to talk to Naruto, to be able to chide him, and hear Naruto call him dad. It was such as domestic thought, so normal, but one that Minato relished in. He had never been able to experience something like that.
His footsteps fell faster as such thoughts of a life with Naruto flooded his mind, pushing him forward. He came to a stop, sensing Naruto's chakra was close. He rounded a corner, excited, only to feel his rage bubble up inside of him. There was his baby, tied up onto a log, with other kids throwing rocks and using kunais to stab at him. Granted, they were children's kunais, made to be dull and harmless, but that fact did nothing to stop Minato's growing rage.
Naruto, his son, had long fainted. Yet these unrelenting kids were still going at it, hurling anything in their reach at the small, quivering body. Minato could feel his heart ache at the sight, but not overpowering the sensation of the all hot, hot red. The red tinged his vision, whispering to him to just end those kids that dared to lay a hand on his son. To disarm them, to rip the hands that threw those objects, to make an example out of them. It had to be done, to show the others that Naruto was Minato's one reverse scale, the one thing that when touched, would cause Minato to lose all rationality.
Minato took a deep breath, trying his hardest to calm himself. No, he told himself. Minato was the Yondaime, if he acted out, no matter how much those awful brats deserved it, it would cause backlash. Severe backlash. One he knew wouldn't come to him, the beloved Hero that fought against the Kyuubi, but his precious son, that all the villagers collectively decided was the incarnation of the fox. No, he couldn't do that to his son. Minato was a calm shinobi, one who always thought things through, that remained rational and decided on the best option after careful deliberation. Minato took another deep breath, and decided.
With a flash of yellow, he unarmed all the kids attacking his son, before untying Naruto. He gently held Naruto, like he was a fragile piece of glass that would break at any moment, because, to Minato, he was. Naruto lay unmoving in his arms, this stillness a stark contrast to Kushina's hyperactiveness. Minato's heart twinged with worry. If Naruto was anything like Kushina at all, this behavoir was completely out of the norm. He was injured, seriously injured. Giving Naruto a glance over, he saw many patches of blue and purple, some overlapping with scars underneath. Scratches dotted his skin, and blood trailed out like a line of blossoming flowers.
"Naruto…" Minato forced out, feeling his vision blur. What if Naruto was too seriously injured, and- "Naruto" Minato repeated, the name giving him a sense of comfort. And with another flash, Minato entered the hospital again.