It was bright. The Sun glowed through the canopy of the forest, illuminating the clearing where two men sat. They were dressed curiously. The blonde man had jaw-length bangs that framed his face, and he wore a blue long-sleeved turtleneck with pants of the same shade. He had bandages that wrapped around his ankles and tucked into a pair of high-cut sandals. A green flak jacket was pulled over his shirt and a short-sleeved long haori on top of everything.

The haori was the strangest part--it had red flame-like motifs on the edges with the kanji '四代目火影' meaning Fourth Fire Shadow.

The blonde refused to tell his companion what it meant (until then).

The other party had black hair that was wrapped unkemptly in a blue turban. The taller man wore a plain white shirt and baggy pants with a slip-on-head cloth that stretched past his waist. A standard, dark blue/grey scarf is wrapped around his neck, and long, skinny black crew boots on his feet.

They were a strange duo.

Even stranger still, was how they managed to boil tea in the middle of a forest. But they did, and the pair sat on logs opposite each other, one pondering his newfound information while the other waited anxiously for a response.

The dark-haired man sipped his tea before grimacing and spitting it out to the side.

"So you're here searching for your wife?"

The blonde nodded, glad that his friend hadn't taken the news badly.

"Mm. She's somewhere,"

Ging was silent for a while.

"Ma, get a damn license then. Do you know how long I have to wait for you to find me every time you get stuck outside a border?"

Minato huffed.

"Okay, okay," He looked back at his travel buddy. "What about Gon?"

"What about him?"

"He's attending this year's exams, isn't he?" 

Ging didn't respond, instead choosing to turn away and drink more of the bitter tea.

"Let's have a bet. I bet he can find you," Minato smiled innocuously--which was anything but-- as he easily gulped down the healthy drink.

"And I bet he can't," His grin turned into a simper. "I get to punch you in the face if I win."

Ging rubbed his cheek with a scowl, grimacing at the memory that still ached occasionally.

"Those punches hurt."

"It's not my fault if you didn't dodge it."

"You can teleport, it's not fair," The black-haired man pouted.

"Life usually isn't," Minato scoffed in return, reaching for the pot.

"If he doesn't, you're doing the laundry for a year," Ging paused. "Scratch that two years,"

"Nope, you said one, and that's it," Minato shook his head vigorously, looking quite comical as he did so.

The raven head rubbed the back of his neck-- a habit he picked up from his companion-- with a sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be able to persuade his otherwise. 

"Hai, hai."

...

I did it and I regret nothing. I will be continuing to post for Seeing Red and I won't be focusing on this too much. But if it gets good results then maybe I'll do double updates (there goes my sleep schedule-- not that I had one in the first place).

Seeing Red will still be a priority, at least until we finish season one.

This is the first of many impulsive ideas. More will come.

Since it's the holidays, I might be able to work up an updating schedule until December.

Drop a comment or message me if you want more of this or any story, I'll be happy to oblige. :))

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