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It's been 4 years since his sensei and Minato left from Konoha, only a year left of traveling he'll meet his team, his comrades, and also his friends again, and a certain red haired appeared in his mind welcoming him home, lost in thought a pigeon landed at his sensei's raised arm and look at the contents of the letter, an excited grin plastered across Jiriaya's face.
"I finally tracked down that Hime-chan!" He happily announced to Minato, Minato nodded and somewhat glad that this happy news was brought up, its been a month since Sakuma-san suicide was message to them.
The Master and student has been testing the waters if the opposing countries will use this moment to start a war, now the hidden villages kage's probing each other's strength and the small skirmishes the small countries making is also not helping by elevating the sparks of war, now they confirmed that it may take a while before the war will loom over their heads. Minato now has confirmed the good news that his sensei has been searching for years.
They immediately set off, to the Land of Tea. A full week of traveling Minato and Jiraiya rested near the Land of Tea and Land of Fire borders and set up a fire for the night.
Minato bit his rations in a daze, glancing at the fire dancingly controlled as it consumed the wood and burned them to ashes.
"Minato-kun." Minato woke up from his reverie and saw his sensei waving the scroll he was holding and throwing it in his direction. He caught it and he looked at his sensei after confirming the signature of Nidaime Hokage, surprise andー.
"Minato it's been awhile since you’ve learned all that I can teach you, and no matter what I'm proud of you and for taking you as my student and apprentice and being practically my son for the past few years." Small tears had formed in his eyes, Minato wiped off the spilling tears.
"Sensei." He whispered, still wiping his tears.
"You may have learned all the things I've taught you, but you still have much to learn. Years of experience will teach you something I've experienced. Now gaki come here." he waved Minato and he was tackled in a flash and both fell off from his seat. Jiraiya chuckled at his students' dramatics as he returned the hug in pleasure, he managed to wipe off the few tears that managed to spill and laughed under the moonlight.
Minato sealed the scroll that was gifted to him last night after looking over, silenced hung them and no words were uttered at the comfortable silence you'll even feel the closeness between his sensei that for the past years he treated him just his sensei not pushing the boundaries that was set to them but after last night's event that broke the barrier Minato's been holding.
"Jiraiya sensei." He called out, Jiraiya hummed in response.
"It's not just about Tsunade-sama's what we're looking for right?" There was a long silence before Jiraiya responded to his student.
"Perceptive as ever Minato, you're right indeed it's not just Hime-chan we're looking for, but also the creator of Thousand Crystal, an accessory that has been popular for 3 years now in nobility."
"You mean the gems that have a tinge of natural energy? It seems quite impossible to contain natural energy to a crystalized accessory none the less long term sensei." Minato pondered and an idea struck him unless… His eyes widened at the discovery he made and he looked at his sensei who just smirked in his way and continued crossing the border.
He shooed of the thought, he and sensei parted ways and will meet near west of town near the Ryuuki village. He found a place near the village forest, with the sea just miles west. He tried to sense if there were other people beside him and a small flare of chakra just 68 meter away from him, a civilian. He leaped ahead and saw the person's figure. He gazed upon the Hashirama's necklace on her neck, its glistening glow as soothing energy surrounds her. Like being part of nature.
Unknown to him, he thought it's just one of the creations from the Thousand Crystal but a little more potent than the gems he saw a year ago.
Minato tried waking her up by flaring his chakra, cautious as he is, he can't just walk right in when a girl is sleeping you wouldn't know a girl's menace unless you've experienced it, thinking a certain redhead, he shrugged off his smile and furrowed his brows how this girl to be woken up. By flaring his chakra a lot more than the subtle way so the civilian knows that there's a person near him.
He gave up after a few attempts and walked lightly to the girl. He then noticed her features, of a light blond just a yellowing white that of a tree bark he saw before on his travels with his sensei. Her complexion is jaded pearl enhancing her features. She's breathtaking to look at.
He then noticed a thing beside her, a long odd shape, with 6 strings attached on each end and a hole in the left middle side of the strings. It looks like a shamisen instrument but in a different shape, is it a new kind of instrument?
After inspecting her and their surroundings, he then just noticed how vibrant the forest green was. Minato then saw small flowers mesh around her, the nectar of said flowers seemed to crystallize and shimmer under the sunlight, birds chirp and fireflies were glowing under the shade of trees. Acting like a barrier and as an outsider, walking in would be like staining a masterpiece.
He couldn't just walk right in and ruin the said masterpiece, he also remembered bandits had been abundant this year, being close to the borders of the Land of Tea has its own cons, so he found a shade not too close also not too far from the girl and sat facing her.
Minato then took out his scrolls and marveled at the new project his perverted sensei gave him, the Hiraishin. Researching the use of point A to B and the layers of space time, almost always amazed by the Second's talent in making the jutsu, dipping his brush on the ink and guiding his brush to the fuin scroll.
Time flew, the sun closing to set, the sleeping girl woken slightly and sat across a blurry looking figure sitting beside an oak tree with paper and scrolls scattered onto the ground with few big splats of ink on his white shirt, and his strands vibrant-gold hair color conceals his face, intently focused at the scroll in front of him with his holding a brush carefully stroke it, his scroll would sometimes light up then tossing to the side taking a new one from another scroll?
Eh what?
The last time the girl remembered she's playing her guitar beside her and exhaustion consumed her after the last string was played and that was earlier in the afternoon. Looking slightly sober she looked around if there were any traces of damnation the man did to her.
Huh, guess not.
She looked at the man across from her and watched him concentrate on his work, she didn’t know if he knew she's already awake and just concentrated at his work or he was just plain oblivious to her scrutinizing gaze.
Sweat kept forming on his face, a new failed attempt but eyeing his brand new scroll with enlightenment, and deeping his used brush with ink and restarting again.
An hour has passed since she woke up, after studying him for about half an hour she got bored and plucked a budding flower, night has since fallen and the guy across her just straight up slapped the oak beside him with a piece of paper and a handsign then it began to softly glow. She glanced up again at his focusing figure; she then pushed her second chakra to the flower and it bloomed with vitality. Her mother only allowed her to use a small part of my 'natural energy' so my mum called it, the potency is highly intense and using a small container as reference, filling it with nature energy is just calling me to do suicide.
The movement across her stop, a shiver across her spine when she felt his gaze on her she put up a brave face and looked directly ー ocean-blue met emerald-teal.
"Dork."
She didn’t know what came over her, she may have panicked or just stunned at his deep blue eyes but that short word sputtered her mouth, a small heat of embarrassment crept up and looked away to the stunned eyes.
She glance back up to his stunned face, mouth wide open and assumed him trying to speak, the embarrassment that consumed her very being seems over that she chuckled at his still adorkable face.
"Dork." the girl whispered, still hiding the blush and amusement. I picked up my guitar beside me and leave one last smile and bade thanks to his protection and ーshunshined away leaving the stunned blond.
'What just happened? ' Minato still too stunned and didn't notice the girl who called him dork just run off.
OMAKE: [Extra scene that supposed to be used]
She got up to stranger's side his face sweated, a drop glistened and drop down to his cheek to his jaw and drop down to the scroll his focusing on, an exasperated sigh blows out of his mouth and just drop the near complete Hiraishin scroll. Minato heard a small giggle to his side and saw a handkerchief brought close to him.
He then look at the person behind him, ocean-blue eyes met a emerald-teal color drawn to the person who owned it, her eyes shined as her smile reach to her eyes.
"Here." she said, while closing the handkerchief to his side, gone to being stars truck, Minato unknowingly reach out to the hand and took the handkerchief.
Realization hit him looking at the handkerchief from his hands, an unknowing blush reach his cheeks and look away searching for some distraction while clenching the said handkerchief.