Reborn in the Mist

"Minato, you've been staring at the back of my head for an hour now, what's wrong?" Minato blinked from the trance of thought. It was late at night, the village had gone to sleep and left only the crickets and his ANBU detail as night owls. He was in bed with his gorgeous tomato-haired wife, his hands spooned around her to ease the burden of her heavily pregnant belly.

He took a breath and shuffled closer to Kushina, her warmth soothed him, if only for a moment, "I don't know…since meeting with the Mizukage uh, no, I shouldn't bother you with this."

She pinched his arm, hard, "Don't be silly! I asked now spit it out, what did that horrible Mizukage do this time!"

Minato grimaced but laughed heartily all the same. His cherry came to a swift end though as he hummed into her neck, "I haven't told anyone this but…I think there's a traitor among the Uchiha." Kushina didn't say a word but he felt her pulse quicken, "I went to meet him two days ago with Genma-kun helping out. When I appeared I didn't expect to witness a battleground or to be challenged by a shinobi capable of Wood Release."

As Kushina's breathing became terse she turned around to look her husband in the eye, "What happened?"

Minato shook his head, "The Mizukage and his entourage were attacked by a…an Uchiha claiming to be Madara."

"The Madara?"

He nodded, "Mizukage wasn't convinced either but I suppose he had more time to understand the opponent. Half the countryside was torn up and another half taken over by Wood Release trees, the strangest I've seen. Surely nothing like what Hashirama created himself." Kushina pressed up against him enough for Minato to chuckle when a kick came through her belly, "Oof, felt that one. He's going to be strong."

Kushina didn't let herself get distracted. She caressed his cheek and asked, "What did you do? Did you fight him?"

Minato shook his head, "No, he vanished with what I understand was the Mizukage's assistant before I could do more than heal Genma and another, it was shoddy work though, nothing like you can."

Kushina's eyes narrowed, "This person hurt Genma-kun?" She shook her head before he could get through his response, "You're feeling they're a threat, aren't you? That you need to stop them?"

Minato's breath hitched, his eyes wandered for a moment, at their home, through the window behind Kushina and the village he protected as Hokage beyond. The lights flickered, though not as brightly, not against the blue twilight. There was life somewhere, active, breathing, hardworking, fun-having denizens of his village. 

His eyes met hers again as he thought back on what the Masked Uchiha had said, what he had promised. "I'll protect us." Minato said, resolute in making a promise of his own.

Kushina smiled brilliantly, "I know you will, you are." She planted a kiss on his lips and tossed the duvet aside as she got out of bed. She shoved the curtains wide open and let the windows loose for a bounty of fresh air to fill the room, "In the meantime, since we're both up anyway, want to help me make your breakfast?"

Minato only then realised it was nearly dawn, an hour away at most and he'd have to be back at the office. Even now. But he stopped thinking about that the instant she mentioned breakfast. "I'm hungry just thinking about it, think he is too?" He sat at her side of the bed and she brought his son to him to poke and soothe. Kushina said nothing, satisfied enough to watch him rub her belly but Minato had decided, he grinned up at her and said, "Let's make some ramen."

***

"Forgive me, Yondaime-sama." Dog crouched at his kitchen window, the sun had come up and people had begun to get around with their day. Minato shushed the young ANBU he was assigned to watch his budding family and quickly stole a glance through the corridor. Seeing that Kushina was still in the bathroom he nodded. "One of the ROOT has returned."

A sharp inhale and Minato demanded, "No Jiraiya?"

"No sign of Lord Jiraiya yet but the ROOT-nin is waiting for you at the Academy, sir."

"A single ROOT-nin?"

"Yes sir."

Minato folded his arms and scratched his chin as he hummed, "Won't report to anyone else then."

"Not even Sandaime-sama…Sparrow and Hawk tried to divert, for your sake." Said the spiky, white-haired ANBU from between the bushes.

Minato's stern face softened instantly hearing that, bashful he shook his head at Dog, "You didn't need to do that, Lord Third deserves his rest as much as I, but I am grateful." he stifled the urge to reach out and pat his head, he couldn't do that with ANBU and even less with this one. Then he blinked, "Were you listening, tonight? Before we started cooking?"

Dog's silence permeated the kitchen space, drowning out the soft boiling of eggs and even Kushina in the bathroom. Minato looked on expectantly, imagining the hesitance of words on the ANBU-nin behind the mask but there was another mask behind that, wasn't there? Dog made a sound that could have been a yes, no or some deflection but couldn't be clear over Kushina's re-entry.

"Ah! It's barely even seven! Let me have him, shoo! Shoo!" Swaddled in her bath towel she charged at Dog with a slipper, her wet locks of crimson flaring behind her as she shoo'd yet another ANBU-nin from their window sill as one would a tweeting bird.

Minato caught her arms and spun her around long enough for Dog to earn some distance. Minato hummed like he did after having a third plate of her ramen, "You smell amazing."

She blushed, "Don't I? It's that new shampoo from Waves, I didn't even look at the scent but Mikoto and the girls are all using it now so they gave me one." she gasped all of sudden and halted her spin, "You're not skipping today's check-up are you? We're only three weeks away now, Doctor Ozaka said it could even be this week. Mikoto gave birth a whole month earlier."

Minato didn't want to but he grimaced. "I'll be fast."

Kushina wasn't impressed, "That's what you always say when you know you're going to be late." she sighed, dejected even as she pat his cheek with her slipper. "Just skip, I'd rather not wait on you."

Minato could only sigh as well, a deep, depressing sigh. He couldn't give any assurances, not after the first sign of life from both Danzo and Jiraiya had surfaced. It was meagre considering what he'd uncovered with the Mizukage; that Masked Uchiha was a bullet point on his schedule of talks with his aged predecessor. Ideally, he wanted to have the conversation once Jiraiya and Danzo's reports came in and crossed out any correlation but there was no point holding back now, it disturbed his sleep enough to warrant a discussion about Konoha's blackening sheep.

"I'm so-"

"Don't apologise," Kushina silenced him without a look. She worked the eggs, peeling them as the final piece to the bento box she insisted he take to work every day she could make them, "Just…I understand, I'll take one of the girls with me."

She presented the bento to him in a bag with the other boxes and he pulled his haori off the back of a chair, tossing it over his shoulder. Up on her tippy toes she blessed him with a kiss and a loving pat on the head, "Have a great day, Minato-kun, I'll let you know if anything happens, anything new that is. Haha."

He shook his head and stole another kiss, "No, if anything." The two loving fools grinned widely at themselves before Minato moulded chakra within, calling to the seal he frequented the most, "I'll see you soon, have a great day."

In a blink of an eye Minato was no longer in his kitchen. The perfume of his wife was gone, stolen by space along with the atmosphere of his home, stoically replaced by the standard that was his office, the Hokage's office. He set his lunch aside, wore his haori and fell behind the large smooth wood desk that always seemed to smell freshly cut.

"Dog," he called to the void.

And from the void the diligent ANBU-nin appeared, "Hokage-sama."

"Let the ROOT-nin in, I'll hear what Danzo has to report…if it isn't the worst case scenario, is it?"

"Mission failure? No, sir, I don't believe so." Dog said, standing to walk out the door and call in the shinobi in question.

"Good. Once you're done, head back to Kushina, I can't be with her right now as much as I wish to." Dog merely gave a curt and sure nod like it was what he was going to do anyway. Minato didn't bother broaching the unanswered question from the kitchen, whatever his answer was didn't matter as much as the feelings behind it. And he understood those feelings enough to say instead, "Kakashi, when…whenever there's free time, maybe next week or…something, let's talk about the Mizukage."

Dog squeezed the knob but hadn't moved. In the silence and serenity of his office he heard the young man gulp before turning around to give a deep bow, "Thank you, Hoka..Sensei."