#and I love that for our five-mile long last best hope for peace. she’s earned it <3 (and then some)

[therighthandofvengeance]

[diddlesanddoodles]

DUMPLING ch 53

Welcome Back everyone! 

Night fell upon the camp as they finished their meals. Keral and Farris hammered out a rough strategy, as the ranger was certain they would come upon the main estate sometime the following day.

“My hope is we run into the damn house by mid-day,” he said, twirling a stick between his fingers. “We’ll get our message sent out to Warren and might borrow some of the men there fer an escort back to the castle or wait fer one to be sent up here to collect us. What I want to avoid is missing the estate all together, because just a few miles passed here we’d start to hit the top of the moors. And if ye think trudging through the woods is unpleasant, you’ve never had to hike through the moors during winter.”

“How long would it take for a message to get to the castle?” Nenani asked.

“Dependin’ on what variety of birds he keeps, could be as little as three hours,” Keral explained. “But if all goes as I hope it does and we get a message sent tomorrow afternoon, then Warren should be readin’ it by late tomorrow night.”

“I just hope he manages to keep his temper and not send out the army after us,” Jae said. His shoulders were hunched up, and he stared down at the dirt, not quite looking into the fire.

“Aye,” Keral agreed, grim-faced. “Probably the one bad trait he got from his father. Doesn’t happen often, but if he gets right and proper mad, Warren could put old grumpy britches here to shame.”

Keral jerked his head towards Farris and earned a swift punch to the shoulder. He winced, rubbing the offended area.

“Eh? Ye see that?”

“Like I said before,” Farris replied, his expression teasing even as he held up his fist in warning. “Still have a few of these in reserve fer Mum.”

“I’m gonna have to send her a letter and clear all this nonsense up.”

“Ye should. One of these is fer only writing to her three times a bloody year.”

“I have a very demandin’ job. Sometimes it don’t allow fer letter writing.”

“Ye have time to distill that whiskey of yers but not to write to yer own Mum. Ye at least send her a bottle?”

“I’ll have ye know I use that time to write performance reviews. I ain’t just sittin’ on my arse and pickin’ my toes. And ‘a course I send her some!”

“Wonderful. Then ye should have no trouble adding in a letter fer her then too.”

Keral glared at his brother. “Just what are ye wantin’ me to tell her? ‘Hello Mum. Arrested a few fellas yesterday fer trafficking and murder. Issued seventeen court summons to folks who’ve been caught planting traps on their land and some on other folks’ land too. But good news is that it ain’t as bad as it used to be. Still haven’t caught the bastard we think is supplying the traffickers with funds and means to be moving all these poor little sods across county lines, but who knows. Tomorrow’s another day. Love yer darlin’ baby boy.��� Somethin’ like that, eh? Nice and cheerful news fer our ol’ Mum to be reading. All the things her son gets up to.”

Farris stared but did not say anything. He studied the face he had known best since birth, and below the thick beard and jokes and grins he recognized the frustration and pain in Keral’s words. He reached out and Keral leaned away as though expecting another punch, but Farris merely placed his hand upon his brother’s shoulder and squeezed.

“I ain’t downplayin’ yer work, Keral. That’d be the last thing I’d ever say to ye. You of all folks...I’d never tell ye yer work wasn’t important,” he said. “I get why ye wouldn’t want to tell her all that. Gods above, ye know I do. But it might do both her and you a bit of good to just send a letter fer the pure sake of it. Come up fer a breath of air.”

Keral took a moment to regard his brother seriously before saying, “If I promise to write to her when we get back, will ye stop punchin’ me?”

Farris grinned and gave a half-hearted shrug. “Sure, I will. Soon as ye write that damned letter.”

……………………………….

Nenani pushed aside her blankets to adjust her belt, and the motion caught Keral’s eyes.

“Little attached to that dagger if yours, eh?” Keral asked, the side of his mouth twitching up into a smirk. Nenani met his eye then turned away, feeling called out.

“Just seems like it’s a better idea to have it around then not,” she replied.

Keral laughed, but Farris was nodding emphatically. “Not a bad idea to my mind.”

“S’why didn’t ye give that old goat of a mage a good stab fer nabbin’ ye?” Keral asked, his eyes still shining with mirth.

Nenani shrugged. “Didn’t really get a chance to. And those bubbles are tough.”

“She tried to stab it and it didn’t work,” Jae threw in. He, Haiyer, and Nenani were all bunched together near the base of a tree. Haiyer, having eaten both his potato and piece of bread, was staring off into space with distinctly droopy eyes.

Nenani leaned forward to frown at Jae. “Yes it did.”

“No, it didn’t,” he answered back. “Remember? You tried to stab it, it didn’t work, and then you did that weird magic thing and made the blade glow.”

Nenani’s expression lit up with recognition. “Oh yeah! I did do that.”

Jae grinned sardonically at her. “Yeah, and then you fell on me.”

The excitement in her expression died instantly and she wilted with embarrassment. “Oh yeah...”

Her shame was felt all the more acutely when both Farris and Keral fell into a raucous bout of laughter.  It wasn’t too long after that Keral announced he would take the first watch, and they settled in for the night. Farris, not being very picky about his sleeping arrangements, propped himself against a tree truck, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes. The three humans adjusted their blankets before laying down. It seemed as though it only took a few moments before Haiyer was sound asleep beside her, but for Nenani sleep seemed illusive.

Staring up at the underside of the canopy, she watched the shadows shiver and dance with the movement of the campfire. Though they had had a pleasant dinner and evening, she still never let go of the notion that something, or someone, was watching them. She could just make out Keral’s outline from his position just outside the clearing and beyond the reach of the fire’s light. His blue coat allowed him to blend in very well with the dark.

“Ye should try and sleep, lil’un,” Farris told her in a whisper, and, craning her neck, she saw his eyes were still closed. “Yer fidgetin’ again.”

“Sorry,” she whispered back and tried to settle into her blanket. There came a sigh and then the rustling of leaves that drew her eyes back to Farris. She saw that he was leaning forward with his hands reaching out for her, and a feeling of yearning pulled at her. 

“Come on,” he said with a thin smile. “Up ye get.”

As carefully as she could, Nenani got to her feet, still clutching a corner of her blanket, and Farris scooped her up. Leaning back against the tree, he settled her on his chest and laid a hand over her. Though the nagging feeling was still there, she felt far more at peace, and as she laid her head on his chest, Nenani felt the first tugs of sleep.

………………………………..

They set out the following morning, just as the first splashes of color could be made out through gaps in the trees, a little more refreshed and eager to get back to the castle. Keral led them through a weaving path that, to Nenani’s eye, seemed aimless and arbitrary. It was as though Keral was a hound, trying to get a good sniff of his query while following an invisible trail that only he could make out.

They found the first body only two hours after starting off.

At the bottom of a large tree, nearly invisible within the twisting roots, was a face of a young man. Dark of hair, pale faced, and – curiously enough – there was a notch taken from the top edge of his left ear. Almost as though it had been bitten off by a small creature. Haiyer had been the one to spot the body when, seemingly out of the blue, he told Keral, “There’s a sleeping man over there.”

Keral extracted the small prince from his pocket and surrendered him to Farris. Turning his head, he said to Jae in a quiet voice, “Best get down too, lad. Not sure what we just happened across, but ye may not want to see.”

Looking nearly as pale as the body in the roots, Jae climbed up over the ranger’s shoulder so that Keral could pluck him up and set him back down on his own feet. Jae turned to go stand closer to Farris as Keral moved forward towards the body.

When he was close enough to study it properly, Keral only found more questions. The body was fully encased in the roots as though they had grown around and under it, only the man’s head peeking out. But the time that would have taken to occur naturally would have seen the flesh and muscle of the corpse succumb to rot and decay, to say nothing of the scavengers that would have made an easy meal of it.

“Whatever this is, it's not natural,” Keral said, keeping his gaze affixed to the dead human. “This stinks of magic interference.”

“Ye think whatever did this poses any kind ‘a threat?” Farris asked.

“Hard to say for sure, but I’d rather not find out,” Keral answered as he rose back to his feet. “Best we move on before whatever is responsible for this comes around.”

Less than ten minutes later, they stumbled upon two more laying together at the base of a tree. There were not nearly as many roots as the first, and the pair looked to be a mother and child. The woman was middle aged, but thin and sickly-looking, with hollowed cheeks and sunken eyes. She looked far more corpse-like than the first or the smaller one to which she clung. Round-faced with thick curls of dark hair was a small girl of perhaps five or six. She looked as though she were merely sleeping in the woman’s arms.

“Why are they sleeping like that?” Haiyer asked, trying to peek around Farris’s fingers to get a better look, but he turned his body and Haiyer made a sound of annoyance.

“They’re not sleeping,” Keral said as he crouched above the pair, staring down with a grim face and hard eyes. “Same as the last.”

“Just what have we come across?” Farris asked, his eyes bouncing around as though expecting the trees to answer him.

The trees said nothing. But someone else did.

“You should not be here,” said a voice from high above them. It came out like the viscous hiss of a disturbed cat. Their eyes moved up to scan the trees, looking for the source. “This is hallowed ground. Only the blessed may walk here. You’re filthy. And I smell fire on you.”

“Who are you?” Keral asked.

“Someone who wishes to see you leave,” the voice replied. Keral’s head swiveled to his right and he stared up at a particular tree. “You’ve disturbed the garden.”

Farris snorted, not having seen Keral’s line of sight, and continued to look about. “Garden? Looks more like a graveyard.”

“They are the same,” replied the voice. “Death is the road that returns us all to the green mother.”

“So you did all this?” Keral asked.

There was no answer.

Farris looked as though he wished to reply, but Keral silenced him with a hand and then said to the voice, “We’re just looking for a house. Big house. Belongs to a Vhasshalan lord by the name of Brennan. Think you might be so kind as to point us the right direction and we’ll see ourselves out?”

The voice did not answer right away and the silence was heavy,

“Follow the smell of blood,” it suggested at last. “You can’t miss it.”

Keral’s expression hardened and his lips drew thin. “My nose ain’t as good as it used to be. How about a heading?”

A pause.

“You’re too far east. Two fingers past the sun at noon and walk straight. The white moss grows on the north side.”

“Thank you,” said the ranger with a bow of his head.

“A warning. If you are still here come nightfall, the others will not be as kind, and they might decide to add you to the garden. And also, do not let the little one eat anymore of the ironwood sap.”

“What?” he asked, looking back at Haiyer. “Why not?”

“It will weaken his magic.”

“The little one doesn’t have any magic.”

There was a long silence and then a rustle of branches. Keral’s head swiveled up to his left and then he saw him:  human, dressed in grayish green and brown clothes that helped him all but melt into the tree bark behind him. He was young and thin limbed, but with large brown eyes. Across his forehead was a smudge of ash. He met Keral’s gaze without fear.

“I forget sometimes how distant you giants have made yourselves from the earth. Strange you cannot feel his magic. I could the moment you all stepped inside my forest,” he said and then pointed to Nenani, his brow furrowing. “And the smell of fire on that one there is so pungent I was convinced the woods had caught flame.”

“Thank you. I’ve got one more question,” Keral said, gesturing to the dead woman and child. “The notches in their ears. Your lot do that?”

The boy scowled. “They’ve been marked. For what purpose, I cannot tell you. But they all have them. Their spirits are weakened and often soiled when they come here. The roots purify them so they may find peace in the hereafter.”

“You call that purifying their souls? Looks like fancy fertilizer to me, boy,” Farris said with a sneer. “Disrespectful. Coverin’ them all in roots.”

The boy did not react to the accusation. “You are of the mountain. I do not expect a rock to understand the ways of a tree. The roots preserve their mortal shell. If you were to remove them, their bodies would crumble like dirt.”

“So you collect dead people in this garden of yours?”

The boy cocked his head and regarded Farris with a curious expression as though he had just decided something. 

“This is how we remember them. Honor them. Mourn them. You have your ways and we have our own. It does not change the meaning. Giving love to the loveless. Care where there was neglect. Peaceful forever sleep where before there were only endless nightmares.”

Farris’s frown deepened and he opened his mouth to reply, but the boy slipped behind the trunk of the tree and was gone. The giant stared and then snorted in disdain, rolling one shoulder. Still inside the pack, Nenani watched the spot where the boy had gone and knew he had left. The unsettling sensation of being watched left as though it had never been. What a strange person, she thought. She remembered what he had said.

That she smelled like fire.

“Who the hell was that?” Jae asked in a low voice, his eyes still watching the trees for any sign that the boy would return.

“Don’t know,” Farris said. His eyes fell back to the dead woman and child, entangled in the roots. “But he has strange notions I don’t much care for. I’ll be glad to leave.”

Keral walked up alongside his brother and nudged his elbow with his own. “Well, at least we managed to get a heading out of the lil’ fella.”

Farris did not move or speak and Keral’s grin faded.

“Farris?”

The kitchen master’s eyes snapped to attention and he turned to his brother. “Let’s go.”

Keral nodded. “Alright.”

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BONUS ART!

[fifteenleads]

A YOI x Chrono Trigger AU fic from Ye Olde 2018-ish Era. Go figure.

I can’t even remember what the hell I titled this before. Welp.

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Chapter One: “That’s a Nice Band-Aid, Darling.”

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They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and that a hero's adventure begins with a cliché-ass wake-up call - something like, "Good morning, Crono!," perhaps. How that even made it on to TV Tropes, Yuuri would never understand. But it is on TV Tropes, and he is in bed reading it.

He's glad his mother doesn't wake him up that way, at least. But then again, he's always up before five a.m. anyway. Sadly, the daily deliveries won't take care of themselves.

Yuuri glances at the time on his tablet. 4:59. Someone will come knocking in three, two, one --

"Yuuri! Get up!" Mari's voice is accompanied by three sharp raps on the door. "Go with dad to the plaza and help him set up!"

This is the part where the hero typically groans at being woken up before grudgingly getting themselves out of bed, but Yuuri Katsuki does not groan. He shouts back that he'll be down in a minute while looking for that darned sock that has gone missing now, of all times. Phichit would surely laugh hard at seeing his best friend hopping frantically on one foot while wearing a poodle-patterned sock. It'll probably go viral on Instagram, too, but that's pretty much a given already. Someone has to part the boy from his gadgets long-term after the Millenial Fair is over.

The minute is up, so Yuuri gives up and gets another sock from the drawer. It is patterned with the face of a silver-haired man surrounded by snowflakes. He has no idea how that found its way into his pile of clothing, but for now, mismatched socks are better than being late.

Yuuri makes his way downstairs and greets his mother, who is busy in the kitchen. Hiroko sends him off with an allowance of fifty kin and packed lunch for him and his father. He ignores Mari's snickering as she musses his hair while glancing at his feet.

The ride to the plaza is pretty short. It is already bustling with people even at such an early hour, all the sellers trying to outdo each other in showing off their wares. Yuuri chuckles as his father joins in the fray, calling out to everyone about the best katsudon in town. Everyone is excited for Hasetsu Kingdom's first Millenial Fair, and with it, the hopes for a thousand years more of peace and prosperity to come.

Toshiya leads the way to their assigned spot, a quaint little corner by the northern area of the square. The tent had already been set up the day before, so all that's left to do is to arrange the food and drinks before the first customers come in. Yuuri passively observes the hustle and bustle around them. Much energy is palpable in the air, and the excited hubbub only grows louder as the sun rises. Some stalls have weapons and armor, others exotic trinkets and accessories. He even spots a merchant selling animals. Phichit would probably want to pick up a new hamster on the way home later.

His eyes wander to the secluded area beyond the main square. Yuuri hoped Phichit's solo exhibit would be a success this time, too. His friend loved tinkering with machines since he was little, and it brought him and his family great fortune as he won scientific contests left and right. His magnum opus, a two-machine teleporter, had impressed the university professors and the panel of judges alike, earning him the highest thesis grade and the first prize for the National Physics Summit.

Yuuri's hand stills when his father calls his name. He had been adding portions of garnish to the newly-cut fried pork cutlets. He instinctively opens his mouth to apologize, but Toshiya immediately pats his back and pushes a one hundred-kin note into his hand. "I'll take care of the stall. You go have fun." He winks at his son mischievously, and Yuuri pushes down the growing blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"Th-Thanks, dad," he mumbles, bowing slightly before making his way to the northernmost part of the square. Phichit would probably be busy right now, but he would never refuse breakfast and morning coffee. It had been their time-honored tradition as college roommates, after all.

Yuuri stops by a mobile café and orders two tall hazelnut lattés and a baguette loaf. He is turning to leave with breakfast in hand when he bumps into the next person in line, spilling hot coffee over his white shirt. The other person, too, recoils in pain, reflexively putting a slender finger into his mouth to nurse it.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so, so sorry!" Yuuri exclaims, setting aside the food and drink and beginning to fuss over the man. He searches his bag for the small bottle of salve he always brings with him, and proceeds to apply a small amount over the man's injured finger, covering it with a band-aid afterwards.

The other man chuckles as he lets Yuuri take care of him. "It's quite all right," he assures airily, waving the bandaged hand with a smile. "I was also too close to you in line, as well." His blue eyes crinkle beautifully as he smiles, and Yuuri fights yet another blush from coloring his face. "I love this band-aid, though!" the man comments. "Where did you get it?"

"F-From the kids' section of the pharmacy," Yuuri admits, embarrassed. He just had to use that one by mistake instead of the flesh-tones ones, did he? Why now, of all times? "The poodle-patterned ones were part of a limited edition series."

"Nice!" the man exclaims in delight, scrutinizing the design closely. "Thank you so much for giving me this one. I love it!" He winks at Yuuri and places a light kiss over his own bandaged finger.

Yuuri wishes the ground would swallow him whole right this instant.

"U-Um, I think I'll get going now," he excuses himself, retrieving the coffee and bread from the counter. "My friend is waiting uphill. I'm so sorry again." Yuuri quickly nods his head and goes on his way, but the other man takes a long stride and ends up beside him, taking the baguette loaf out of his arms.

"It's okay, I'll help you," he offers happily as they ascend the stone steps. "I'm alone today, anyway." The man cradles the food with his left arm and extends his right hand out to Yuuri. "I'm Binktop, by the way. What's your name?"

For an instant, Yuuri is tempted to laugh out loud. The funny name hardly matches the man's regal appearance at all. He must be a foreigner, like the many others who have come to Hasetsu Kingom to join in the festivities. As a citizen of Hasetsu, therefore, he is to show this man the utmost respect and hospitality he deserves, funny names or not.

He shakes Binktop's hand, the cool skin sending small shivers down his spine. "I'm Yuuri. It's nice to meet you, Binktop."

"A pleasure." Binktop returns the handshake with a smile, and they continue going up the stairs. "So, Yuuri, are you also alone here today?"

"Our family actually has a food stall down at the main square, but my dad told me to enjoy myself today," Yuuri explains. "I'm on my way to see my friend, actually. He's an inventor."

Binktop's eyes widen and sparkle in delight, and he accidentally climbs two steps at once. "Wow! He must be really smart!"

"He is," Yuuri nods fondly in agreement. "Phichit has a solo exhibit today. This project won him first place at the National Physics Summit last month."

"That's amazing!" Binktop gushes in admiration, his silver bangs parting to reveal twinkling blue eyes. "I can't wait to meet him!" Yuuri smiles back proudly in response.

They reach the top of the stairs in a minute. The miniature square is cluttered with various machine parts and wires of different lengths and calibers. The two main pods have already been set in their positions, though not yet fully-assembled as Yuuri remembers them. It's definitely like Phichit to cram at the last minute.

The soft whirring noise dies down as the two approach the left pod, and a brown-skinned young man in a bandanna and overalls comes out to greet them. "Yuuri! You're here!"

Yuuri shrugs good-naturedly and hands Phichit the cup of coffee. "I'd love to hug you, but you're covered in oil and soot right now." He smiles widely at his best friend. "Good luck with your exhibit today!"

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You don't know how much I need it!" Phichit downs the coffee in an instant, breathing rapidly through his mouth afterwards to cool his tongue. "I heard the prince is coming with the royal delegation to watch my demonstration! I am so nervous!"

This time, Yuuri pats Phichit's shoulder encouragingly, not minding his hand blackening with soot afterwards. "You'll do well, Phichit! You've done this before; you can do it again."

"Good luck, Phichit!" Binktop adds, sending a friendly wink and a thumbs-up of his own. Phichit is surprised at the additional voice, and notices the other man for the first time. His nervous expression immediately changes to one of teasing, instantly directed at his friend. "Yuuri!" he whispers loudly. "Who's the hot guy?!"

"H-He's not - I mean -" Yuuri splutters, coughing into his hand to stop himself. He doesn't even bother hiding his obviously-reddened cheeks anymore; nothing ever escapes Phichit's notice, anyway. Tonight's phone call is going to be a long one.

When Yuuri has composed himself, he turns to Binktop. "Phichit, this is Binktop. I ran into him in the square today. Binktop, this is my friend, Phichit."

"Hi there!" Phichit merrily extends a hand to Binktop. "Phichit Chulanont, at your service!"

"Binktop," he introduces himself, shaking Phichit's hand. "Yuuri here has told me a lot about you."

"Hahaha, good things, I hope!" Phichit laughs, before shooting Yuuri an expectant glare. Yuuri grins back before taking another sip of coffee.

Phichit shows them around the workplace, pointing out the different parts of the invention and which part goes where. His black eyes shine brightly as he rambles in tech jargon while explaining the principle behind the teleporter. Binktop nods excitedly while asking questions, while Yuuri merely watches them interact. Despite his "nerdy glasses," as Phichit had christened them, he is not really into scientific stuff, having taken up a sports major in university.

"Sure thing! I was about to give this thing a test run, anyway." Phichit beckons Yuuri to come over. "Yuuri! Could you kindly step on the left pod? Binktop wants a demonstration."

Yuuri opens his mouth to protest, but knows better than to interrupt his friend when he is in scientist-mode. He may have also wanted to impress Binktop with his bravery, but he doesn't know it yet. Huffing, he finishes the rest of his coffee in one gulp and does as he is told.

Phichit flips the switch, and Yuuri almost loses his footing as he feels himself being sucked away into a vacuum space. Black, wavy lines fill his vision for a moment before everything around him returns to normal. He steps off the right pod and flashes the peace sign at Phichit and Binktop from across the square.

Binktop immediately makes a beeline for Yuuri and embraces him tightly, while Phichit pumps his fist in joy. "Wow, amazing!" he exclaims as he cups Yuuri's face. "You actually teleported!"

"That's how it's supposed to work," Yuuri answers matter-of-factly, but even he has an undeniably huge smile on his face. Phichit's exhibit is surely going to be a massive hit amongst the fair-goers.

"Can I give it a try, too?" Binktop asks Phichit excitedly, still not letting go of Yuuri. "It looks like so much fun!"

"Of course, Binktop!" Phichit laughs, gesturing at the left pod. "Anything for Yuuri's friend!"

Binktop lets out a whoop and disentangles himself from Yuuri. He lightly steps onto the left pod and runs a hand throuh his silver hair. "Watch me, Yuuri!" He sends a playful wink in Yuuri's direction before nodding at Phichit.

"All right, let's do this!" Phichit flips the switch again. Nothing happens at first, so he turns the machine off and on while observing the monitors. Worry begins to creep into his expression as he starts fiddling with the controls, but still, nothing happens.

A gasp from the left pod directs their attention to Binktop, whose pendant is glowing brightly from inside his shirt. It seems to be resonating with the core machine of the teleporter, from which ominous sparks begin to fly out. Phichit shouts at Binktop to get off the pod immediately, but Binktop hears it too late.

A large wormhole, unlike the one Yuuri had seen briefly while he teleported, opens up in the space behind Binktop and appears to be sucking him in. Trying his best to hold his ground, Binktop cries out for help as he extends his hand. In a panic, Yuuri runs up to the left pod and tries to grab him, but his whole body disappears in a flash of light, and the wormhole closes in an instant. Yuuri is left alone on the pod, Binktop's golden pendant in his hand.

Phichit is the first to regain his voice after a few minutes. "What the hell... This wasn't supposed to happen..." Yuuri turns to his friend, who is kneeling by the controllers in shock. Long tracks of tears have washed away the layers of soot on his face.

He runs down to embrace Phichit, who is now trembling in his friend's arms. "Yuuri, I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean for this to happen!"

Yuuri runs his hands over his friend's back, ignoring his own swimming vision and the violent hammering of his own heart in his chest. Now is not the time to deal with an impending anxiety attack - not when Phichit needs his help.

"Phichit. Look at me," he instructs calmly. "Breathe with me."

Together, they go through the motions, inhaling and exhaling deeply in unison. Most of the time, it was Phichit who did this for Yuuri when they were still in college together. It always helped calm Yuuri down after an attack, and Yuuri is more than glad to return the favor now. They cannot afford to be too calm, however - they still have to find out where the hell Binktop went.

Some day this is turning out to be. Yuuri swears never to get up before five a.m. ever again.

Phichit looks up at him and nods determinedly. Yuuri lets go of his friend as he begins to go over his notes. "Either the telepod malfunctioned, or something else did it," he thinks aloud to the clearing at large. "I'm suspecting your friend's pendant had an unusual reaction with the core interface, causing a ripple in the space-time fabric or something."

Yuuri gapes at Phichit incredulously. "You mean, like, time travel?!"

"I don't know yet." Phichit bites his lower lip in deep thought. "That wormhole could have led anywhere. It's too dangerous to try anything at this point."

"We have to bring Binktop back, Phichit! There's no time!"

"I know that!" Phichit snaps, rubbing a blackened hand on his temple at the sudden outburst. "It's not as easy as it seems. We have to find out how to open that wormhole, for starters. There must be something about that pendant."

Yuuri lifts the pendant in his hand against the daylight. It is a small, round, golden medallion with intricate rose patterns bordering its circumference, hanging from a simple chain. The pendant also seems to be pretty old but well-maintained. He briefly wonders where Binktop must have gotten such a valuable trinket and how much it must have cost, but pushes these thoughts out of his mind.

A tiny spark jumps out of the medallion, causing Yuuri to drop the pendant onto the left pod in surprise. Immediately, it causes another reaction, violent gusts of wind forming around them as the wormhole opens once more.

"Well," Phichit laughs brokenly, "that was easy enough!" With a hand shielding his face, he struggles to walk against the wind's direction and tries to pick up the pendant off the ground.

Yuuri has other ideas, however. He uses his stronger body to his advantage and overtakes Phichit in a second, picking up the pendant and wearing it around his neck.

"Yuuri! What are you doing?!" Phichit shouts in alarm. "Get off the pod now!"

To be honest, he has no idea what he is doing, either. His body is already protesting his sudden decision, his heart rate going up, his breathing more rapid, and his hands slippery with sweat. But above all, Yuuri feels that it's the right decision. It's more reckless than heroic, by all means, but nevertheless the right one, just the same.

"I'll bring Binktop back!" he shouts at his friend. "I'll get us back home, I promise!"

Again with the stupid promises, but Phichit seems to finally support his decision. He nods determinedly and hands Yuuri a long, steel wrench. "It's my favorite one! Bring it back safely, okay?"

"Thanks, Phichit! I will." Yuuri waves the wrench nervously as he steps into the closing wormhole.

"Be careful, Yuuri!" Phichit shouts after him. "I'll try to follow you as soon as I figure things out!"

A chuckle escapes Yuuri's lips. It's just like his friend to jump at the call. If anyone is more suited to be the hero of this story, it would definitely be Phichit, and Yuuri, as the dutiful friend, would support him all the way. Funny how things have turned out the other way around this time.

For now, he, Yuuri Katsuki, will be the hero of this story, and he swears on his life to bring Binktop back.

Yuuri raises a thumbs-up to the fading image of his friend, not caring if he doesn't see it. He lets the distortion fill his senses completely until the black nothingness consumes him and claims his consciousness.

[briefololtragedy]

Wooden Blocks Ch 3

Chapter: Baby Steps

Pairing: MinaSaku

Rating G

Summary: Minato and Sakura meet outside of the clinic without Naruto. Word count 5500

Posted on AO3

Her feet hit the pavement hard. She could feel her muscles contract allowing the blood in her to pump faster. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she could tell her face was beet red. The music in her ears drowned out some of the noises around her as she ran down the streets. This was her weekend morning ritual. Wake up, put on her running gear, and run to her heart’s content. It was one of the few times she was able to shut off her brain. Well she tried to shut off her brain. She thought back to coffee with Ino a few weeks ago. 

“Come on Forehead tell me how the art gallery was. Did you guys have fun afterwards?” Ino kept wiggling her eyebrows. 

“The art was different. We walked around and then we got dinner. He took me home and then left. “ Sakura sipped her coffee. Allowing the aroma to fill her senses. She just couldn’t see Kakashi as more than just a friend. She couldn’t handle the fact that he was late. She understood the first time, but this time he was almost an hour late and no proper excuse. Then when she was around him it always felt off. When the highlight of the evening is talking to a patient’s father that’s a sign. 

“Seriously! That’s all you're going to give me. I need more details.”

“There is not much in the way of details. He was late by almost an hour. Showed up with just an ``I'm sorry'' and then we went on our date.” Sakura made sure to do her best man voice impression with the ‘I’m sorry.’ 

“Seriously Sakura, you need to stop finding fault with every guy you date. Don’t just focus on one small flaw.” Sakura did not see how wanting a date to be on time was a bad thing. There interests didn’t seem to mesh well. 

“Plus he brought you food that day. Wasn’t that so romantic?” Sakura rolled her eyes. Yeah romantic if you get judged for being hungry and not being ashamed to eat. She did thank Kakashi profusely for the kind gesture. 

“Give it more than just a couple of dates.” Sakura huffed into her coffee. 

She was trying to look past a few hiccups in her time with Kakashi. They seemed to do well talking over text, but when it came to being in person together the click just didn’t happen. She asked him to lunch yesterday and it just keeps falling flat with him. Sakura also didn’t care for his favorite reading material, Jiraiya was a class A pervert. 

Sakura forced her legs to go faster. Her mind wasn’t supposed to be overthinking. Its only job was to help her function in her run. After running for a little while longer she looked at her watch. Five miles. She slowed to a stop. Her muscles twitched in rhythm with her music. She needed food and coffee. Sakura lived close to the downtown area and her runs usually had her circling  the heart of the city. She looked around and noticed she was in one of the more hipster areas. 

A smile found its way on her face when she saw the antiqued green door to a coffee shop. It had recently opened and she had been dying to try it out. Sakura had almost thought to ask Kakashi to come with her to the shop last week but he didn’t like coffee. He also didn’t like mornings, so meeting before she had to go to work was a no go. 

The small bell on the top corner of the door chimed as she entered. The shop was decently packed for 9am on a Saturday. She easily made her way through the store to the counter. ‘Hmm all of this looks so good. I want to order everything.’ One of the reasons Sakura ran so much was because she enjoyed eating. Most days she ate so healthy a fitness nut would say to take a step back. However, those days were to balance out when all she wanted was carbs, sugar, candy, and chocolate. Yes, Sakura at times ate like the elf her patients thought she was. 

“I’ll have a White Chocolate Mocha with a pump of raspberry sauce and an order of blueberry pancakes, please.” Sakura could feel her blood sugar start to spike with her order, but she didn’t care. She wanted her sugar and no one will stand in her way. Her usual black coffee just wouldn’t cut it today. 

After paying she took her number and looked for a seat. She scanned the coffee shop looking for an open seat. She hoped to get one by the windows because the thought of drinking her sugar and people watching really appealed to her. However, she paused when she saw a familiar mess of blonde hair. 

“Mr. Namikaze?”

_____________________________

Over the last few weeks Minato felt like he was going at turbo speed. They were finally going to submit the proposal for the bank tower and he really wanted to get it. His desire to beat everyone else is what brought him into work on a Saturday morning. Well Naruto waking up at 6am this morning and then not wanting to go back to sleep also played a role in the decision as well. 

Minato dressed Naruto in a simple outfit with a baby Yoda top and light jacket. It was such a beautiful morning that Minato strapped Naruto in a baby carrier and walked to his office downtown. The streets were peaceful as he strolled down the streets. He passed a few runners, saw some people on their stoops getting their morning paper. Mornings were one of his favorite times of the day. He always enjoyed the stillness that came with mornings. How things didn’t have to be rushed. Kushina could never understand his love for mornings. 

“Why can’t you just go back to sleep. There are more hours in the day that you could be awake. Be lazy with me.” 

Minato loved their lazy mornings, but he didn’t want to waste a day when there was so much work to be done. He soon found himself walking into the lobby of the building his office was in. 

“Morning Mr. Namikaze. You just can’t escape this place it seems.” The security officer gave him a warm greeting. Minato just smiled and held Naruto closer to him. 

“Is that Naruto?” The security officer, Jin, had come over to take a peak. He would never forget all the conversations he had with Jin when he found out he was going to be a father. Jin had 3 older children and provided a lot of advice. However, it was one of his lowest mornings that Jin was there for him. 

It had been a month since Naruto was born and Minato went into work on a Sunday morning. He just sat in his office. For the first time tears fell from his eyes. 

“I don’t know how I am going to do this.” He just wanted to wallow in his misery. Minato wanted to be alone, but Jin was checking the floors on his daily rounds. 

“Mr. Namikaze is everything alright?” Minato wanted to say that no nothing was alright. Everything was wrong. How the hell was he going to raise a child on his own. Kushina would be able to do it without batting an eye. Minato didn’t read all of the baby books. He didn’t look at preschools and daycares before Naruto came into the world. Minato could barely put a diaper on in the baby classes. 

Jin seemed to read his thoughts and he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry about Kushina. She was a wonderful woman.” Jin paused. Minato found the tears falling faster. 

“Mr. Namikaze I have 3 kids of my own. I know you can raise Naruto and give him a wonderful life. My late wife died 2 years after our last was born. I found myself the sole caretaker of 3 rambunctious and moody girls. There are a lot of twists and turns in the life of parenting. The pain of losing a spouse will lessen overtime, but you will see her whenever you look into the eyes of your boy. I still see my wife in everything my girls do.”

Minato knew what it was like to lose his parents. It crushed him that Naruto would never have his mother. 

“Do you ever feel like you were never enough?” 

“All the time. But let me tell you something. As long as you love him that is more than enough.” 

“Yes. Decided he should start earning money early for all the diapers we go through.” Jin gave him a deep laugh. They talked briefly and after 10 minutes, 8 of which Jin held Naruto and almost didn’t let him go, Minato ventured to his office. The moment he stepped in he realized one important fact. He forgot something for Naruto to sit in. ‘Crap’ Why didn’t he think further ahead! Minato looked around his office. He really wanted to work, but didn’t want to keep the heavy baby carrier on him. He strolled over to his desk trying not to panic. As he sat down in his chair he looked around. He then realized he had a suit jacket on the back of his door. He can lay the jacket out on the floor and Naruto could lay on that! Plus Naruto was holding his fox toy so that should provide enough entertainment for Minato to get some work done. 

Within a few short minutes Minato was going over the proposal for the millionth time. Apparently in the middle of working Naruto fell asleep. It wasn’t until a knock on his office door happened that Minato realized the time. It was now 830am and he had been working for the last hour. He looked up to see who was at work today.

“Rin? Obito? What are you two doing here?” The couple were dressed casually both in jeans and simple shirts. Minato laughed when he realized they were in matching shirts. He really wanted Obito to propose soon. The last time they talked he was planning on it in the next couple of months. 

“No Minato the important question is why are you at work on a Saturday morning?” Rin was taping her foot and hands on her hips. 

“This proposal…”

“The proposal is perfect and will be submitted first thing Monday morning.” It was Obito who cut him off. Minato wanted to protest. 

“Don’t even start Minato. You need a break, so here is what is going to happen. Obito and I will take Naruto for the morning. You will go enjoy some time to yourself. Heaven knows that you have not taken a break since Naruto was born.” Minato tried to butt in, but Rin kept going. 

“And we at least won’t get pizza sauce on Naruto.” Rin was now pulling him out of his chair. Obito had gathered Naruto from the floor, he somehow strapped the baby carrier to his chest already. Soon the foursome were in the elevator heading to the lobby. 

“Have a good weekend guys.” Jin happily waved as they walked through the lobby. 

“You too Jin and thanks for the text.” Obito waved enthusiastically. 

“What text?” Minato didn’t like what he was thinking. “Did you have Jin keep tabs on me?” 

Rin and Obito looked at each other and simultaneously answered. “We plead the 5th.” 

Minato tried to follow them, but Rin wasn’t having it. “Go find a coffee shop or something to sit in.” When did Rin become so bossy?

So Minato ended up slowly strolling down the streets of downtown. He realized that he was needing another caffeine hit and could use some food as well. His attention was caught by a new coffee shop with an eclectic feel. ‘This will do.’ Once he saw the menu the fate was sealed. He ordered a simple plan late and a lavender vanilla scone. He soon found his place in one of the booths by the windows. It didn’t take too long before he pulled out his iPad and started to read, Ready Player One. 

He tried to shut his worrying mind off. Soon Minato became engrossed in the novel; he didn’t see a certain pink haired doctor walk in, not until he heard her sing-song voice. 

“Mr. Namikaze.” Minato looked up and all the air left his lungs. Standing before him was Dr. Haruno in running shorts and a sleeveless racer back exercise top. 

“Dr. Haruno. How are you?” His heart was pounding so hard he thought it would pop out of his chest. 

“Sakura.” He just stared at her. 

“Excuse me.” Minato was confused. 

“Please call me Sakura. We are outside of work and I feel weird when people call me a doctor outside of work. And I am doing good Mr. Namikaze. How are you?” Minato felt like an idiot. She was saying to call her by her first name. He really wanted to hit his head on the table. 

“Minato. Please call me Minato then. I am doing well.” Sakura smiled at him. He then realized she was holding a number card and he also realized there were no seats available. Minato weighed the pros and cons of asking what he was about to. In the end he didn’t want Sakura to leave. 

“Please join me. There are no other open seats and it looks like you have ordered.” He could tell she was hesitant. The moment she sat across from him he felt the small victory. 

Sakura wasn’t sure what possessed her to sit down with Mr. Namikaze. Minato, she corrected in her head. Although as she thought about it, it was the logical choice. He had an empty seat and she needed to eat. He looked more relaxed so relaxed when he was reading she hated bothering him. As she looked around she realized someone was missing. 

“Where’s Naruto?” Sakura found herself a little disappointed the other familiar mop of blonde hair wasn’t present. There was something about Naruto’s smile that tugged at her heart. He was sure to be a heartbreaker. 

“Two of my friends took him for the morning. They wanted to give me a break.” Minato almost felt jealous of his own son. How many women would want to be in this position? As much as he was annoyed at not being the main focus it warmed him on the inside that Naruto’s pediatrician cared so much for him. 

“That’s so sweet of them. They won’t eat pizza while holding him I hope.” Her smirk caused his stomach to summersault. 

“No, they are much more responsible. I’m sure Rin wants it as practice for their future. Although Obito has to propose first.” Minato was surprised at the ease of carrying a conversation with her. Their conversation was interrupted when Sakura’s order arrived. He had never seen someone so happy to see food. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her kid in the candy store look on her face. 

The smell of her coffee and pancakes filled her nostrils. She could smell the warm blueberries from the pancakes and a hint of lemon. Her coffee was strong, but the white chocolate and raspberry cut through some of the bitter notes as she took her fist sip. She wasted no time drizzling the pancakes with the blueberry syrup. She had to slow her actions remembering the last time she scarfed down food in front of Kakashi. All of Sakura’s self control went to stopping herself from devouring everything. 

Minato could see the struggle in her eyes as she slowly ate her food. Looking at her attire she likely spent the morning working out and was likely to be starving. 

“You don’t have to hold back eating your food in front of me. What were you doing this morning?” Sakura was touched by his words. 

“I went for one of my runs, so I am very hungry.” She didn’t fully unleash all her enthusiasm onto her pancakes, but did pick up the pace. They were so flaky and melted in her mouth, worth every calorie. They sat in a comfortable silence as Sakura ate and Minato read. Sakura felt like the two names she heard were familiar, but didn’t know from where. 

Halfway through her food her stomach was happy enough to slow down. She then took in the appearance of the man she was sitting with. The first time she met him she realized how drop dead gorgeous he was, he still is. It’s no wonder why all the nurses swoon for him. 

Soon they were parting ways. Sakura could only make it through half of her coffee, but was able to get it in a to-go cup with some black coffee added to it. 

“Thank you for letting me sit with you Mr...Minato. Tell Naruto I said hi.” Just like that he watched Sakura walk away. 

Minato texted Rin to see where they were. His nerves were on end until she texted back. Relief rushed over him once she said they were back home. Rin had a spare set of keys to his home and wanted Naruto to be in a familiar environment. 

It was a quick walk back home. The moment Minato walked into his home he took out his phone to take a picture. Obito was sprawled out on the couch, Rin nestled into him, and Naurto played on Obito’s chest. Rin heard the snap of his phone and looked up. 

“Minato! You’re back. How was your break?” Rin easily navigated over Obito and Naruto to get up. Minato thought back to his time with Sakura. 

“It was just what I needed. Thank you for strong arming me into it.” Naruto startled to babble as he heard his father’s voice. Minato wasted no time in picking him up. Obito yawned and stretched. 

“We should better get going. I expect to be babysitting more often.” Rin gave Minato a quick hug and kicked Obito as they walked out the door. 

Minato sat down on his couch, Naruto on his knee. He bounced him up and down. After being in the coffee shop he realized how quiet his home was. 

“You will never guess who I ran into today.” Naruto just tilted his head to the side and smiled. 

“Dr. Haruno says hi.” 

__________________________

The energy in the office was chaotic. They had just submitted the proposal and knew time would move at a snail's pace until they heard. It could be today or in the next couple of weeks. Minato wanted to throw up. He couldn’t think about all the what ifs, so started to check on the progress of their other buildings. 

Currently they were working on a couple of restaurants for the Akimichi family, the Uhiha’s were wanting a revamped police station, and the Nara’s wanted a second building for their accounting firm. He also had that strange job from Nagato from a group called Akatsuki. Minato still didn’t know what the group did. All he got from Nagato was that the group represented a variety of different interests in a variety of areas.   

Lunch was eaten at his desk as he worked through the hour. He didn’t want to stop. If he stopped he would just worry about that stupid proposal for Sarutobi International Bank. Minato looked up and saw Kakashi and Obito fooling around. Those two were only a couple of years younger than him, but acted like toddlers. At least Rin had a decent head on her shoulders. 

He was pulled out his thoughts when his secretary called him. It was the Sarutobi group. They were calling already. They must have looked at the building proposal, laughed, and then threw it in the garbage. 

“This is Minato.” His hands started to sweat. 

“Minato, my boy. This is Hiruzen Sarutobi. I just wanted to tell you we got a lot of different architecture firms submitting some top notch building proposals.” Yep here came the rejection. 

“Your group’s proposal was such an easy standout we didn’t have to debate for long. This was one of the smoothest meetings we have had for our buildings. Typically we take at least a month to decide.” Minato’s jaw dropped. Did Hiruzen just say…

“Congratulations Minato. Your firm has been chosen to build our newest tower. My office will send over the details in the next couple of days.” 

“Tha…” He had to cough to clear his voice. “Thank you sir. I look forward to working with you.” Minato sat back as he hung up the phone. His mind was still processing what just happened. When he looked up he saw his staff looking at him. He got up slowly from his desk and walked out to talk to them. 

Kakashi and Obito stopped fooling around. Rin had gone back to her own job after visiting Obito for lunch. He took in the faces of his staff. 

“I’m sure you all would like to know what that call was about. As you probably heard, that was Hiruzen Sarutobi who just called. He wanted to inform us…” Minato paused wanting to build the dramatic effect. “He wanted to tell us we got the job! We will be building their newest bank tower.” Cheers soon erupted. Obito looked like he was about to have a heart attack. 

“We need to celebrate. What do you think boss, how about Friday?” Obito was bouncing up and down. Minato thought about the idea. His staff deserved to celebrate the news. 

“That sounds good. I’ll see if one of Choza’s restaurants could cater for us. Obito, I expect Rin to be there. Kakashi try not to be too late.” Minato went to walk away when he heard Obito speak. 

“Come on Kakashi you have to bring the woman you have been seeing. Rin and I are dying to meet her. “ Wait Kakashi was seeing someone! How did he not know about this? Minato turned around and Kakashi was sending texts to someone. As Minato walked around his staff letting them know about the party he soon heard Kakashi’s phone ring. Minato didn’t care to listen to the conversation, but wondered who this mystery woman could be. 

___________________________

Sakura walked into the office Monday morning more refreshed than she had been in months. She felt so energized that she went for a run this morning. Usually she waited till evening to run, but with the endorphins released this morning she needed to switch to morning. Seeing that her schedule was fully booked didn’t even bother her. Bring on all of the antibiotics seeking parents for their child’s viral infection and teenage girls with abdominal pain. 

It seemed like time flew because the next thing Sakura knew  she was seeing her last patient. As she walked back to her office she saw she had messages from Kakashi. His last message said to give him a call when she could. She wondered what he wanted to talk about. Sakura prepared herself for ‘the talk’ as she called him. 

“Hey Kakashi. It’s Sakura.” She was slightly surprised when she heard his voice having an excitement in it she never heard before. 

“Sakura thanks for getting back to me. I was wanting to know what your plans are for Friday night.” That was not the question she was expecting. 

“I don’t have any at the moment.” Before she could continue Kakashi cut in. 

“How would you feel about coming to a work party with me on Friday. The firm I work with just got this big job and the boss wants to celebrate. I was wanting to bring you with me.” Sakura’s heart warmed at him wanting her to come with him. 

“I would love to go with you. Let me know the time and if yo…”

“Great I will pick you up at 8.” Sakura could hear people celebrating in the background. 

“I’ll see you then.” Sakura sighed as she hung up the phone. Mei happened to be walking by as she sighed. 

“What’s with the heavy sigh?” Sakura looked at her coworker. She was drop dead gorgeous, long reddish brown hair and green eyes. Sakra couldn’t understand how she was still single. 

“Oh I’m just debating how late my date will be picking me up Friday night.” Sakura thought she would play it safe and plan for him to be 30 minutes late. 

“I would kill for a guy to be late, it would give me more time to get ready. I’m never ready in time. Do you want me to cover your call shift that night? I think it would be fair since you covered for me a month or so ago.” Sakura forgot she was supposed to be on call. She was thrilled that Mei offered to take the shift without being asked. 

“That would be amazing.” Now all Sakura had to do was figure out what to wear. Mei bid her a good night as they both headed out. 

___________________________

Sakura stared at herself in the mirror. It was currently 820 and Kakashi wasn’t here yet. She had just finished her hair and makeup. After talking with Ino she decided to do a side french braid in her hair and then gathered the rest into a ponytail. She kept her makeup in neutral tones, but used her shimmery eyeshadow palette, giving her a grey smokey eye. It was now time to put on her dress. 

She had gone with Ino yesterday after work to pick out something. Sakura wasn’t fully sure about the dress code for this event, so wanted something that could be dressy or more casual if needed. They had found a deep red off the shoulder fit n flare dress. She was going to pair it with her silver wedges. She wasn’t going to wear a necklace, but decided on drop earrings that were silver tear drops. Just as Sakura was putting on her heels her doorbell rang. 

“Ready to go?” Kakashi looked amazing in his simple black dress slacks and white dress shirt. At least her outfit went with his. Sakura didn’t even care to bring up the fact that he was late, again. 

“Yep, all ready.” 

Soon they were entering his office building and Sakura was blown away by the lobby. Arched ceilings with metal beams. There were skylights allowing for natural light to come in. They took the elevator up to the 15 floor. As they got closer Sakura could hear that the party was in full swing. 

“My friends are looking forward to meeting you.” Kakashi had looped his arm through hers. 

“I’m looking forward to meeting them as well.” Kakashi and Sakura entered the party. There were trays of food being walked around by some waiters. She could also see a buffet set up along the windows. Kakashi navigated her around the party. He was looking for two of his closest friends. 

“Kakashi! You showed up and only 45 minutes late.” A man with black hair and eyes was talking, the first thing she noticed were his kind eyes and smile. He was about as tall as Kakashi.

“Oh is this Sakura?” Kakashi untwined their arms and placed his hand on her back. 

“Yes, this is Sakura. Sakura this is Obito.” Sakura paused, that was the name Minato mentioned. It then clicked in her brain. The two who were watching Naruto were also Kakashi’s best friends. That’s why the names were so familiar. 

“Nice to meet you.” Obito’s grin was from ear to ear. Soon another person joined them. She had medium brown hair in a long bob and hazel eyes. The woman gave Obito a peck on the cheek. Sakura found Obito’s blush endearing. 

“You must be Rin. I’m Sakura. It’s nice to meet you.” Rin seemed shocked that Sakura knew her name, but was soon shaking her hand vigorously. 

“Oh it’s so good to meet you.” Soon the four were making the rounds at the party. Sakura enjoyed talking with Rin. They found out they had a lot in common with Rin working as a psychologist and Sakura a pediatrician. It was watching Obito and Rin interact that made Sakura realize she saw Kakashi more as a friend than anything else. 

“Hey Kakashi has the boss man meet Sakura yet?” The moment Kakashi shook his head no Obito was leading them to another area of the room. Sakura froze when she saw him. Kakashi’s boss was Naruto’s father. 

“Hey Minato. Kakashi showed up and he brought a date.” Minato looked over to the group. The moment Sakura entered the party Minato saw her. She looked breathtaking in her dress. That familiar feeling in his stomach returned. He could feel his heart beat faster. However, it was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on him when he saw she was with Kakashi. He tried to ignore the two as they walked around the party. Sakura attracted the attention of many of the staff and other attendants. One reason was that she came with Kakashi. The other was everyone was taken by her looks. It was not everyday a person with candy hair and dazzling emeralds for eyes came into the office. 

As those eyes focused on him everything else faded away. Sakura then opened her mouth. “Mr. Namikaze it's good to see you again.” Sakura was conflicted on how to address Minato. She thought the best course of action would be to take the professional approach. 

“Wait, do you two know each other.” It was Kakashi who actually decided to speak. He looked perplexed. 

“Dr. Haruno is Naruto’s pediatrician.” Rin looked giddy beside Obito. 

“Congratulations on the new job.” Sakura wasn’t sure what to do. She could feel all eyes on her and it was making her have a slight freak out. Soon Rin was telling stories of babysitting Naruto, which Sakura smiled at. They were then going to the buffet table and sat down to talk. Obito was part of the Uchiha family and decided to go into design over the police force. Sakura then got into a story of how she knew Shisui from childhood. Minato was friends with Fugaku and Mikoto, who had recently given birth to her second son. Itachi was an adorable eight year old who she had only seen a couple of times. 

Sakura found herself needing some fresh air, which meant she would have to go down to the lobby. 

“Kakashi I need some fresh air. I’m going to head downstairs for a little bit and I’ll be back up.” As she went to stand up Kakashi stopped her. 

“We have a balcony we use at times. Let me show it to you. That way we don’t have to go all the way downstairs.” They two excused themselves. The balcony had a stunning view of the city and the crisp air was like a welcoming hug after being in a room with so many people. Kakashi just stood beside her. 

“Kakashi, I have been thinking about what we are and…” She had to pause. Sakura wasn’t sure if this was the best time to bring it up, but she feared she would lose her nerve later. 

“I have enjoyed spending time with you, but I feel like we would work better as friends.” Sakura rushed the part after the but. She could feel herself internally wince, hating how cliche she just sounded. However, she was speaking the truth about being friends with him, especially after meeting Obito and Rin. He seemed to let out a sigh...of relief. 

“I have enjoyed spending time with you as well, but am glad I am not the only one who thinks we would work better as friends.” Sakura couldn’t contain herself as she hugged Kakashi. His chuckle sounded deep from his chest. She felt him place a soft kiss on the crown of her head. They went back to the party both feeling lighter. 

“By the way I have someone who I think you would really like. She is a coworker of mine.” 

____________________

Minato watched as they walked away. The feeling of jealousy was nothing like how he felt when Sakura just paid attention to Naruto. Minato could understand that. This however. This was something different. He didn’t know much about Sakura, but enjoyed being around her. Aside from Obito, Rin, Kakashi, and Naruto she was a welcome relief to the darkness that surrounded him so often recently. 

So Minato followed them, discreetly of course. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but saw their embrace. His heart felt heavy. Then he had to turn away when Kakashi kissed her head. Minato went back to the table to sit back down. He watched as Rin happily ate her dessert. 

“Do you think your friend would still want to go for that date?” Minato had to move on, one baby step at a time.

[rememberthattime]

Chapter 52. Finnish Lapland

I’m writing this introduction from our flight from London Gatwick. It is 6:14 AM. Cold and rainy. We’ve been up since 4, and even my few hours of sleep were interrupted by relentless coughing. I should feel tired and angry.

But instead I’m bursting with anticipation - like my body can’t handle the excitement (maybe that’s the reason for my cough?).

This is Chelsay and I’s first weekend trip, and as the plane makes its way to the runway, I’m remembering the #1 reason we moved back: accessible travel, starting with this weekend’s trip to the Finnish Lapland.

Our second round of European adventures began with this road trip to Nellim, Finland, an extremely remote town of 150 people tucked 250 miles into the Arctic Circle, just five miles from the Russian border.

However, before writing about our three days in Finland, I want to quickly cover our first three weeks in London.

I could talk about our return to Richmond Park, about our walks through Soho and the reminders of how “cool” London is, or about how we found our flat in Hampstead within 24 hours of arriving... All of that was great, but I really only want to write about one thing: Indy.

Yes, 12 year old Chelsay’s dream finally came true. As a kid, she’d tell her mom she was going to live in London (...she watched a lot of Mary Poppins). She would have a great job and a nice husband. But most importantly: she would have a border collie named Indiana Jones. This dream came true when Chels and I traveled up to Derby, England to visit a puppy litter. All of the puppies had chubby butts, but our little Indy was easy to spot: tail wagging, stomping over his puppy siblings, and already showing affection to his new parents. It was love at first site.

We won’t get to take little Indy home for a few more weeks, but that hasn’t slowed Chelsay’s “puppy mom” obsession. We bought his crate and fence on the ride home from Derby. We’ve been watching hours of dog training videos on YouTube. I’m receiving dozens of texts each day with the same puppy picture. ...Who am I kidding though? I’m just as much of an obsessed “puppy dad”.

That one Indy story means you’re caught up on our first three weeks in London. Back to our first trip.

There’s always a buzz when you’re going somewhere new, and that’s especially true in Europe. Every country is so accessible yet so unique. Spain is nothing like Sweden nor Morocco. They’re all just three hours away, but might as well be on different planets.

This was proven true as our plane descended into Finland. The landscape was whiter than a Dave Mathews concert. Snow everywhere. No patches of civilization, just patches of evergreen forests covered in more white. We took off in metropolitan London and landed literally in the Arctic Circle.

If this was evident on the flight in, it became especially clear as we left the airport. I asked our rental agent for the car keys and he looked back at me as if it were obvious: “They’re in the car - I started it 30 minutes ago.”

As we stepped out the airport doors, I realized why this should’ve been obvious — and also why his directions to the car were so emphatic. Everything was frozen, including the car had he not started it earlier. Chelsay and I would’ve been frozen too if we didn’t literally dive into the car.

After barely avoiding frostbite, my first thought upon hitting the road was “How can people survive here?” It’s just snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures for months!

But the Finnish rightly play up their winter wonderland. In fact, it’s close enough to the North Pole that Lapland claims to be the Home of Santa. Yes, of all the places in the entire world, Santa chose Rovaniemi, Finland to set up shop. What an honor.

After a brief stop at Santa’s offices, we hit the road for our four-hour drive to Nellim. This place is remote, and that was exactly the intention. My two goals for the trip were (1) to see the Northern Lights and (2) to walk through snowy, silent Finish forests. Heading as far into Lapland as possible gave us the best chances for both.

The drive was a breeze: we had studded tires for the icy roads, and a James Acaster audiobook for entertainment. Plus the landscape kept us in awe - tall spruce forests lined the roadway and the black concrete was covered in ice, loose snow whipping around in the wind.

We were conscious of daylight on our drive up. In winter, the sun technically rises at 9:30 AM and sets at 3 PM. I say “technically” because there is actually far more daylight thanks to Nautical and Civil twilight, two things I’d never heard of before this trip. Given Lapland’s latitude, sunrise and sunset last about two hours each — rather than have a defined light time and dark time, Finnish days are just caught in perpetual semi-visibility... In addition to being “Home to Santa”, Lapland is apparently also the Twilight Zone.

Stop it Mike.

Anyway, we arrived at Nellim Wilderness Resort after sunset and nautical twilight and civil twilight and any other twilight. It was dark, but there were still a few activities available our first evening.

First, our resort had an illuminated sled hill. We didn’t know about the sledding beforehand, but once we’d seen it, Chelsay and I couldn’t resist.

Our riding styles were absolutely on brand: Chelsay laughed and screamed the entire way down (reminding me of our ride on The Mummy roller coaster at Universal Studios).

Meanwhile, I took sledding to an extreme by riding headfirst (likely breaking my ribs with what Chelsay called “The Salmon Jump”), then later trying to surf down (likely breaking my back with what Chelsay called “The Concussion Tumble”).

We were in the right country to recover from our (my) frigid falls, because the Finns love a hot sauna. In fact, they invented it! 1000 years ago, some Viking named Olaf probably tried that sled-surf thing, and a smoky sauna was his novel therapy!

Luckily the resort’s saunas were private, because similar to sled-surfing, I introduced a new twist to an old tradition: no one in the history of saunas has ever sweat as much as I did. Olaf included.

Outside of sledding and saunas, the other big nighttime activity in Lapland is searching for the Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights are fairly common this time of year: about 50/50. The problem was the weather was due to be overcast & snowing throughout, so Chelsay and I came in with zero expectation.

We mentioned this to the receptionist at Nellim, but she wasn’t giving up hope. She said to keep our eyes peeled for stars: if you can see the stars, there’s a break in the clouds and a chance to see the Aurora. It didn’t hurt that our room was 50% window.

Just as the receptionist predicted, we saw stars from about 10:30 to midnight. Staring out felt like being on a hunt, eyes dashing from one side of the sky to the other in hopes of seeing a green flash. Eventually I fell asleep, but the resort offers an Aurora alarm in case the lights appear.

Unfortunately there were no alarms either night.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed - the Northern Lights were one of the main reasons for visiting, and the brief star sightings provided a cruel tease of unwarranted hope. But the Aurora is just weather after all, and as the sun rose the next day, we remembered how cool it was to be in Nellim, Finland. Plus, the flip side of this snowy cloud cover was a clean and white-coated winter wonderland.

The fresh snow was perfect for our first activity of the day: dog sledding. These huskies were dying to get out and run, and I’ll never forget their excited gallop as we burst through the trees onto an open, frozen lake.

Chelsay and I switched off as driver, both flirting with danger. Chelsay nearly led us into Russia, while I ghost rode the sled. If you’re not familiar with ghost riding, it’s where you hop out of a moving (now driverless) vehicle and run beside it. Based on the look in our dogs’ eyes, I’m not sure they’d seen this before.

After the morning excitement, Chelsay and I had earned extra whipped cream on our hot chocolates. I’ll briefly mention the dining, which we both surprisingly enjoyed. Finnish food is not traditionally exciting (a lot of lingonberry and reindeer), but the Wilderness Resort came through for each meal: tasty lamb shanks, potatoes gratin, mushroom risotto, panna cotta, and more. And obviously a lot of hot chocolate.

We regained enough energy over lunch for our afternoon activity: snow shoeing. We planned to be out for a few hours, so bundled up in three layers of everything: socks, leggings, sweaters. We even doubled up on gloves.

Now insulated from the sub zero temperatures, we were motoring around the quiet, empty wilderness in no time. Nothing but clean snow and creaky timber for miles. Chelsay said it reminded her of the land of swirly twirly gumdrops from Elf: “Byeee Buddyyyy”

We climbed up hills, slid down slopes, trekked across frozen lakes, forged our own paths through the deep snow, and tracked the only other footprints we could find: wolf and reindeer.

Just as the sun was setting (at 3 PM), Chelsay and I stumbled into a peaceful and perfect grove. It was a beautiful setting and the most memorable moments I’ll take from the trip.

The evergreen branches were coated in snowy white clumps, the crisp air was cold in our chests, and the only sound we could hear was crunch... crunch... crunch... as we gently shuffled across the deep snow.

We returned to our room with that “exhausted but content” feeling. Our quads were burning but we’d accomplished what we came for.

That night, we enjoyed another remedial sauna - this one was somehow sweatier than the last. We didn’t have any energy or unbroken bones left for sledding that night, so we instead stayed in our room and watched Parasite (great movie) while sipping hot chocolate. I doubt I’ll remember what JOMO meant when I read this in 20 years, but this night describes it well.

We were making the long drive back to Rovaniemi around lunch the next day, but had plenty of time for morning walk. This time we attempted to go without snow shoes, but quickly realized that walking through deep snow is hard! Your feet sink with every step, and you have to contort your legs up & out of the snow to make any progress.

Chelsay compared it to the Sahara, except instead of sinking ankle-deep in sand, we were literally waist-deep. Luckily we persevered long enough to stumble across a pack of reindeer.

With our quads burning, we figured the reindeer sighting was a good enough cap to our Lapland adventure. Sure, I wish we’d seen the Northern Lights, but Chelsay and I are still very content with our first trip back in Europe.

I say that without any doubt. Rewinding to our flight from London: Lapland’s frozen landscapes exceeded the “new city” excitement I felt as our departing plane rolled toward the runway.

Lapland is a different planet: part winter wonderland, part uninhabitable wasteland. Its frigid wilderness is unlike any of the previous places we’ve visited, but the craziest part is that it was all so easily accessible. Chelsay and I were 250 miles into the Arctic Circle, literally a short walk into Russia’s northernmost territories, yet remained just a three hour flight from London.

That’s why we moved back: because every trip Chelsay and I take has the potential to bring us somewhere new, special, and completely different from anywhere we’ve ever been.

I can’t wait for our next departing plane to roll its way to the runway.