Six Years Too Long

Chapter 18

Third person pov

Jiraiya's eyes were puffy and red-rimmed from crying, but he was notably sober. Minato found this to be highly suspicious and unexpected. He'd been dead six years but he doubted Jiraiya had abandoned his love for a good drink in that time, especially not at a time like this. If this was a desperate attempt to try and 'be better' or something, he was about six years too late.

Minato's office felt stuffy, the air a little too humid and a little too strained. Minato's face ached from how tight it was, like it wasn't used to grimacing this hard. He resisted the urge to drum his fingers on the surface of his desk as he inspected the sannin, swallowing the scathing retorts he wanted to scream at him. This was someone he'd seen as a father. This was someone who had left Naruto here alone to suffer. This was someone who hadn't checked in on him even once. 

"You showed." Minato let his disappointment over the fact bleed through, even if he knew he almost certainly needed Jiraiya's help for this. That didn't mean he had to like it. Why were things so complicated? He just wanted to go be a dad. Never mind all the casual terrorism and demons getting improperly sealed into poor, unassuming sand babies. If you were going to put a chakra beast in a kid, at least do it right. "How... wonderful."

"Well, don't sound too excited now." Jiraiya aimed for a smile, but his voice came out weak and the curl of his lips didn't even come close to reaching his eyes. Minato resisted the petty urge to dramatically scoff and instead sunk petulantly back into his chair, staring at the framed photo of Naruto on his desk for strength. "Kakashi said you, uh... th-that you needed my help with something important. With Suna?"

Minato swallowed his sigh and wished, not for the first time, that Suna had waited like, at least another month to come talk to him. He didn't have time for this. No, really. Leaving the village right now was a god awful idea. Things were too fragile and vulnerable, and the Uchiha clan had been teetering on the edge of staging a coup when Minato first got here. If they didn't resolve the issues they had fast, they may still take that leap. Naruto also needed stability and routine, and Minato prancing off into the rolling desert hills wasn't going to provide that.

"They're having an issue with their tailed beast. Though I was given few details, I believe they attempted to seal it into the Kazekage's youngest a few years back and failed horribly. If they're asking us for help, it's pretty obvious they've got absolutely no idea what the hell they're doing. It's not free as far as I know, but it might be if the seal isn't fixed." Minato grimaced, ignoring the watery way Jiraiya was staring at him. Like he was a ghost-- a gift he couldn't wrap his mind around. It made Minato feel cold all over. "As their allies, we're obligated to give them aid. Especially concerning something as dangerous as this. If the one tails were to break free, it could effect us too."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding, sniffling in a way that made Minato want to flip his desk so hard it flew and barreled his former sensei over. What right did he even have to be upset? He was the one who chose to leave the village and not return. He was the one who abandoned Naruto! If anyone should be crying in this situation, it should be Minato. Maybe even Naruto, but Minato didn't intend on ever telling his son what Jiraiya had failed to be for him.

This was hard. It was hard, because Minato was angry, and he didn't want to talk to Jiraiya, and the only thing he really wanted was to curl up on the couch with Naruto at home. He wanted to listen to Kakashi humming in the kitchen, watch the ninken drape themselves across the living room like they owned the place. Listen to Naruto jabber in his ear, giving every detail of his day in the same, painstakingly explicit way Kushina always had. So in depth you might as well have been there yourself.

"They need seal masters." Jiraiya offered quietly, voice rife with understanding. There was a glint in his eyes. He knew this was an opening, and Minato hated that it was one. This was going to force them to interact. Were there not the possibility of a child being harmed, Minato would have barred Jiraiya from going anywhere near the sand village and simply handled it himself. Or maybe he'd have sent the sannin alone, since he was apparently so keen on avoiding Konoha. "You want us to go. To help."