Back to the Beginning (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 29

"Why won't he talk to me?" Minato was sitting on his couch trying to figure out why Naruto was avoiding him. "Rin and Obito both said they saw him, and he even got them food. Kakashi said that he sensed Naruto near him, but never actually saw him. But every time I try to go and see him, he either disappears or just full-on ignores me."

"You're talking to yourself ya know." Kushina walked into the room. "What are you thinking about now?"

Minato looked up at Kushina as he spoke. "Have you seen Naruto at all? Or talked to him?"

Kushina was silent as she thought over the last couple of weeks since Naruto had left the hospital. "I haven't talked to him. But Mikoto has ya know. She says Itachi has been playing and training with Naruto a lot."

"Training?" Minato was shocked that such a young boy would want to train.

"Yeah, apparently he is really gifted. He picks things up really fast and is really good ya know."

"That's great. Have you heard anything else about him?"

Kushina looked at Minato with a slightly confused expression. "Why don't you just talk to him? He is on your team ya know."

"I've tried to talk to him, but ever since he left the hospital he has deliberately been avoiding me. He even trains early in the morning and skips team training." Minato dropped his head into his hands. "I have tried everything I can think of and nothing has worked."

"Well he spends a lot of time at the orphanage ya know."

"What?"

Kushina shrugged at Minato's question. "He goes to the orphanage all the time. He even brings shoes, clothes, food and even toys for the kids to play with ya know."

"How did you find that out?" Minato was looking at Kushina in awe.

"I hear kids talking about it all through the village. They love Naruto ya know." Kushina gave a huge smile to Minato. "He's become the substitute big brother for all of them."

"That's great." Minato smiled softly as he thought of Naruto helping the kids in the village, but his smile dropped once more. "I still don't know how to get him to talk to me though."

"Minato." Kushina spoke caringly to Minato. "Give him some time. I heard the last mission was hard on him. He'll talk to you when he's ready. Just wait until he comes to you ya know."

"Thanks Kushina. You are the smartest person I know." Minato stood up and gave Kushina a kiss on the cheek, giving her a grateful smile. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You'd still be the best ninja in the village ya know." Kushina gave Minato a hug before walking to the door. "Now don't worry too much. I'm sure things will work themselves out soon." Kushina waved goodbye before walking out of the house.

Minato smiled to himself as he went and sat back down again. Thank you Kushina. Minato decided to start making new training regimens for his team to pass the time. He hadn't been working for very long when he heard a quiet knock on the door. I wonder who that is. Minato opened the door and was speechless by what he saw.

"Um, hey." Naruto was standing awkwardly on the doorstep as Minato stared at him.

"Naruto?" Minato was dumbstruck.

Naruto was scratching his cheek as he spoke. "Um, I was going to stop by earlier, but I wanted to wait until you were alone ya know."

"What can I do for you, Naruto?" Minato had to make sure to keep his voice normal so he didn't show how excited he was.