believeit | [一] Video;

[After waking up just a short time ago and realizing that these journals serve as some form of communication for- well, wherever they are, a family of ninja decide that they need to search for important information.]

Why am I half naked in a forest?

[There’s a short pause before the blond teenager speaks again, for he has an even more pressing question that needs to be answered.]

WHY ARE MY PARENTS HALF NAKED IN A FOREST?!

[Granted, it’s a very important question but the consensus was they had more prudent information to gather. Like where they are, for example. And so a redheaded woman, Kushina, quickly shouts back over her son’s panic.]

Naruto! That’s not the right question to ask!

Oh-- right.

[Those questions can wait for now.]

Where is this place then? Or what is it? It isn’t like.. the afterlife, right? ‘Cause I don’t think I’m dead, so I can’t be in it! But my Mom and Dad are here too and they were dead, but now they’re alive, so how can they be here at the same time and why do we all have wings and OH GOD THIS IS THE AFTERLIFE, ISN’T IT??

[Suddenly, a fist is flying downwards and towards the top of Naruto’s head.

THWAK.]

FOCUS, YA KNOW!

OWW! THAT HURT Y’KNOW?!

[SUDDENLY AN UZUMAKI STANDOFF that Minato sighs and shakes his head at. Trust these two to be diplomats. It seems like the more Naruto speaks, the more Minato thinks he got so many things from his mother. With a lopsided smile, he calmly steps in between them and carefully grabs the journal from Naruto.]

I would like to apologize for that display. [Behind him, there’s an indignant ‘Hey!’ That said, Minato clears his throat and his expression turns a little more serious.] As it is obvious, we are in need of answers. To the citizens who might be able to lend a hand through this book that we have concluded to be a communication device, we will appreciate any help.

[The next words, he hesitates for a moment in saying, but he feels he might as well throw it out there too.]

Also, for anyone who might know my family and I, please contact us as soon as possible. Thank you. [And he ends that with a polite smile.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I agree. It's not that I want Shikamaru and Ino trapped here, but I wouldn't want to be here without them. And seeing Sensei was wonderful.

They... [Chouji winces but hopes he can brush that off with his next statement. He's never been good at hiding the truth.] We're in the middle of a war back home, so I don't know if you could say anyone is doing well.

It might be selfish to feel that way, but I suppose we can't help it.

[When the war was brought up again, Minato's smile falls.] Ah, yes, the war. Naruto mentioned it in passing, though unintentionally. I hope no one is gravely hurt. [But that might be asking too much given how he knows the perils of war. He just lost two of his students in it back home and it still pains Minato to remember this.]

[Chouji's only answer to that is a nod, another soft smile at the Fourth's agreement. It eases what little guilt remained at his own selfishness even after conversations with his teammates.]

The... the casualty rate was higher than anyone would like, but there hasn't been time to find out anything more specific than approximate numbers. [Except for the deaths he witnessed, of course. Even saying this, Chouji thinks, is probably too much, but he hasn't, he won't, go into specifics. Not so impersonally, talking with books between them. After all his compliments to the previous generation of Ino-Shika-Chou, the Fourth deserves more than that. Inoichi-san and Shikaku-san deserve more. Chouji will tell Minato in person or not at all.

He wonders whether Naruto knows about Neji.]

[Finding out that the casualty rate is high makes Minato frown and bow his head in both disappointment and sympathy. He then remembers how Obito and Rin died and how he was not there to effectively stop them, not fast enough, and he briefly reflects on these casualties Chouji mentioned. What if there are students there? Teachers? Parents? Comrades? Teammates?

In war, no one wins. And it saddens Minato further that this generation is fighting one back home. Although when he speaks up, his voice is relatively neutral.]

You are all in the middle of a war, after all. There's no time for grieving. [He doesn't want to pry so keeps that simple, even his next words.] However, I'm sorry for the loss.

[Chouji manages to keep his face from crumpling at that, but it so closely mirrors what Shikamaru said immediately after his own father's death that Chouji's heart aches at the parallel.

He only flinches slightly.]

Of course. But it's too strange putting everything on hold here. [Chouji's had less cause to grieve than some of his friends, and he's done his best to take care of them as they do.] I am too.

This can be a little break for you. [Even if he knows it isn't. Minato wants to make Chouji feel a little good, though.] Fighting a war incessantly can be exhausting, after all. Although, I do understand where you're coming from. [Wars are never easy and he wishes this generation doesn't have to suffer so much.]

It hasn't gone on long so far, but I do know what you mean. [Two days. How was all of that only two days? So much death and loss in such a short span of time. He finishes very quietly.] It felt longer than it was.

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