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When he came to it was slowly, a swimming up from the depths of unconsciousness. Or perhaps the metaphor was only there in his mind because of the water that lapped at his skin, the gentle wash and flow of the ocean around him, the gulls that cried overhead. Wherever he’d ended up this time it was not Konoha.
At least the weather was nice though.
Opening his eyes took a great deal of effort, every muscle in his body screaming with exhaustion after yet another botched attempt to follow in his hero’s footsteps. History books claimed that the Nidaime not only mastered the Hiraishin by twenty years old but that he had invented it himself at nineteen. Minato already had one honor under his belt, his very own A-rank jutsu that had taken him a little less than two years to perfect, but if he wanted to catch up to the man he so revered then he only had a few months left of being twenty to get this right. If only the Nidaime’s notes were a little easier to decode.
Seafoam collected on his fingers and left them tacky as he stretched muggily, eyes gradually focusing to watch his hand grasp weakly at the damp sand underneath him. Bubbles danced across the back of his wrist in senseless patterns. Out of habit he studied them, gazed in to their depths like crystal balls, though the bubbles had never given him any insight before. Where most people saw glimpses of their soulmate’s lives in the pearlescent sheen Minato had only ever seen the empty twisting of rainbows and his own reflection. It took a moment now to register the difference.
Rapid blinking did not make the vision go away, although it did clear his sight a little more. He stared in wonder at the image of a man with a strong jawline tossing his head back in laughter, happiness radiating from him while sunshine crowned his dark hair in molten gold. Whoever they were they bore a striking resemblance to the Shodaime.
But more importantly whoever they were they had to be important to the soulmate he’d always thought he didn’t have. All the years it had taken him to accept the idea that he wasn’t fated for anyone flew out the window at once as his eyes shifted to another bubble in the water around him, admiring the brilliant smile of a young child. A younger brother perhaps? Why the universe saw fit to gift him with soul glimpses now when he’d never seen them before was a mystery that would have to be solved another time. For now all he wanted was to stare and smile while his aching body gathered the strength to sit up and figure out where his botched Hiraishin attempt had taken him this time.
That was the plan, at least, until his ears picked up the barely there shifting of sand near his head belying a careful step. Clearly a shinobi if they were able to get this close without him noticing. Minato tore his eyes away from the image of a gorgeous sword wavering across the ephemeral surface of a foam bubble and fought with his body for the ability to turn over. It was a hard won fight and in the end all he managed to do was flop over on to his back but it was better than nothing.
Especially when doing so revealed the weapon held directly in his line of sight, a magnificent blade he had only just been admiring a moment ago. It was even more impressive in person. Yet it was gone from Minato’s mind entirely in an instant when he lifted his eyes and was left slack-jawed with shock.
“Who are you? And how do you know that jutsu?” For all the many times he had fantasized about getting to talk to his ancient hero Minato had never imagined the man would have a voice so deep. “Answer now and it will be much less painful for you.”
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Minato replied, his intelligence deserting him momentarily.
“I feel quite hale for a dead man,” Tobirama shot back with one brow lifted in judgement. It was an expression that obviously saw a lot of use; it was also an expression that very much worked for him on a face that didn’t look much older than twenty.
Unable to think of anything else to say, Minato let his brain take a short holiday to join his intelligence wherever it had gone. “You certainly do look good.”
In the silence that followed wherein they both stared at each other without knowing what to say Minato reflected that he could probably guess what had happened. Evidently fiddling with half-translated notes for a space-time jutsu was just as likely to send you through time as it was through space. Not that hard to figure out. Much harder was trying to wrap his poor mind around the concept that he had somehow thrown himself back decades in to the past and located the soulmate he never thought he had. An already unbelievable set of circumstances even without his surprise soulmate turning out to be the one person he looked up to the most.
From what he knew of how things had been a hundred years before during the founding of Konoha he would not have been surprised if Tobirama killed him then and there for being so forward. He even seemed to be contemplating it, expression thoughtful as his eyes tracked their surroundings for any information it might give him about this stranger half dead on some unnamed beach.
The moment he spotted the bubbles was visible.
“Yeah,” Minato said with a nervous chuckle. “I did the same thing. Never seen a soul glimpse in my life until suddenly I’m lying on a beach and there you are. In the bubbles and out. You’ve got good timing, I’ll give you that.”
It took a long time for Tobirama to gather his thoughts. Or maybe he was trying to consider their situation from every angle, playing out all the possible scenarios in his head. He was supposed to be an incredible genius after all. When he answered at long last it was accompanied by a shifting grip on the sword he had yet to lower.
“First you are going to answer my questions. You will tell me who you are, how you know that jutsu, and where you come from. I’ve never seen that clan mon before. Then...perhaps I may have other questions as well.” The neutral tone would have led anyone not looking at him to believe he was all business as he should be. Minato, however, was watching just closely enough to see the slightest hint of color rising on pale cheeks. It appeared he was not the only one interested in exploring this surprise bond if the chance was available.
“Whatever questions you have I’m sure I would be happy to answer them,” he said honestly. “I’ve got one of my own, though. What clan mon? I’m not wearing any.”
“Is the symbol on your headband not that of your clan?”
Minato reached up to touch the engraved leaf with a smile. “Ah. I guess you haven’t invented this yet. Don’t worry, it’ll come up when I explain where I’m from. That’s going to be a very long conversation - and you’ll no doubt find it very interesting.”
He could already see from the brightening of Tobirama’s eyes that the man was intrigued and it was a little hard to suppress the thrill of being considered even slightly interesting by possibly the most interesting person history had ever produced.
Getting him back on his feet took a while, his muscles wobbling like jelly, but Tobirama waited patiently until he was able to walk under his own power. Where they were going he didn’t know, what year he had blown himself away to he didn’t care. Minato followed wherever he was being led with a smile that only grew each time he caught his guide peeking over at him with curiosity naked on that beautifully sharp face.
Not since childhood had he so looked forward to the next time he could bathe. What else might he learn from gazing in to a million little crystal balls as he cleansed himself of the future past?