As It Was
then
For some reason Namikaze Minato could not decipher, the air occupying the space between them felt so tight all of a sudden. The café in which they sat together was one they had visited more than just several times over the course of their friendship, a place in which they were always able to meet even if the time was short. He had suggested it one day since it was quite close to Nanami’s workplace, meaning she wouldn’t have to walk a long way to grab lunch with him.
Even if it meant he would have to walk a longer way from the training ground than if they were to meet up somewhere else, he wouldn’t mind. For his best friend , no way was too long in Minato’s opinion.
Across from him sat Nanami, her golden blonde hair pulled into a bun that did not keep all the strands of her long hair tucked in since some were astray. Every time she took a sip from her warm coffee, she would tuck one of the strands behind her ear, only for it to fall out of place the next time she would bend forward.
“A new apprentice sheared off a strand of my hair while I was training her,” Nanami let out a huff as she explained to Minato what had happened. Her expression was contorted into a scowl as she spoke, her fingers twisting the cut strand in irritation. “Almost would have poked my eye out.”
Minato winced. “What did you do after?”
“Poor girl was about to cry. I calmed her down and told her not to worry, even though she almost stabbed out my eye . She’s an apprentice , we all make mistakes.” While at first she had been angered by the incident, seeing the poor girl shake and almost cry with the shears in hand was something Nanami did not want to see again.
Minato raised an eyebrow at his friend.
Nanami let out a huff in response. “Why are you looking so surprised ?”
“You have a short fuse sometimes, that’s why.”
“She was about to cry, Minato !” Nanami hissed, looking flabbergasted. “I’m not heartless .”
“But prideful.” Minato was very well aware of the fact that the blonde opposite him was very prideful and did not allow anyone to scratch that. For her to dismiss the accident was not typical .
Nanami’s gaze fixated on her coffee as she stirred it with her spoon, watching the foam swirl around the cup. “So I’ve been told.”
Minato frowned at her actions, finding himself leaning further toward the table, toward his friend. Quickly, his electric blue eyes raked over her features, inspecting the small frown she attempted to hide. The fact that she was upset about something also left him feeling a little melancholic, his own lips pulling into a mirroring expression.
“You look distracted, are you stressed ?”
Nanami looked up from her coffee, her eyes appearing more exhausted now that he addressed her worry. “I wish I wasn’t,” She took a sip of her latté , swallowing it harshly. “would be easier.”
In his chair, Minato leaned back with an expectant look gleaming in his eyes. “What’s on your mind?”
“Dad’s been stressed with up-keeping the veterinary, it’s all been a mess lately,” Nanami took another sip before continuing, “now I’m training the new apprentice and that takes more time than you would think it does. But she’s determined, so I’m in high spirits. We are just lucky there is no competition.”
“Except for the Inuzukas.”
Nanami nodded. “Except for them. Not that we mind, they specialize on ninja animals, we take on every furry and none furry friend.”
“Even turtles.” Minato teased with a quick wink.
“Don’t remind me,” Nanami let out a groan, throwing her head back at the memory resurfacing. “poor kid came in all stressed out because his turtle wasn’t moving, but it was just sleeping .”
She could vividly remember a young boy with a bowl cut who wore green spandex as though it were his second skin coming in with his father, a perfect match to his offspring. Both spoke rather loud, loud enough for their voices to ring in Nanami’s ears. After she had ushered them into the examination room, the supposedly ill turtle tightly clutched to the boy’s chest, she was able to calm them down somewhat. After a quick look at the animal, she was able to determine that it was sleeping and, in fact, the healthiest turtle she had seen in a while.
Not that Nanami saw many turtles, but they didn’t need to know that.
As quick as the two came along, they also went with shouts of a spring of youth and how youthful the turtle was . While she did not know what their words meant, Nanami scrunched her eyebrows as she watched them skip away in joy. Their enthusiasm was a sight to behold, she had decided.
“Maito Gai, right?”
Nanami clicked her tongue in confirmation. “I wonder how that kid is doing. He only comes in with one of his turtles every few months or so. I thought by now he would know that they were sleeping, but apparently not. His worry is adorable, I’ve got to admit.”
She preferred overthinking owners over the negligent ones. Although she had to admit, often enough, Nanami found herself questioning how many turtles the boy in spandex had. They were his summons, or so she believed. While the choice was odd, for him, it was fitting .
“I could ask Choza how he is doing if you want me to? He’s Gai’s sensei, so he will know.” Minato offered.
“I’ll ask him when he comes in anytime soon. His nephew and niece have an adorable hamster who for some odd reason grows nails faster than I do,” Nanami let out a wistful sigh, staring at her own hands. Her nails were neatly trimmed due to her job and for the same reason unpainted. Her skin was also decorated with various scars, all results of her profession. “I kinda wish I had that problem.”
“The hamster or the nails?”
“Haha, very funny ,” Nanami playfully rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you want to be Hokage if you could just be a comedian.”
Minato gave her a grin. “The Yellow Flash is not made for the comedy business.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Nanami took another sip from her coffee to hide her incoming frown. “ Anyway . How are things with Kushina?” The question was a stab to her own heart, but she thought it would be best to breach that bridge on her own initiation rather than by force. Sooner or later, he would mention her anyway.
The grin on his face only brightened at the mention of his girlfriend .
“Great, amazing ,” Minato breathed out. “I was unsure in the beginning but now … I don’t regret anything .”
Nanami forced herself to smile. “That’s wonderful ! I’m excited for you, Minato,” She was so green with envy, that at any moment she might feel the bile crawl up her throat. To distract herself from her distaste, she took another sip of coffee. “It suits you, the happiness, I mean .”
Minato could feel the flush crawl up his neck, dusting his tan cheeks in soft pink. “I-” He cleared his throat, looking down for a moment as he allowed for the delight he felt to properly wash over him. For a moment, he was fully tongue-tied . “Happiness also looks good on you, Nana.”
She almost choked on her coffee. “You can’t just say things like that without warning, Minato.” One day, he would either give her a heart attack or break her heart.
“But I want to,” Minato smiled at her softly, a sight that made her heartbeat increase drastically . “but enough about Kushina and I. I want to know, is there anything going on with you?” The blond placed his chin on his hand, leaning closer to his best friend to show that he was listening.
Nanami willed herself to smile, her mind desperately scrambling to make up a proper reply without the words ‘ I’m not over you ’ and ‘ I like you ’.
Seeing Minato opening his mouth to say something made her nervous.
“I went on a date with someone,” Nanami blurted out. “it was kind of … nice ?” The better word would be ‘freeing’ , but if she had used it, she would have had to explain to him the reason for it.
“Oh?” Minato cocked his head at her. “ When ?”
“Must have been two weeks ago.”
He frowned at the revelation, his stomach churning uncomfortably. Why that was, he couldn’t figure out, not at all. What he couldn’t understand was why Nanami hadn’t told him until now, they told each other everything. Unless it came to her dating life, it seemed. For the last few years, it had been a dangerous bridge to cross, one that could quickly escalate into a discussion about him prying into her life.
“How was it?” What he wanted to ask was, ‘ why didn’t you tell me sooner? ’.
Nanami shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. It was alright .”
Minato felt like the blonde was avoiding something . To him, it was rather odd. After all, they always spoke about everything and never kept any secrets from each other. The answer was cryptic and gave him next to no information.
Their conversation felt flat .
“That’s great.”
Maybe he was lying to himself.
Minato cleared his throat. “ So … who are they?”
“His name is Renji. We met a few weeks ago, and he asked me out. I agreed because how could I not? The entire time he was quite sweet,” On Nanami’s face, a smile bloomed as she spoke of him, her spirits lifting with each new word. “Okay, maybe he talked about himself a lot, but … I don’t mind that too much.”
That confused him. Someone as prideful as Nanami would mind that fact, or so Minato had always thought. That he was wrong left him with an uncomfortable feeling.
"I'm happy for you, Nana." The words felt insincere coming out of his mouth.
Nanami gave him a smile. "Thank you, Minato."
The air between them felt awkward, to say the least. It made Minato’s smile drop the slightest bit before he recovered his expression. Something was changing, and it made him wonder if things would stay as they were.