Grief and a child genius

Third person pov

Jiraiya can't stop sweating, his dark eyes scanning the letter he'd just received for what seemed like the millionth time. The falcon that had brought it here sat perched at the windowsill, preening its feathers without a care in the world. The creature is unaware of the bomb it just dropped. It doesn't seem to mind waiting for Jiraiya to come up with a reply, ever patient and dutiful. The white-haired sannin isn't sure he can muster up the strength to write, let alone the thought.

The news is impossible. He wants to say its a sick prank, even though his gut shrieks and tells him it isn't. The Hokage's official stamp, laced with Hiruzen's chakra, is a stark piece of evidence alluding to this letter's authenticity. It's such a stuttering realization that he can't stop his hands from curling into fists. The fine parchment crumbles under tense fingers, but Jiraiya doesn't care. He can hardly breath, air stolen from his lungs. The man closes his eyes and gathers himself through his grief.

Minato had been like a son to him. They'd been so close, Jiraiya bestowing every ounce of wisdom he could find on the blonde boy, doing his best to feed his incessant need for knowledge. He watched the orphan grow into something strong and steady, ever the genius and all too willing to serve. He'd lost his life to the village, putting everyone else first just as he always had. It was noble and Jiraiya was proud, but that didn't take the pain of the loss away. Jiraiya hadn't been there when it happened. He hadn't been there after, either. He's a coward and he knows it.

There is a new kage. A reinstated one, Hiruzen's soft brushstrokes claim. Minato Namikaze appeared in the village completely unscathed and unaged, just as he'd been before the Kyuubi's devastating attack. No one is sure how it happened-- some sort of seal, perhaps? They don't know, and Jiraiya can't even begin to fathom. All they know for sure is that it's him and he's returned. They confirmed it thoroughly, Inoichi's document tacked to the notice with an in-depth report of Minato's initial interview when they first brought him in. Jiraiya's breath is stolen.

He can hardly wrap his head around the idea of Minato being back with how hard his death hit. He'd been too much of a coward to go back to the village after his death. Excuses flooded through, weeks turned into months, and soon it was just... too easy to bounce from place to place. He sent intel here and there, but returning had always felt out of the question. There was too much to face-- grief, a world without his student, Kushina, Naruto. God, Naruto. Jiraiya can't imagine Minato is very happy about that, but...

Hiruzen had sent him sketches of the boy and sparse reports about how he was doing, none of them sounding all that great if he's being honest. They were few and far between and its been at least two years since he got one, but he's seen and read enough to know the boy is a spitting image of his father. Sunshine blonde hair depicted in scratchy sketches and pools of unmistakable blue. Just looking at him would be painful, even if the letters riddle him with guilt for nothing being. Talking to him and knowing how he's failed him-- as a godfather, someone who was supposed to be there for him-- would be too much. It's pathetic, and he hates himself for it, but it's true. If this is real, Minato isn't going to be anything but mad.

But now... if... if Minato is back, he has to know. He has to go see for himself, no matter his apprehension. He blinks back his tears and tries not to hope. A part of him almost prefers this turn out to be a trap. That in and of itself seems easier to deal with in comparison to... to this. He takes a deep breath, shaking his head and shoving the letter into his pocket harshly. Jiraiya steadies himself and tries to convince himself he's more okay than he actually is. The falcon trills in question. Jiraiya's heart sets in steel.

It's time to go home.

Kakashi feels quite contented when Naruto bounces from the academy doors with all the other kids pouring out around him, face bright and Pakkun still cradled in his arms. It's a bold contrast to the sobbing last time he exited the building, and the Copy Cat nin is all too happy to observe the change. He shows Naruto as such, beaming with his usual closed eye smile and receiving the boisterous blonde with open arms. He wonders vaguely what Obito and Rin would think if they could see him now. Bakashi Hatake, good with kids. It's unbelievable.

"I-I didn't get in trouble at all!" Naruto exclaimed in a rush, grinning so wide it looks like it hurts. Kakashi shifts his grip on the kid, spinning on his heel so he can march Naruto off to see his anxious father, who's been worrying the day away despite how busy he's been. Kakashi glances down at the pug Naruto's holding, feeling quite satisfied when the creature nods back to him in confirmation. Good news all around, and no reason to dig a hole for Iruka's body. Yet.

"I'm glad to hear it, Naruto! Did you learn anything new today?" Kakashi asked in a chirpy tone, feeling light and happy. He knows he should probably be mildly offended on some level. He's basically a glorified babysitter now, but he can't say he'd have it any other way when he really puts thought into it. He's deeply satisfied, all too willing to protect and be with Naruto as much as humanely possible to make up for lost time. He's not sure he'll ever forgive the council-- Hiruzen-- for keeping Naruto from him so strongly. He's not sure Minato will either. He regrets not defying orders more and doing it anyway. The meager gifts he left the blonde weren't enough.

"Believe it! We learned a ton about pho-to-synthesis." Naruto was practically vibrating in his excitement, blue eyes wide and shining with every ounce of joy a child his age deserves to have. Kakashi huffed a little, smile widening under his mask. He ignores the glances they get as he starts down the street. "And, and, I got a good grade on my test! Pakkun didn't help me-- he just read the questions to me so I didn't get the numbers mixed up! It helps when he says it out loud!" His statement is a little contradicting when he puts it like that but Kakashi gets it.

Naruto beams sunnily. How can Kakashi not rain praises down on him? It would be considered a crime not to at this point.

Minato isn't in his office today. On the contrary, he seems to have jumpstarted some sort of project in the center of the village. He'd summarized it was 'revitalizing the area', but Kakashi knew better than that. He was getting it fixed up to move the Uchiha back. It was a good idea, but it was going to take some minor manipulation when it came to the elders. Kakashi was sure most of the clan heads would side with their blonde kage, but the rest of the council could be... relatively tricky. That was putting it nicely, too.

It's a funny trick. Minato had phrased it very cleverly, claiming that the land technically fell under his jurisdiction since he was Hokage. He didn't really mention the Uchiha when he told Kakashi about it, instead claiming he wanted to quote on quote "return the village to how it used to be before to restore faith and mend bonds." Not a lie; he quite literally wanted to make this part of the village how it was prior to the tragedy. Emphasis on literally. That meant moving the Uchiha back. Not that the elders needed to know that yet. Minato probably didn't want them to have time to sabotage. He'd dump it on them last second, just like he used to.

"Dad!" Naruto shrilled happily, wiggling out of Kakashi's arms when he spotted the man a ways away, his Hokage coat and bright hair serving as a beacon. Kakashi let him go, watching as the man cheerfully turned away from Fugaku. The pleasant surprise in his eyes made Kakashi feel warm. Pakkun shifted, giving a small snort of his own, seeming deeply satisfied by the scene playing out before him.

"Naruto!" Minato laughed, hugging his son tight. Fugaku gave a small smile, eyes shifting back towards the remnants of the old Uchiha compound. Him being here was a bit of a risk, but Minato had assured him he'd simply claim Fugaku was here as consultation as someone who was familiar with the land. He was great at half-truths like that. Minato planted a wet kiss on his son's cheek. "Good day at school?"

"Ew!" Naruto shrieked, wiping at the spot with a grin that betrayed his joy. He wiggling a little, too excited to keep still. "Believe it! Iruka-sensei was super nice today!"

Minato nodded happily, a flowery sort of aura surrounding him. Fugaku eyed him suspiciously before deciding he really didn't want to know. Minato seemed... scarier than he recalled, but the stress over the years had been rather intense, so what did he know? His memory could be shot for all he knew. He was just... he was relieved. He'd called the Uchiha elders to a meeting this evening, feeling secure enough to share the news after today. Minato had jumped so quickly into action-- too readily for him to possibly be lying. He kept Fugaku feeling informed and heard. It meant so much more than Fugaku could ever convey, and he wondered briefly how he could ever hope to repay such kindness.

It's nostalgic and sad to see this land again, but he feels emboldened knowing he's going to be moving back in with his clan. This was the compound Sasuke was born in, that Itachi spent his youngest years in, that Fugaku and Mikoto grew up in. It means a great deal, holding more history than anyone could begin to imagine. The chance to return is something Fugaku is grasping onto like a lifeline. A solution to so many of their problems. An olive branch extended, the chance to reestablish a mutual trust. Fugaku can almost see it now. Thinking too hard about it makes him misty-eyed, which is a true testament to how big a deal this is considering how often he cries. Which is never.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Minato chirped. Naruto's gaze drifted towards the construction going on, curiosity sparking when he spotted rotted furniture and wood being removed, rooves being worked on, and overgrown brush being fought back with clippers and broad blades. Minato's hiked Naruto further up onto his hip, gazing out at the work being swiftly done. Their progress has been great so far. "They're revitalizing the area. It was destroyed after the nine tails attack, but I've decided it's about time to fix it up! What do you think?"

Fugaku eyed them a bit wearily. He'd never really had anything against Naruto, and he certainly doesn't now. He hadn't interacted with the child at all in the past. Sasuke mentioned him on rare occasions, briefly noting how loud and 'idiotic' he was. The clan head felt a bit apprehensive to listen to such claims. It was shameful to have his opinion switch just due to return of Naruto's father, but he couldn't deny that was the case. He was only glad the Uchiha clan had never gone out of their way to harm the boy. Otherwise, Minato-san might not be so forgiving. He shivered at the thought of being on his bad side, silently vowing to bring up the matter of Naruto up during the meeting as well.

Naruto's little mind whirred, his eyes bouncing from the crest on Fugaku's chest to the fading one on one of the outer walls of the rotting homes within the middle district. He recognized the man as his rude classmate's dad, Fu... something. He was the head of the Uchiha clan, which had used to live here before the village got wrecked by the demon fox that had sorta killed his dad and had definitely killed his mom. But sorta not his dad since he came back? Still sucked either way, but Naruto was glad he was back! Not the point right now.

The Uchiha were the police. He knew this based on how many times they'd busted him for vandalization and petty theft (vegetables are expensive, okay?!), as well as some accounts of trespassing that he really shouldn't have been blamed for. They were pretty chill overall, not any meaner than anyone else was to him. He appreciated the sentiment, but he had always wondered a little why they'd been moved so far away. If they were the police, weren't they supposed to be able to get to everyone really, really fast? Naruto had noticed how long it took for them to show up when he got into trouble. He'd had ample time to get away more than once.

Now that they lived way over to the left, it took them a lot longer to get to the right side where Naruto had lived previously. The area was pretty bad as a result. Naruto had definitely witnessed his fair share of muggings and other crimes. He wondered... if this place was fixed, would the Uchiha be able to come back? Was he allowed to ask? Things would be balanced out! The police taking a long time to arrive had been great for him back when he lived there, but now that he's out of it he's taken the time to think and really recall some of the awful stuff he saw. It doesn't seem good that people are getting hurt.

"I think it's a good idea." Naruto nodded fervently in response to the question, caution present clear as day in his expression. His eyes shifted to Fugaku, eyeing him up and down speculatively. Minato watched his son with a patient smile, cocking his head when those blue eyes so much like his own turned to him. Minato glanced off to the side as Kakashi came up next to him, Pakkun in tow. Naruto gnawed at the inside of his cheek. He was painfully hesitant, but Minato was painfully patient, so it worked. "Do... Do you have plans for the houses?"

"I think your dad had some ideas, but he's definitely open to suggestions." Kakashi drawled. Naruto's eyes darted to Fugaku, who was giving him a critical look. Minato beamed at the clan-head threateningly when he spotted the expression. Fugaku couldn't deny the shiver that shot down his spine. He looked away, clearing his throat a bit.

"Really?" Naruto checked.

"Really! I'd love to hear what you think." Minato encouraged dotingly. Kakashi rolled his eyes a little, sharing a look with Pakkun. The pug didn't seem to see anything wrong with the Fourth's affection. They were all too far gone. Kakashi was too, don't get him wrong. He was just self-aware was all.

"W-Well! I think uh... the Uchiha are the police, right?" His cheeks flushed. Fugaku's head snapped back in their direction out of surprise alone, and Minato nodded, grin widening. He shifted giddily from foot to foot, trying to keep calm. His son was so smart! "Wouldn't it be better for... for them to come back to the middle? So they can get to everyone? Because it takes them a really long time to get places sometimes, believe it! S...So there's some people who need help really fast, but they can't get it. And the bad guys know it takes them a long time to get there, or they're too far to notice, so they do more bad things because they know they can get away with it. But it wouldn't be like that if they were in the middle!"

Naruto tried to finish off his statement with some amount of confidence. He trusted his dad, but he still couldn't deny he was a little nervous about messing up and disappointing him. So far his dad had showed unwavering support no matter what, praising him for all the things nobody ever noticed before. Naruto apparently had a lot more positive qualities than he even realized! There was still a present fear that the demon thing would turn up-- that his dad would hear someone call him a monster and learn the truth-- but it wasn't nearly as present as it had been before. His dad isn't that type of guy, right? He'd talked to Iruka-sensei for him and had believed him about his test!

"Huh." Pakkun piped up after a moment. "Kid's a genius."

Minato squealed and squeezed him, and Fugaku had a very surprised look on his face, but not displeased one. It was quite the opposite, actually. He wondered if he could convince Sasuke to change his views since he quite clearly wasn't as on the nose about the boy's intelligence as he thought. Kakashi chuckled a little. Naruto beamed at the positive response, supposing he must've done something right. And to him, that was all that really mattered right now.