Minato basked in the warmth of the sunlight, enjoying every moment he felt the heat on the tip of his nose. He feels like a plant doing photosynthesis, and it is admitably a bit embarrassing with Kakashi around. For the first time, he's walking down the streets of Konoha. Thankfully, there was not a speck of blood around, nor was there a random corpse laying on the floor. Now he's more sure that making sure he doesn't get killed outside isn't one of the reasons Hiruzen left him in the Sarutobi compound.

"Is there a specific place we're heading to?" Minato asked out of genuine curiousity. He wondered if Kakashi is considered strong in this world as well. If his sensei was the fourth, it's quite a huge possiblity. Such a figure's gotta be busy, so why was he taking a leisure walk with an alien?

"...Kind of. Yes, there is, actually," Kakashi paused in between his sentences, as if he was unsure of what to say. Remembering that in Kakashi's eyes, he was his long dead sensei, Minato wondered what was going through Kakashi's head. He hoped Kakashi didn't go insane and is looking to stab the hell out of him once they turn into an alleyway with a dead end.

They walked further down the streets, and he heard noises from about a few fences away. The sound of laughing children. The sound of peace. His heart warmed for a while, and he remembered the times when his own son was still little.

He was the most cheerful, smartest boy he could ever have asked for. In the dark times of grieving Kushina and living as a single father working an unfamiliar job with low pay, Naruto was his only light. Seeing his son's bright beam when he came home made everything feel okay.

His son was clever. He wasn't the best at English, (Neither was Minato) but other than that, he was a top scorer. Minato never needed to worry about his studies. He was pretty good at socializing too- always bringing a few friends like Shikamaru and Chouji over. He didn't seem to get on well with Sasuke though, which was a shame since Minato and Kushina were close friends with Fugaku and Mikoto.

But he was very sensitive to emotion, even as a child. At times when Minato stressed over how he was dealing with everything on his own, little Naruto would walk into his room with a small gift. A paper kabuto. A blob of clay he calls a heart shape. A card with unrecognizable words on it, but Naruto deems it says 'I love you'. He kept them all on his shelf, and he really had to wonder how Naruto could always tell when he was feeling down. What a boy of miracle.

"Is that coming from a playground?" Minato blurted out the question out of curiosity. God, he just missed Naruto too much. He thought back to when Naruto used to pull him to the playground and make him get on the see-saw. Naruto was 16 now, but it breaks Minato's heart when he remembers how his son might be sitting alone on the see-saw, grieving his father right now.

"It's from a school," Kakashi spoke. He seemed to have a distant gaze in his eye, before looking away. Minato stared at Kakashi as he stood in silence. The man then turned towards him, and Minato almost flinched at his icy cold gaze. What happened? He was behaving pretty warmly earlier. Did Minato trigger some bad memories? Did he ask the wrong thing?

"Um..a school. Great, must be..lovely. Peaceful. I hope the kids have fun there," Minato stammered out nervously. He cringed at his own response, but he wasn't sure what to say either.

Kakashi looked towards the direction of the school for a few moments, as if contemplating something. Minato could feel his demeanor shift, and it made him uneasy. Kakashi continued walking forwards, giving no reply to Minato's words. "Follow me."

Minato thought of giving a response, or asking where they were going, but with the tension in the air, he decided against it. He'll just follow without a word. Maybe Kakashi wasn't at his best today. He's probably taking him to see the village? Or see Hiruzen? Probably not, he sees the Hokage everyday. A meeting, then? It'd make more sense since Minato was the fourth Hokage.

'It would be okay. I can trust Kakashi.'

With that in mind, the last thing he expected was for them to turn straight into a dead end, in a secluded dark alleyway that seemed to be in the far parts of Konoha. Minato glanced behind him, and the light was far away. The moment he looked back in front, Kakashi had disappeared. "Um...Kakashi..?"

In a panic, he turned around. And inches away from his eye was the sharp glint of Kakashi's kunai.

He can trust Kakashi.

——

Kinda short chapter but I SWEAR THE NEXT ONE WILL BE LONGER