A/N: Wow. I just realized I published this way back in 2006 and didn't start actually working on it till 2009...haha. Weird.
Glittering strands of golden caught the setting sun in a glint of blood red, staining the honey colouring a hue of crimson. Both cerulean blue eyes opened slowly, catching the maroon as well. As bored and tired of waiting as he was, for he hadn't any patience to speak of, the gaze into the distance was of serious descent.
"You okay, sensei?" A small voice asked beside him. Minato turned, blinking at the other, startled. He had forgotten she was there. As soon as it registered in his mind Rin was with him, the infamous fox-like grin wiped his expressionless lips right back up.
"I forgot you were here, Rin, sorry. Just…lost myself in thought. Eheh." He shrugged haphazardly, attempting to put things in the most simplistic of wording possible. Looking back to the distance, Minato let out a small sigh, muscles no longer able to hold the corners of his mouth up any longer. Rin pursed her lips at his side, understanding the underlying message in his words. Suddenly, both cerulean hues perked open. "Hey, Rin? Mind going back into the forest a bit? I don't want you getting hurt."
The kunoichi blinked, confused. "Huh?"
"They're here." He whispered, cracking his knuckles. Rin immediately got to her feet.
"Oh! Okay. Just don't forget to come get me, sensei!" She nodded with a smile, obeying as she leapt up into the trees and traipsed backwards further into the depths of shadowy emerald. Minato smiled in spite of himself, glancing at the clock.
"Just in time, too."
"KATON: GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!" The words echoed about the blonde as a rush of heat flew his way.
"Not bad, not bad." He laughed, leaping up into a graceful back-flip above the fireball and landing swiftly on both feet as a pair of Obito's rushed in his direction. "Hmm, kage bunshin? A little too classic for someone like you, Obito." As a set of fists came flying in his direction, Minato blocked endlessly as a slue of punches and kicks flowed at him. "Come on, you can do better'n that!" The blonde encouraged, laughter invading his syllables.
"Rrrrargh!" One of the two Obito's pulled back, reeling a punch as hard as he could at the man's privates, causing Minato to jump back suddenly in alarm, only to feel a fist to his back.
"Eh?" Turning back only slightly, a glint of metal caught his eye, pulling his view upwards to look at the rain of shuriken, kunai, and senbon from the treetops being thrown down by shadow clone. Suddenly, he felt the fist leave him and turned to see Kakashi springing backwards out of the way with Obito at his side as kunai, shuriken, and senbon rained in on him, slicing parts of his jounin vest and drawing a line of blood on his right cheek before he could whip out a kunai of his own and throw behind where Kakashi and Obito stood. "Hiraishin." He uttered, panicked.
Kakashi blinked as their sensei appeared behind them, using his chakra to re-lock onto the man, having lost his trail with the body flicker jutsu. Barely having time to turn, the boy pushed Obito to the side, jumping in his place above the leg that had come down in a side-sweep kick.
"Not bad, Kakashi." Minato smiled, proud of the quick-pace mind of his student.
So, they finally figured it out. Well, heh, they probably didn't figure it out. But they're working together. This is new. I'm glad. Really glad. I'm so smart! Hehe, I can't believe this really worked! Who would've thought I could get a Hatake and an Uchiha to work together? Nevertheless, two that hate each other. Can't wait to tell Jiraiya-sensei!
Bringing the man back to reality was Kakashi performing hand seals at a rapid pace. Minato smirked.
"Gotta be faster'n that!" Whilst growling the words to his student, the man pulled a transparent string from his holster, lathering the length of it in chakra and controlling it till it wrapped around Kakashi's wrists, holding them together and stopping the seals from completion.
"Don't worry, Kashi-nyan, I got this!" A voice called cockily. Kakashi sighed, noting the fact that Obito had just given away his whereabouts, having run off while the two were fighting. Minato must have sensed it too, for the man chuckled slightly, not bothering to look up to the treetops to see Obito standing proudly atop a branch.
"Kashi-nyan?" Minato asked, eyeing the genin he had trapped with an amused smirk. The Hatake looked to the side, avoiding eye contact as a hue of magenta stained what could be seen of his cheeks.
"…don't ask." He mumbled before Obito let out a holler as he leapt from the branches, attempting a round-house kick at their sensei.
"HIII~IIIYA!" The Uchiha serenaded, landing a kick on their sensei, who had oh-so-obviously allowed the boy to do so; obvious to everyone…but Obito. "AHA!" He yelled, continuing with an onslaught of cocky punches and kicks. Minato dodged each with a smile, finding the boy quite entertaining. The Uchiha drew back, gritting his teeth, realizing the other wasn't taking him seriously. Just as soon as the aggravated expression had came, it left once more, replacing itself with a smile. Minato blinked, raising an eyebrow. "NOW!"
The blonde looked over as the Kakashi he had trapped disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Kage bunshin? When did he…? I didn't even notice. Is it possible to mask and replicate chakra that well? Damn, this kid is better than I thought… Oh well, at least they're working together…right? How old was this kid, again? 5? 6? Christ, even I wasn't that good at six.
As soon as the thought had left the man's mind, he felt a whoosh of air beside him, suddenly hearing the constant jingling from the bell dissipate. Wide-eyed, the man looked to the right, not having sensed a single thing.
There stood Kakashi, bell in hand, Obito at his side.
For a moment, Minato didn't move, stunned expression unchanging; then, his slightly open mouth closed and formed a smile. "I can't believe it." He chuckled, shaking his head. Obito's already broad smile widened proudly, chest puffing out in accomplishment. Kakashi stood at side, straightening slightly as a smile tempted itself behind his mask.
"Well…looks like Kakashi and Rin passed, huh, sensei?" The defeated aura in the Uchiha's normally chipper vocals caused Kakashi to look to his side, seeing the boy's smile waver. Minato's smile dropped slightly as he nodded, hands placing themselves on his hips.
"I gotta admit, though, you surprised me, Obito. You, too, Kakashi. The both of you did very well…especially together."
Obito bit his lower lip as he nodded. "Yep." There was a pause before the Uchiha looked from Kakashi to their sensei, then turned. "Guess I'll be going then. Tell Rin I said bye." He whispered, now pursing his lips. Kakashi looked towards the other as he began to walk then to Minato, eyeing him with confusion.
"Wait…you can't be serious about this passing thing." Kakashi growled. When their sensei said nothing, the boy sighed. "…if that's the case, Obito can have the bell."
Obito stopped, blinking as he turned to face Kakashi. "Huh? B-but I said you could have it! Like I said, you're much better suited to become a ninja than I am!"
"Just shut up and take it. I can learn on my own." The Hatake retorted, throwing the bell at him. Obito twitched noticeably as he caught it.
"No…you take it!" Then proceeded to throw the bell back at Kakashi, who threw it right back.
"Damnit, Obito, I'm fine on my own."
"Yeah, that's right. All alone. That'd be normal for you, wouldn't it? Why not try to interact with people for once huh? You take it!"
"Well maybe it'd be better for someone who's socially retarded to be on a team, eh?" Kakashi growled as Obito's eyes widened.
"What did you just say!? You wanna go!?" He hissed, approaching the other with balled fists. The Hatake widened his stance into a taijutsu stance.
"Fine with me." He huffed, clearly aggravated. As the other charged towards him, Kakashi began to run at him as well, cutting the distance between them to half and preparing to block head-on before the two felt themselves being lifted into the air apart from each other in sync with loud laughter.
"Huh?!" Obito yelled, struggling as Minato held the two up at arms length apart. The blonde couldn't help but continue laughing.
"Haha, alright, look, you convinced me…" He started, smiling widely at the two. "You both pass."
Kakashi and Obito looked at him, blinking. "Eh?" They sounded in harmony. Minato then proceeded to set them down, being sure the two were thoroughly stunned as to forget about the fight they were having prior.
"What? I said you both pass. Don't get it?" He asked, hands back on his hips.
"But, there was only one bell left…and…" Obito started as Kakashi huffed at his side, gritting his teeth behind his onyx mask.
"He planned it…"
Minato beamed, holding out a thumbs up to the two. "Bingo!"
"So…" Obito began, blinking in confusion. "We were all gonna pass even if we didn't get a bell…?" Kakashi rolled his eyes, noticeably annoyed.
"No, he planned it all to get us to work together, dimwit. If we hadn't have worked together, I bet none of us would have passed…but that doesn't explain Rin's situa-"
"Oh! Rin!" Minato suddenly exclaimed, eyes widening. "I'll be right back! Stay here! No fighting!"
Kakashi and Obito stood there a moment as their sensei bounded off into the forest.
"So this was just a test of teamwork then?" The Uchiha inquired.
"…yes." Kakashi growled, thankful the other finally understood. It only took that long before a kunai landed at their feet, a puff of yellow smoke revealing Minato with Rin on his back, smiling at them.
"Kakashi-kun! Obito-chan!" Rin exclaimed, jumping off their sensei and bounding to their side. "I knew you'd figure it out!" She smiled, hugging them both. Kakashi stiffened as he saw Obito blush bright red. This kind of contact was getting annoying.
"Yeah, good thing, too. You two passed with only two minutes to spare."
"What? Really? We cut it that close?" Obito gasped. Minato nodded as Rin let her teammates go.
"And you know why I made it at that time?" He asked, raising a brow.
The three stood there, confused, for a minute before Obito and Rin shook their heads.
"Cause I gotta be somewhere. Tomorrow, 9am sharp, training ground 7. Be there or I'll hunt you down, kay?" With that, the man disappeared in a whirlwind of pink sakura, leaving the three baffled genin standing there, being sure to take in the information thoroughly.
"'bout time you got here." A familiar voice sounded as the blonde sat down next to his teacher at a bar, flashing the white-haired man a smile.
"Tch. Gimme some credit, old man. I just passed three genin and initiated them into my team." The words came out in sync with the fox-like grin. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Did you? Do tell." He inquired, taking a sip of the mixed drink he had ordered for the both of them.
Minato took a breath excitedly. "Well, you know how Kakashi and Obito just don't get along? Or, in a sense, hate each other? Yeah, well, I thought of this epic plan to get them to work together and it worked!! It actually worked! They tag-teamed me and…and…" The blonde's words slowed as an hour-glass figure walked by them, a precious aroma circulating the two as a kunoichi sat down a few seats next to them. Both cerulean hues followed eagerly as she made her way, stopping the man mid-sentence. A flow of fiery red hair made the blonde's jaw drop. "…who…" He gasped, putting a hand towards his sensei who let out a small laugh.
"Uzumaki Kushina. She's pretty easy on the eyes, isn't she? And just around your age, too." The blonde could feel the other winking as he let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding.
"She's…beautiful." Minato gasped, suddenly drawing back as he saw the woman glance at him and give him a small smile- right as he proceeded to spill the mixed drink over Jiraiya, who jumped back from the feeling of icy chill on his chest. "Oh mai gawd, I'm sorry!" Minato stuttered apologetically. The blonde heard a small giggle and looked over, noticing the girl looking directly at him now, hand over her mouth as she held back laughter. He blushed wildly, flashing a nervous smile towards her bashfully.
"…you're such a klutz when you see a pretty girl, you know that?"
Minato didn't listen to Jiraiya as the red-haired kunoichi pursed her lips and prowled towards the blonde, scooting two seats over till she was at his side, smiling.
"Hi."
The simple one-syllable introduction made the man's heart flicker like a seizure. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he straightened himself. "H-hoi?" He mumbled nervously, attempting to remember how to form the word 'hi' on his lips and failing miserably. The red-head only giggled more.
"Um, are you okay?" She asked between small fits of laughter. Minato pursed his lips, nodding.
"Y-yeah. O'course I'm okie."
Before the blonde could embarrass himself further, Kushina held a hand out. "I'm Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina. You are?" She asked, hints of sweetness riding on her voice.
"I are-" Minato started then shook his head. "I-I is Minayo. Nemikeza Minata." He stuttered, grabbing her hand on a second attempt and shaking enthusiastically. Jumping at the feel of a larger hand on his shoulder, the blonde recalled Jiraiya's presence.
"He means Namikaze Minato." The man winked. "And I do believe it's quite obvious he wants to get to know you."
Minato sat up straight, face flustered into deep hues of cherry as he let her hand go, flailing towards his sensei as Kushina allowed a slue of chuckles to shake her slender frame.
"I wouldn't mind that," She stated calmly, taking a sip from the wine she had ordered. "Especially since it's someone so cute…" Though she had shied away from the second half of her agreement, it still reached the blonde's ears, causing his entire body to burn with a needy sensation. Kushina blinked up at him bashfully. "I mean…if it's okay with you, Minato-kun?"
"He'd love to." Jiraiya improvised as Minato nodded along, pointing at his sensei as though to signal that's what he had wanted to say. The women couldn't help but smile.
"Hmm. Alright, then." She said, getting to her feet. "Meet me around 9am near Ichiraku's. You'll be up that early, won't you?"
Minato could only nod.
"Good…good. Seems like a weird time for a…a date, I know, but trust me. You'll love it." She winked, being sure to leave with a smile across her blushing face. The blonde continued to nod. "Hehe. See you tomorrow, Minato-kun."
As the man watched the curves whisk themselves from view, Minato fell limp onto his sensei. "Ohmaigawd."
Jiraiya only raised an eyebrow after glancing at the door Kushina had just left from. "Wish I could score a hottie like that. You lucked out, kiddo. Majorly." The blonde smiled smugly up at him, immersed in a pool of imaginative thoughts.
"Yeah…" Was all he could say till a dreamy sigh escaped his lips. "What's her name again?"
Jiraiya merely rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be getting home? If you're getting up at nine tomorrow you should be getting to bed. You know how you are without your sleep."
"Eh, they won't mind if I'm a little late."
Jiraiya blinked, brow furrowing. "They? I was talking about Kushina."
Suddenly, Minato sat up straight, eyes wide. "W-wait…oh god. I didn't…did I? Nine in the morning?" He stuttered, pulling at his golden locks. The sannin furrowed a brow.
"What are you talking about, Mina-chan?" The words barely left his lips before the blonde was tugging at him, throwing him back and forth in a panic.
"Same time!!" He yelled, attracting stares from passerby and customers.
"Same time?" Jiraiya questioned, placing his hands on his student's wrists as to calm him down.
"Um, sir?" The bar tender approached the two. "Could you possibly take your drunk friend back home? He's disturbing other customers…" Her voice was timid as she pursed her glossed lips at the two.
"Ahhhh, same time! What did I do!?" Minato yelled, completely absorbed in his own world.
"Ah, no, he's not drunk. Just distraught." The white-haired man corrected before getting to his feet and pulling at his students wrists. "C'mon, Mina-chan. We'll discuss this on the way back to your house."
As the blonde was pulled from his place at the bar, his mind began racing with thoughts. "I told my team to meet me at that time…" He explained briefly. Jiraiya nodded slowly as they exited the building.
"Well…looks to me like you're about to be forced to chose between a woman and your team. And if it were me, I'd take the woman."
A/N: Ahh…poorly written chapter ftw?…ugh. I guess I just wanted it done. Maybe I'll rewrite this someday when I feel like it. Lol. Review if you want an update.