Yellow Shadows

YELLOW SHADOWS END - Goodbye

The smoke shifts direction. It whips past him with purpose, fast and sharp. At once, he can see the podium again, and Sāra upon it, closing the single, violet eye of the Ryūmyaku; and he can breathe easier again, and laugh, as Minato's chakra guides the smoke away. The rest of the team appear scattered and weary but alive, and Ryūmyaku continues to crackle in the air between them, like an exploding tag threatening to blow.

Then Sāra brings her hands together, and it's gone.

The sea of chakra settles and returns to the earth. The chamber fades to near-darkness, and the sunlight trickling in through the ruins and the ceiling becomes a spotlight. Everything is gold again; even the shadow of the city above, outlined with sand.

"Well, that was exciting," Minato says; and god, Kakashi-sensei was right, his dad is lame. "Is everyone all right?"

They gather on the central platform, limping and bloodied. Victorious. Naruto would never have guessed that sickly, spindly Mukade would give them so much trouble. Even Shibi wobbles a bit, and nothing seems to faze him. Chōza claps him on the back and it nearly knocks him into the pit.

Sāra watches them all with a smile. Sealing the Ryūmyaku seems to have taken all of her strength, and yet she is the only one among them who doesn't look weary. The fight seems to have fuelled her. Her expression is set in a determination that she never had in the palace.

"I think we should lock this power for good. I don't want anyone else to access it. What happened here with Anrokuzan can never happen again. My people and I are already in your debt, but could I ask that of you? Can you do that?"

"Your city will lose its only power source," Minato reminds her, but it sounds like he approves.

She nods. "I know." Like the secret door in the palace, there is more to Sāra than Naruto ever expected: bravery, kindness, and above all, a fitting queen. It's a far cry from the young woman who accused Shibi of shoving her from a balcony. And to think, it only took her city crumbling to sand around her.

Could've been worse, Naruto supposes. They could all be dead.

"So. Fuinjutsu, right?" he says. He scratches his head, wishing he paid more attention in class, and wishing he was a fuinjutsu expert. Like his dad - the Fourth Hokage - who's seal they found while chasing Mukade - who's seal isn't here now, but was there in the future. Naruto pulls the thunder kunai from his belt. "Would this work?"

There is laughter behind him - and then Minato approaches. "Not on its own," he says, and he gestures for the blade. "But I know a thing or two. Might take a lot of chakra though, and I'm wiped. You want to help?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're quite a powerhouse, aren't you?"

The Nine-Tails is a powerhouse. Naruto's just someone who absolutely, definitely, did not mention anything about the Tailed Beast inside of him, to his dad, the Fourth Hokage, who put it inside of him, not even when he kind of wanted to, because that was a bad idea. It's not clear if that's what Minato means, but from what little Naruto knows of Minato now...

"Yeah, well, you know," Naruto says, trying to deflect but finding the words slip out before he can stop himself: "Just like mum."

It's such a stupid thing to say. Minato's smile slips. Panic seizes Naruto's chest. It's the type of panic he feels whenever Iruka-sensei is sad and it gores him like a kunai to the heart.