Chapter Text
Minato waits until the coast is clear. He checks on Kakashi's eye, rubbing antiseptic ointment around the soft flesh and rebandaging the boy's wound. He isn't going to be rising anytime soon, not with that level of chakra exhaustion, not with his reserves so dangerously close to nothing. He goes to Rin after working on replenishing Kakashi's reserves, and lays her down against the softest patch of grass he could find, tossing his own jōnin vest across her thin form so she doesn't get cold.
He waits until he can feel the hum of chakra through the seals he has placed throughout the campsite for the night, and when it's safe, when he knows it's safe--
Well, that's when Minato loses it. He stumbles his way through the open field, coughing and gagging the burning acid that fights it's way up. Hits his hands and knees and chokes up the bile and vomit that's been at the surface since he-- he found out what had happened. It burns his throat and his nose, the smell making his stomach twist and turn again, and Minato coughs again and again, retching it all up until it feels like he's going to faint.
His body shakes, his arms feel like lead, and he throws himself to the side, away from his mess. Wipes his face on the sleeve of his shirt, wipes his nose and tries to crawl away from the acidic smell that was following. His lips still tasted of it, but Minato didn't want to go back to get his canteen, not with tears and snot going down his face. Not if one of his kids woke up-- No, he'd be fine. He'd be fine once the knives stopped scrapping at his stomach, and he could just stop thinking about it.
Him.
Uchiha Obito.
Who was supposed to be here , sitting next to Minato on first watch, just as he always was because the boy had too much energy to fall asleep right away. The boy that should've been staring up at the stars through orange-tinted goggles, one hand snug against the kunai pouch to be ready because for all the jokes about him, for all the imperfections and the eccentric behavior, Obito was a fine shinobi. A chūnin, and they didn't just pass that title out to anyone. He'd earned it. Earned it . He was supposed to be by Minato's side right now, exhausted and disheveled from the mission.
Maybe furious too, that everything went alright when it was Kakashi leading the mission, like he'd wanted something to go wrong to prove a point. And it had, hadn't it? Gone all wrong. No, not wrong.
It'd gone to absolute shit . But Minato would prefer an angry Uchiha over a dead one, he'd prefer to listen to weeks worth of moaning and groaning about Kakashi's position, about his success, about how much Obito wanted to knock him off his pedestal, without ever realizing that the only one preventing him from rising too was himself. He'd prefer the glares and just-a-touch-too-far jokes, and all the screaming matches and bloody noses he'd have to deal with if he could just--
Just have Obito back . It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair, not to be going home with his entire team. Minato had been assigned a set of three, two boys and a girl, and he'd grown to love that set. Two boys and a girl. His two boys and his girl. And now, there were only two coming home, and three empty body scrolls sitting in his shuriken pouch because Minato hadn't even been able to bring any piece of Obito home, had he? Not a single piece of him, besides the cracked orange-tinted goggles that are clutched in Rin's hands. The same hands that have dried-blood crusted against the nail beds, that had Obito's blood dried to her skin.
Fresh bile burns in his throat, but he swallows it down and gasps for breath. It feels like someone's knocked the air out of him, trying to imagine how it must have felt. Minato's never in a million years imagined what it would be like to be crushed, never even considered it as a possibility. He'd always been too fast, too skilled, too advanced to ever be put in such a situation.
Minato gags again. It had to have hurt, right? Being crushed and conscious? It had to hurt . It had to have been painful? Or maybe he didn't feel it. Maybe, with all that adrenaline, he didn't feel his bones break and his limbs smash, maybe it was so sudden that it didn't hurt . Maybe it didn't hurt.
(But maybe it did.)
The grass is dry and sharp against his face. He stays collapsed against it, the brittleness shifting and sticking into his skin, but it doesn't break. Grass doesn't break under his weight, when he's a giant compared to it. He's a boulder compared to this dried, sun-bleached grass, and it isn't breaking underneath him. Huge and unmoving and crushing and far too heavy and
Minato vomits again.
___
Protocol dictates a check in at the village gates. Identification (unnecessary for the Yellow Flash) first, and then they can help get injured squad members to the hospital or report any major issues to the Hokage immediately.
Minato fishes out his paperwork with a steady hand. Slams it down on the counter of the gatekeeper's small barracks, and the woman addresses them with a particular frown. It was a chūnin that he was familiar with, although Minato couldn't begin to tell anyone what her name was. Her gaze shifts from Minato to Rin and then Kakashi, and then her lips pursed. She grimaced.
"Namikaze-san," The chūnin addressed softly. "Everything's in order. If you'll leave your BRS in the basket, I'll have it taken care of when the next hospital runner comes by. Do either of your squad need immediate medical attention? I can have Hiroto-san take them for you."
"No, thank you. I can escort them myself." Minato says back, just as politely. He very pointedly does not address the basket that sits across from the woman, on the end of her desk. Everyone knows what it's for, and he puts a firm hand on Kakashi's thin shoulder to keep him grounded and moving. "Come on, Kakashi, let's go."
The chūnin cleared her throat.
"The BRS, Namikaze-san? I can assure you we'll treat it with the utmost respect, as befitting a shinobi of our village."
It's almost like she's mocking him, though he's well aware that isn't the case. Rin inhales sharply, but exhales shakily, probably close to tears. Kakashi tenses, but Minato doesn't move his hand. The basket is for Body Retrieval Scrolls, the formal name for the government-issued black scrolls made specifically for bringing bodies of fallen shinobi back. Generally, each year, they hand out three to genin squad leaders, or just basic squad leaders. It's a hopeful number. Only three deaths. Because you only usually have the three team members.
If you're lucky, you have more than three. Some shinobi collect them like trophies to prove they've managed to protect their comrades, some throw them away, and others hand them out to their less fortunate comrades who've used up all of theirs.
Minato has nine scrolls. For each year of having a genin squad, he received his three. He has nine scrolls. He kept his kids alive for three, almost four years.
"Namikaze-san?" She prompts again, and Kakashi's going close to feral. He shoves forward, but Minato tugs him back. He gives her a look , and she finally understood.
"Oh." She says easily, like Minato's entire world hasn't fallen apart. Like they weren't discussing his own personal failure, just a friendly discussion about the weather. "I'll make note of it."
The basket is halfway full. Minato counts as many scrolls as they pass, stopping at thirteen. There are thirteen scrolls, which are collected from dawn when the shifts change, and it's nearly noon. There have been thirteen deaths since dawn. Or at last, thirteen fallen shinobi have been brought back since dawn, and it would've been fourteen if Minato had managed to bring back Obito. Not that it would matter much, because he doesn't have a family to return the body to, but it takes his breath away to think of it.
Obito's alone in foreign lands, left behind by his genin squad's sensei like a few spare shuriken that can be abandoned and replaced later. Not even worth going back to collect, because there had been a mission to finish, and Kakashi needed antibiotics stronger than what Minato had on him, and Rin was bordering on chakra exhaustion.
Because he was repetitively failing as a leader, he had to leave Obito behind.
(Obito shouldn't have been dead to begin with, but Minato failed as a leader.)
Kakashi's voice comes out, cracked and furious. Like thunder before lightning. "She needs to learn to shut up ." He says, turning back to look at the gates, but Minato walks behind him. Blocks his view.
"She didn't know." He says, but it feels more like an excuse for himself than for her. He should've been clear to begin with. Minato makes note of that for another time, if this ever happened again. (It wouldn't, right?)
Rin murmurs something, but he doesn't know what she says. Her lip movements are too slow and too miniscule for him to read what she's saying. Her head is low, her hair in her face, and she's got her fists clenched at her sides. Minato reminds himself to tell her mother about the treatments they offer at the Hospital, a small psychiatric clinic. Therapy, actually. It wasn't very high-budget, much too new and unused. Shinobi avoided it like the plague, but civilians talked highly of it. Rin's civilian mother would appreciate it, and if Minato convinced her , she would convince Rin. It would be good for her, Minato thinks faintly, forcing his legs to keep going.
He avoids the crowds of people in the marketplace, going left towards the hospital. It's a slow pace. Kakashi's exhausted, Rin's exhausted, and Minato's weighed down by a thousand guilts ready to consume him the moment he was alone with his thoughts again.
"We have to give the Hokage report."
Rin gives him a sideways glance. There are bruises beneath her eyes, " Kakashi ." Her voice isn't affectionate anymore, she doesn't say his name with reverance or awe. If anything, she's too distanced from the situation. "Enough, please. Go to the hospital. I can't promise Obi-- that eye will last without a more experienced medic checking over my work. And medicine. You need medicine."
The fight actually drains out of his youngest student. Maybe because Rin almost said his name, or maybe because she's damn near begging. But Minato chokes too, because she's the voice of reason. It was supposed to be him , but Rin is taking charge right now. And Kakashi's reluctantly listening, which is more than he's ever done for Minato.
And if Obito was here, it would be a screaming match. If Kakashi refused, Obito would fight to drag him to that damn hospital tooth and nail, if only because Rin said it was necessary. Most of the medical advice Obito followed was anything Rin said, and if she insisted it was important, it had to happen.
(Kushina used to say that if Rin told Obito it was medically necessary to jump off a bridge, he'd do a backflip on the way down.)
But he's not here now. Minato can't swallow the lump in his throat, can't do anything except lead them through backroads and alleys, away from people. Away from fellow shinobi or old classmates that would ask far too many questions, or one misspoken word about where's Obito , and it would destroy the quiet they have going on. It would make this far too real, make them all face emotions and thoughts and reality that needs to just leave them all alone for right now.
They can handle it later. Pain is for later, they've had enough for right now.
Has it always been so sunny in Konoha? It's so bright and hot, and Minato has to keep his face down to avoid it. He's sweating beneath his vest, and he wonders why he's never noticed how hot it was in Konoha before. He's sweaty and overheated and shaking. Or maybe that's because he has to leave his students again, that everything seems so much harder.
He comes to a stop in front of the hospital. Finally lets go of his smallest student, the youngest, and it hurts to have to let him go. It hurts. The last time he left these kids alone--
Well, Minato can't stop the shivers going down his spine or the phantom taste of acid on his tongue. He ruffles Kakashi's hair, but doesn't acknowledge the bandages on his face covering an eye that Minato still can't bear to look at, not that the boy would willingly show him either way.
"Go in there and get checked out, and if they want you to stay overnight, you stay overnight . I know you and your tricks, Kakashi." Minato tells him, crouching down to meet his eyeline. Any other time, Kakashi would rail at him for being condescending about his height. He doesn't meet his eyes today. "I'll hunt you down and drag you right back, kicking and screaming."
"Yes, Sensei." He murmurs, far too agreeable.
Rin finally looks up, her eyes glossy but serious. She's past her shock, slipping easily into the skilled medical ninja that she was trained to be, no matter how young she was. "I'll handle it, Sensei." She assures him, offering a weak smile. "I'll tie him down if I have to."
(She says-- used to say the same thing when Obito got antsy and bored during his hospital stays.)
Minato fusses over her hair, flattens it down fondly, "You stay too, Rin. I don't want you doing anything but getting checked over. Maybe chakra restoration treatments too. Promise me."
"I will."
He puts a hand against her face. Round and soft. So young . Did she always have baby fat on her cheeks, or did he never bother to look past the purple markings? He turns to Kakashi, ruffling his hair again. He was short, so thin and little, and young. They were so young.
"I'll be back at soon as I can, okay? Ask to share a room. I'll be back, and I'll bring you something to eat. Not that disgusting hospital food. Real food. I'm going to deal with the Hokage, and then you two are going to eat real food, not rations, okay?" Minato rambles, because that's the first thing he can think to do. Food was comforting, wasn't it? Compared to bland, far too nutritious ration bars, it had to be good.
Food was easy. He knew what Kakashi liked. He knew what Rin liked. There were dozens of restaurants and carts to stop at between here and the Hokage's tower, so after the meeting he could pick something up. They deserved it, after everything. To be taken care of, to have a decent meal. Minato could get them a decent meal.
(Even if he couldn't bring their friend home.)
He gives them one last smile. (As big as he can manage, as honest and loving as he can manage with his heart twisting in his chest.)
And then he's gone.
___
Sandaime doesn't let him finish the thought before he completely dismisses him, "No." He says through the smoke. The smell of tobacco made Minato's stomach churn worse than has been for the past few days, even before…
Before what happened.
Minato straightens up, back going rigid. He forces himself to remain calm, to keep a steady head. With a little too much force, he sets down his signed reports that he wrote before he arrived back home, when Rin and Kakashi were resting, that detailed everything Minato already said.
"I didn't say anything."
Sandaime watches him, his expression neutral. He'd been sympathetic throughout Minato's story, but it seemed to have disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "I can already tell what's going on in your mind." He said softly, not old enough to sound sagely or wise, just enough to make Minato want to strangle him. "And I sympathize with you, Minato, truly. That boy was one of the rare ones, kind and loyal, but I can't allow you to go back."
"We can't just leave him there." Minato protests, already furious at himself and his village's leader. "He was one of us , a shinobi of this village! He died for it, for...for us . I had to leave him, to protect my other two students, but I swore I would go back. I have to bring him home !"
The Hokage leans back in his seat, letting the pipe dangle from in between his lips. Smoke blew out with every breath, and it did little to alleviate the jittery feeling inside of Minato. How could he be so calm? Didn't he realize what Minato just said ? He left his student behind. He abandoned him, to rot in a foreign country, buried deep beneath stone. (It was insulting, to leave him there, to let Iwa get that small victory, to leave him crushed beneath stone like they'd somehow won.)
"Have you calmed?" The Hokage asks slowly, gently cradling his pipe, hitting it against an ashtray on the desk.
" I am calm ." Minato says through grit teeth. "I am calm. I am rational. I'm telling you I have to go get him back. I shouldn't have left him."
"And what will that achieve?"
" What ?"
"Going to retrieve his body. What will that achieve? There's nothing more to be done, the boy's dead. I'm remorseful about that, I did like him. He was a bright boy, and there aren't many like him left in times of war, but he's dead. Uchiha Obito had passed away, Minato."
( Like Minato doesn't already know that ?)
"He has."
"And bringing back his body isn't a priority." Sandaime says apologetically, still clinging to the fake pleasantries and gentle explanations, as if he were a child. Or too in shock to make rational decisions or comprehend. "We're at war, Minato. Your village has use for you and your team elsewhere, to different borders than Kusagakure. We don't have the manpower to waste on a body retrieval mission, not during war times. Bodies are not priorities during war, that was a law created by the Nidaime himself."
"We have Nidaime's body, though. He's buried somewhere secret with the Shodai. Everyone knows that, that somebody went back for him. Even the creator of that law got his body brought home . Because he was one of us, because he belonged here instead rotting away in the woods!" Minato's never had a temper, not really. He remembers his old teammates used to stay that when he grew angry, he was like a growing storm. All grey clouds at first, some wind and rain, and then a full blown hurricane.
He doesn't feel like a storm today. He feels like one of those volcanos that Kushina told him stories about, ready for eruption.
Sandaime frowns, eyebrows pressing together. He's keeping his cool, which doesn't help the burning anger that's eating away at Minato.
"The Nidaime's body held secrets, both to his clan and to our village. His body was essential, but I can't afford to send you back to get the boy's. He has no immediate family that wishes to bury him, no secrets that must be kept, nothing that would make him classified as essential. I understand your grief, but please be reasonable." The older man hasn't lost his comforting tone, but there's an edge to it now. Almost like he has a headache coming on and just wants the whole conversation to end quickly. Minato refuses to let that happen. Not until he gets what he wants. He can't let something so important drop.
He wants Obito back.
"He has us. We want him back. We're his family. You don't spend four years with a person, and they don't become your family. And he's an Uchiha. Noble clans with Dōjutsu get their bodies returned home. That's also a law."
Sandaime shakes his head, finally ( finally ) setting down his pipe. He interlocks his fingers, far too disinterested in the situation. Less pitying.
"We're all family in Konoha." He says, like a broken record of things that Minato's heard a dozen times. "I understand what you're feeling, I do. But the boy's Sharingan has already been brought back by Kakashi, and the other must have been crushed by the cave in. It's safe to announce him as retrieved to his clan."
No. No. Obito was so much more than his Sharingan, so much more than the eye he gave to Kakashi. He was a sunny, kind, determined boy. He wasn't as talented as Kakashi, sure, but he was skilled all on his own. He was hardworking and genuinely kind, and what he lacked in talent, he made up for in his huge personality.
"It is not the same." Minato tells him, holding back a scream that wants to rip out of his chest. "It is not the same as bringing him home. He deserves to be buried here ."
"Minato." Sandaime gives him a firm stare. "You're dismissed. Go check on the rest of your team."
"I'm not done discussing this--"
"Yes, you are. I'm denying your retrieval request. Those kids need you, and Konoha needs them. Help them mend their wounds, Minato. They'll be looking to you for guidance and comfort. And perhaps they might bring you the same healing." And then he looks down at his paperwork, finished with the entire conversation.
Minato storms out the door. He's nearly explosive, so close to losing it and screaming at the world that his student was gone . He was young, so young and so brave, and he died like a real hero. He made sure Kakashi got to come home, even if he didn't, and the least that Minato can do is bring Obito home too. It isn't fair. He should've been there.
He should've been there . He shouldn't have left Kakashi in charge, he was far too young. He shouldn't have left their sides, no matter their rank. They were children, and they got overwhelmed and they got hurt and one of them died.
It wasn't fair--though not much was in the shinobi life-- to have lost his student. It wasn't fair when that kid had an entire life ahead of him. Minato wanted to see him become Hokage. He wanted to give him that stupid hat himself, after Minato was ready to retire, he wanted to personally plant it on the Uchiha's head. He wanted to take him and Rin out for BBQ after they passed their jonin exams, and he wanted to have pictures of them all in their vests. Minato had been more than willing to wrestle and guilt Kakashi into wearing his for the picture.
But now it wouldn't happen.
Minato controls his breathing, forcing himself to calm down and stop his hands from shaking at his side. He slips into neutrality, goes to the first vendor he can find because he promised his students a meal.
And that he can provide. At the very least, he can do that .
(And if he accidentally gets four portions instead of three, that's his business.)
___
Kushina doesn't cry when she's told. In fact, she keeps her head and smooths out the hair that falls across Rin's face, offering them all a soft smile. It isn't what he expects.
He waits for the tears, the rage, the anguish, for Kushina to fall apart worse than Minato did because she always favored him. He couldn't do that, favor a certain student because that was bias, but she could because she didn't teach him directly. And Kami strike him down if Obito hadn't been Kushina's favorite of his three students, the easiest for her to get along with and so similar to her that it was like they were made for each other. But she doesn't scream or rage or cry.
She just doesn't.
Kushina smiles her way through the grief.
"It was a bad situation." She says softly, although her eyes are wet. "But he died a hero…?" Her softened eyes are on Kakashi, who shrinks in on himself. Chin on his knees, turning away from her.
He nods jerkily.
Kushina smooths back his hair too, pressing the sweaty, unclean hair down again and again. Petting it without slowing down. There's a basket next to the bedside table, fruits. A knife to carve the apples and pears. Rin had a few strawberries on her lap, red, and she took a bite of one when Minato looked at her. Eating hadn't been easy for them, but they were working through it, at least for Minato's sake.
There's candies in the basket. Cherry flavored lollipops. Obito loved candies. Minato fights back a painful laugh bubbling in his chest. His wayward student had even choked on one during the chūnin exam. The chūnin exam.
(She must have went out and bought things for the basket before she arrived at the hospital, before she realized there was somebody missing.)
Kushina's eyes turn to him, lips pressed together. She knows him far too well, and he knows her well too. She's picking him apart, layer by layer, until he's a raw mess of emotions and regrets. He doesn't know when she'd arrived, because Minato had fallen asleep in the waiting room chair when he'd went to try and find some tea to keep himself awake, and his eyes are still heavy with sleep.
(He couldn't bring himself to leave the hospital. The last time he left them alone, one of them didn't come back. He won't be making the same mistake twice.)
"Minato." She says gently. "Why don't you go home? I'll stay here, make sure nobody tries to escape." Her head tilts towards Kakashi, a playful smile on her lips and a joking glint in her eyes. "You look half dea--" Her voice dies off, and Rin coughs loudly to circumvent the inevitable tension. She rises up, brushes off her hospital gown, and drifts past them.
"Go, Minato-sensei." Rin encourages, far too involved with him when she should be worried about herself. "Please. We'll be fine." And then she's gone, off towards the door. She slides it to the side, muttering excuse me and use the restroom. Minato stumbles towards the open door blindly, his legs not taking him where he needs to go, and Kushina grabs his arm.
She kisses him, her palm softly against his cheek. "Go sleep." Kushina said firmly, leaving no room for argument. "I'll stay here for tonight. They won't be alone. Rin's mother should be here soon, so we'll have two sets of eyes on them. You look like shit, y'know."
"I--"
"Go home , sensei." Kakashi mutters, chin tucked against his chest, arms crossed. He still didn't meet Minato's eyes, and all the teacher could see was the bandages across his face. Bandages that wouldn't be there if Minato had stayed with his team, if he'd helped them first before moving on to the frontlines, if he'd ignored orders, maybe if he acknowledged that leaving kids alone wasn't a good idea.
Minato nods jerkily, stumbling towards the door. "I'll be back." He promised, not sure who was promising it to. "I'll…"
Kushina closes the door behind him.
___
Rin meets him in the hallway, leaning her back against the wall out of the range of the visitor's window. Her arms dangle useless at her sides, and she slides slowly down the wall until she's fully seated on the ground.
The spike of panic in his chest is both new and familiar.
"Rin." Minato crouches down beside her. "Rin, are you okay? Do you need a nurse--" His eyes dart up, searching, hand outstretched to wave somebody (anybody) down to help.
What she says next isn't a question. "You aren't going home, are you."
He feels caught, exposed, and far too paranoid. Minato fights his equalibrium, balances out his emotions, and offers her his usual grin.
"Of course I am. Kushina's going to be staying with you all for the night. And your mother--"
"That's not what I asked, Minato-sensei." Rin murmurs, tilting her head to the side, letting her brown hair fall across pale cheeks. "You've always been a really bad liar. Obito...used to say that when you smiled too wide, it meant you were lying. You aren't going home. You're going to go right back to that chair in the waiting room, and tear yourself to pieces to make sure we're okay." Her eyes are sharp, far too thoughtful for a girl so young, and Minato has to remind himself that she is a trained medical professional.
She's been taught to read and analyze people and situations since her childhood when she trailed after her surgeon mother in the Emergency Room. To rationalize and compartmentilize and to push aside emotions for later. Minato stays crouched beside her, running a hand through his greasy hair, nodding his head. That was right. It was exactly what he was going to do, if he were honest with himself.
"Are you okay?" Rin continues on, smashing and clawing through whatever self respect and emotional indifference that Minato had left. "You don't seem alright, which is fine. I'm not-- I miss him, too, Sensei, but you don't have to--" Her lips twist and curl, like she's grasping at the words. "You should actually go home, sensei. You need to sleep and shower. You smell."
Rin has never been this blunt before. Minato isn't sure if he appreciates the self-confidence, or if he's ashamed he's let this world harden her into this.
"I know." He murmurs. "I just want to…"
She sighs, shaking her head. "There's a room on the third floor. 22B, it's an on-call room for medics. Nobody uses it because it doesn't have air conditioning or heat, but I like to use it when I need time alone. After something really hard happens during my shift." Rin fiddles with her wrists, seeking out bracelets that aren't on her right now to tug on. "You can use it, if you want, sensei. Shower and sleep and still be here."
Since you can't bring yourself to leave , those words are left unspoken, but her eyes are so sad and tired and painfully understanding. Minato has to bite back a scream because he's supposed to be the one comforting her . Making her feel better, taking care of her. But he's been doing a real crap job of that lately, hasn't he?
"Okay." He says numbly. "Thank you, Rin. Come on, let's get you back before Kushina sends a search party."
Minato ruffles her hair, helps her stand up. He grasps her shoulders tightly, bringing her in for a tight embrace, and that's when she shatters apart right there in his arms.
Her sobs bubble out and she shakes. His shirt wettens, but he doesn't mind. Minato holds her tighter and tighter, trying to find something to say, but how does he comfort her? What does he say?
(He's in the Purelands, he can't hurt anymore? We'll go after Iwagakure, avenge him? It'll all be okay? Even Minato can't bring himself to believe in that?)
"It isn't…" She hiccups, fists clenched at her sides. Her chin struck out defiantly, digging into his ribs, and he hums softly. "Fair. He was trying to-- to save me! And then Kakashi!"
Minato rubs circles into her back, "And he did. He did. He saved you and he saved Kakashi. He was a hero." He tells her, honest. Because he was a hero, the greatest one. Obito managed to get both of his teammates home in one piece, even if that had meant he couldn't come back.
Minato would be grateful to his student for the rest of his life.
"He was my best friend." Rin sobs, falling apart. But that's alright. That's fine, she can do that. Minato will hold her together for as long as she needs him to. He keeps his breathing steady, keeps his grip on her tight, letting her get it all out.
"I've got you." He murmurs, again and again. "It wasn't fair, I know that."
"He was my best friend." She repeats, heartbroken. "My best friend."
Minato was going to figure out a way to go back for Obito anyway, but this was more than enough to renew his motivation.
___
(He is far too grateful when Nohara Atsu stumbles upon them in the hallway, clutching onto each other like a lifeline.
She's older than him, and he feels stupidly young when Atsu sighs knowingly. Her chocolate brown gaze could have destroyed him in his place, with all that pity and overwhelming relief. Because Nohara Atsu must be relieved that her daughter returned home alive.
"Oh, Rin." She says calmly, keeping her face neutral. "Minato-san, do you mind…?"
He relinquished his hold on her daughter, letting the woman comfort the girl, leaving Rin in the arms of someone who deserves to get to comfort her.
"Thank you." He says quietly, flickering away.)
___
Minato goes home, despite himself.
He showers. He shaves the light stumble that graces his usually smooth cheeks. He changes into fresh clothes, just loose trousers and one of Kushina's orange t-shirts. He waters his favorite succulents, paying careful attention to his October Daphne, who was lovingly named Little Guy. Little Guy is growing very well. Even does the dishes for Kushina, that way she doesn't have to worry about it.
Everything is done mechanically. Methodically.
He's a shinobi. He can put aside his emotions, just as well as anyone else.
He goes back to the hospital. He checks on his students once more, and then passes out on the scratchy pillows and firm mattress of the unused on-call room.
And thank Kami, he doesn't dream.
___
The young man at the front desk blinks at him, "Oh, Namikaze-san! Welcome! What can I do for you?" He shuffles some papers into a file, shoving it into a desk drawer. Minato offers a polite smile, nodding at the two younger chūnin that take their own paperwork and scurry out of his way.
"I need a meeting request form?" He tilts his head to the side, straining his memory to figure out which one he needed specifically. Missions reports, battlefield statistics, and long term rationing instructions were second nature to him. Easy. He could write dozens of them in a matter of minutes. That type of paperwork was easier than eating a whole bowl of ramen with his wife.
But the bureaucracy of formal hearings relating to public officials, clan heads, and seperate militarized units was a mess he just couldn't wrangle.
It was paperwork on paperwork on more paperwork and a couple thoughts of suicide. But it was a necessary evil in this case.
"A standard meeting request, or an emergency direct form that goes through seperate channels?" The secretary asked.
Minato laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. For someone of his reputation, he must look like an idiot.
Good, he felt like one too.
"I'm not sure? I mean, I need to set up a meeting as soon as possible. It's urgent."
The young secretary nods his head, yanking open a couple of drawers snatching up sheet after sheet after sheet, "This is all the basics for any type of meeting. For the more specific paperwork, I need to know who you're petitioning for audience exactly , if that's alright, Namikaze-san?"
All of those papers, just for the BASICS? If Minato wasn't so determined, he might've just given up and threw a brick through the man's window instead. But this was a delicate situation that needed to be handled with more dignity and respect than Minato was ever taught to use by his mother.
"Is it a clan leader? Or the head of an organization?" The young man interrogates.
Minato holds his hands out for the papers, "Both? Which ever way will get me a meeting the faster. It's going to be an audience with Uchiha Fugaku."