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Inari is running through the land and taking note of the many Iwa nin in her surroundings when she comes across a flickering and familiar chakra. She can feel them, she feels their sadness and their fear. It’s a terrible and lonely feeling that she is instantly drawn to and Inari knows that she can’t simply keep going with them calling like a beacon begging not to be alone in their final moments.
Inari heads over to the chakra and assesses the clearing she is led to with huge trees surrounding her, there is also a huge rock structure that seems to have been broken down and Inari sees the small bits of sand and rocks on the grass and realises that this was probably a cave that had been blown up.
Now that Inari is closer, she gets a lungful of blood and gunpowder and the chakra calls to her radiating desolation and hopelessness. This person may have already accepted their death but Inari hopes to make their last moments as peaceful as possible.
Or she would have, until she was able to discern their blood from the scattered blood that she is surrounded by. She huffs and approaches the person and there’s a large pile of blood near them.
“Obito,” Inari whispers, watching the way the rock structure seems to be hiding half of his body. Obito, most likely in a state of deliriousness from being unable to move and the bloodloss, locks a single red, glowing eye onto her and whimpers, “Nee-san...”
“Silly, Obito,” She kneels by his side, flicking away the dust that had settled over his visible cheek and hair, “rocks are really heavy, you know? You’re too weak to try laying under them.” Inari giggles at the boy yet the sound is soft and immensely warm, it’s calling him to her and he’s trying to come to her but he can’t.
He can’t because they were attacked and Obito couldn’t just let Kakashi get crushed so he figured that if he had to die young to save his teammate, then he’ll just accept it. He’s just so happy that his Nee-san was with him in his final moments, even as he pathetically tries to reach out to her with his cold and rapidly-unfeeling hand.
He has starting to feel so cold. He couldn't really feel his body anymore. Now that Inari was here, he wanted to feel her warmth more than anything but he can’t so he cries and whimpers and Inari shushes him and crowds him, laying in the puddle of blood to stay by his side and rest her forehead against his, “my baby cub, what were you thinking playing outside where it isn’t safe, huh?”
She listens to him murmur nonsensical words that warm her heart and so she smiles and nods, placing light and constant kisses along his cheek and temple, feeling his body tremble beside her.
“How about we get you out of here, does that sound good to you?” She asks rhetorically yet Obito cries louder, his voice sounding even more broken as if a lost child calling desperately to his mother. It makes Inari’s heart warm as she heaves herself up, paying no mind to the sticky, warm liquid that’s making her haori stick to her side and arm as she gets to her feet and finds a good grip for her hands to grab the rocks.
“Now, my love,” she addresses the boy who’s watching with one eye wide open, even if it’s getting much harder to keep it open, “this is going to hurt, but it’ll be so worth it when we’re able to go home together, okay?”
Obito can’t nod but he bleeds more and makes a pained sound when he tries to. He’s desperate to go home, desperate to have more time with his team, his friends, his sensei and his Nee-san. He’s so desperate for more, for all that’s to come in a world overtaken by the unstoppable force of Inari.
He watches her bleed gold like the sun and it’s mesmerizing. A dark thought, this is a nice way to go, comes to his mind and he’s forced to make it go away because his precious Nee-san won’t let anything bad happen to him. Not when she’s so tiny - even Kakashi is catching up to her rather quickly and Kakashi has always seemed so small, lanky and annoying - and yet bending at her knees, fully prepared to lift the entire fallen rock that’s threatening to end his life.
Her ears flicker and her tail points straight behind her and Obito finds that he misses seeing her tail wagging because it always shows when she’s happy and Obito’s always found his hands drawn to the fluffy appendage.
He watches it all in slow motion, even as he hears the squelches of his own mushed organs sticking to the rock as it’s lifted off of him. With no strength to get away, part of him is also lifted with the hardened mass of earth and he screams. The sound is raw and loud and he’s terrified as blood rushes from him and onto the ground before he feels a hand grab at his chin gently.
The sound seems to be sucked away from his voice box when he stares straight into the brightest orange eyes he’s ever seen. They’re so pretty. They’re so, so pretty and he’s so confused and he’s so scared and happy and worried and excited and he doesn’t even know what to think when suddenly he can see the stars and the crescent moon in the night sky above him through his single eye as he offhandedly feels a huge vibration, like an explosion, in the distance away from him.
And suddenly, there’s two of his Nee-san squatting at his side and holding him, “you’re so strong, little cub,” she says gently, she grins and woah, Nee-san has a really big and pretty smile, and then he realises wait I can see the sky - oh, she threw the whole rock away, and he’s so delirious and cold but then he’s warm and it’s so bright and then Inari watches as he tries to puzzle through so many emotions when her golden chakra transfers from her body to his like liquid gold, flowing at the point where her hands meet his cheek, his hand and in his blood on the huge hole on his torso.
Ribs shattered inwards, viscera spilling like mashed gravy, lungs collapsed and a shattered pelvis, Obito really did take as much damage as he could.
“You know…” His Nee-san starts, yet Obito’s eye is drawn to the flowing golden hair that looks like silk. Inari doesn’t stop, yet she uses one of her hands to grab a trese of her hair and place it in Obito’s hand so it can wrap around his fingers. Soft and warm, it’s like napping on soft grass on a warm spring day and feeling the sun melt into his skin. It’s like doing something so cool and strong and finding someone amazing who finds his unending effort and stubbornness to be something to admire and encourage. It’s like coming home to a beautiful and kind - the kindest - fox human or humany fox or god instead of walking through a dark door into a dark and empty house.
“- and then the man happened across a small girl who was tied and left to be preyed upon by any and all who found her odd appearance rather appealing, whether it was to covet her so no one else could or for their other unspeakable desires.”
Obito finds himself drawn to her story, listening to every vowel she speaks and feels the way she caresses his face like he’s so precious. The way she looks at him, how she has always looked at him, sometimes he really does think he was precious. It’s completely riveting - this feeling - being given the knowledge that he’s precious to someone. He can’t fathom it and yet his Nee-san is here and laying at his side and telling him that she’ll bring him home. That they’ll go home together.
“And the man, even though he didn’t know her affiliations, her strength or her abilities - he still promised her protection and safety and it meant the world to the girl because that had never happened before.” Inari continues, smiling and looking at his face though he can see that she’s thinking of something deeply - a memory? - perhaps this was actually a story of her and a man, before she came to Konoha? Obito has always loved her stories, Inari has always been a thrill-seeker who saw love in everyone she came across. Even among those she didn’t particularly like, she empathised and tried to understand.
It was a powerful thing, Obito learned, to be able to stand toe to toe with men who reacted in violence and fear as their first choice in every confrontation. Obito longed to go home with his Nee-san and make her proud with his promises to always save his comrades and help bring peace to the nations.
“So, she followed this man and his team - even when his team was very suspicious of her - they trusted his word and put their faith in him. He’s a man among men,” she grins and Obito recalls another man who he admires greatly, the man he had always believed to be a hero.
“And he led her to her best friend in the whole world. Isn’t that crazy, baby cub? Fate works in mysterious ways.” Inari continues with the way she smiles full of love and affection paired with the golden glow of her body, it’s a sight to behold and Obito finds his eyes bleeding red to remember the sight forever.
“She had been searching for many, many moons for her precious friend and the man who showed her so much kindness also agreed to bring her to his village for safety and it also happened to be the place where her best friend was.” She looks up to his eye and grins so wide that her eyes squint shut, “it was a very good day... that day.”
And, yeah, Obito realises that she’s been talking about herself. And oh, that means that the man who saved her and helped her really was his hero, Kakashi’s dad. Konoha’s white fang. Obito feels his lips twitch into a smile and Inari instantly latches onto it, “there’s my cub’s precious smile. Good, good, that’s the best sight in the world.” She approves, nodding her head enthusiastically and Obito can't help but to smile wider, feeling his cheeks stretch oddly from his injuries and his semi-dried skin from the tears and blood.
“Baby cub,” Inari mutters, her light is fading but Obito still feels nice and warm, almost dopey and giddy as if he’s ready for a warm nap, “let’s take a nice nap under the stars, okay? I’ll see you soon, my little cub.”
And just the thought of being able to rest in such warmth with his Nee-san by his side sounds like everything he’s ever wanted. He falls asleep and it’s the calmest he’s ever felt.
Obito comes to the land of the living slowly and feeling warm and idly wondering why it felt like his body was floating. He grimaces and the skin of his fall pulls oddly, like it’s a tight elastic that needs to be pulled to get loosened properly and he rubbed his face into the warmth and the scent of peaches, warm marshmallows and home instantly overwhelms him.
“Nee-san..” falls from his mouth and then he’s thrown upwards just to be caught again in a tight embrace and he squeals, pulling back and blinking rapidly to see that he’s actually on his Nee-san’s back while she holds his thighs in a tight grip. She moves her head sideways to see him and grins at the shock on his face, “You’re finally awake, little cub! I think I know why you’re always so late now, huh, you’re just sleeping in, aren’t you!”
“Hu-wha- no way, nee-san!” He yells, practically scandalised. Then he catches sight of his ragged clothing and the air in his hair as they rush onwards and he’s wondering if what he was remembering was nothing but a dream.
Inari laughs, she laughs loud and full straight from her chest and it seems to make her whole body shake from the force of it. The sound is so full of glee and pride that it makes Obito grin as well and when he’s presented with a whole bunch of golden hair right in front of him, he doesn’t even hesitate to lean forward and hide his face into the crevice of his Nee-san’s neck.
Inari feels him, she feels his arms tighten around her shoulders and his hot breath on her neck and she feels ecstatic. It had been way too quiet as she travelled. Initially she had been focused on letting Obito rest but then dawn came and the sun rose to show it was late in the morning and she got sick of his resting! It was a new day! It was time to eat and run and laugh! Not sleep!!
“Nee-san, this is real…”
And just from the weak disbelief in his voice, like he really can’t believe he’s really alive and they’re heading home together, Inari giggles aloud and turns from her fast stroll to run straight towards a thick and tall tree. Obito yelps, holding on so much tighter that he’s practically choking her as she begins running vertically up the bark of the tree and then dodging all of the branches to get closer to the top to break through the treetops.
Once they’re nearing the highest point she can get to while running, she leaps up and flips forward, prompting Obito to yell and fly metres above her. They’re both flying, Obito is flailing like a panicked bird learning to fly and Inari holds her arms out to feel the sunlight on her exposed skin.
Her hair is wild, flowing around her and hiding the sight of her ears and her tail is wagging rapidly in the air.
Like this, Obito can see the dried blood that’s turned a murkish brown on her clothes. He can also see the pink skin that seems to run along probably more than half of his whole body. His arm, his legs, his torso - the skin is a light shade of pink and it’s very noticeable in the sunlight against the natural tan of his other arm. Oh, some of his face is probably pink, too.
He stares, and in the midst of realising that he’s falling while Inari laughs her head off, he’s also absolutely beaming at the thought of these amazing scars that show that he lived! He’s alive! He’s going back home to be with his precious people!
“I love you, Inari-nee-san! You’re the best!”
She lands on a thick branch, unfairly graceful, and she looks startled at his sudden shouting but it does nothing to deter her from answering him without any hesitation, “No, you’re the best, Obito! I love you with my whole heart!”
And she catches him.
Sakumo allows his son to mourn and grieve as well as he can, watching over his boy as he begins to isolate himself from his sensei and his teammate. It’s hard and he wishes he could take this away from Kakashi but he also knows that it is something he’ll have to learn and adapt to.
It’s hard, knowing that even with a force of nature like Inari in their lives, there will still be people and organisations who still desire the thrill of war and death. It’s horrifying but very, very real. So, Sakumo sits by and watches Minato sit with Rin and Kakashi, talking to them and comforting them and it’s hard to watch without that familiar child of childish cheekiness that’s gone and not coming back.
Minato feels failure heavy on his shoulders and he can’t even bear to wonder what it is that his students feel. Rin cries and cries and Kakashi is like a statue made of stone, stiff and disconnected from the people who care about him the most. Having to adjust to this new eye that belongs to the person who isn’t with them anymore while simultaneously grieving is hard. It’s really hard and the back of Kakashi’s throat hurts and he wants to be alone and he also wants to punch someone so hard until his fists bleed and more than anything, he wants to be with his Nee-chan.
Inari-nee-chan had left a while ago to explore and see what the tensions were like outside of the village. The woman was always on an ongoing mission and she was relentless. It was as if staying in one place for too long just wasn’t for her so whenever things seemed complacent, she was up and leaving with starry eyes watching Minato and bright, pearly grins aimed at Kakashi and his dad.
She had to visit the others, her friends, that she had made across the nations. It was important for her to make sure they were all okay, to see if they needed her and what she could do for them.
Ever since meeting Minato - Sakumo had once told Kakashi - it seemed like Inari had found a home among them in Konoha if only because of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed shinobi. She was enthralled instantly even when Minato was hesitant and distant, even as he continued to be distant, because Kakashi’s sensei wouldn’t allow himself to be with someone with such primal desires as she had shamelessly stated when first laying her eyes on him.
Years had passed and it was so obvious that Kakashi’s sensei was besotted so watching the blonde flounder around the fox-human was way too amusing, especially when the girl was committed to her promise to fall in love and make Minato fall in love with her in return.
It was one of Kakashi’s favourite pastimes, especially when Obito was so scandalised to see how obvious Inari could be about her attraction and how flustered their sensei would get when he was sure that Inari wasn’t looking at him. They were completely helpless. Rin watched them like they were her inspiration but now Obito was gone… Inari-nee-chan was going to be so upset. She was going to be so heart-broken.
Oh god, Kakashi could feel the way his heart shattered.
Nee-chan is going to be so sad… and it's my fault.
Inari roars in anticipation as she sprints to the huge fire gates that signify Obito and her homecoming. Obito begins to shout with her and hence the gate guards flinch and raise their weapons to defend themselves from the fast, golden flash that's coming straight at them.
Because Inari had been told of the importance of informing the guards of the village from Sakumo, she screams out, “Inari-sama returning home with Obito~~!”
“Uchiha Obito returning from KIA status!” Obito feels the need to confirm because Inari doesn’t give him any time to relay his shinobi ID number or even the mission he was returning from. Seeing the shocked look on their faces though, Obito offers a strained grin when realising that they all really thought he had most likely died on the Kannabi bridge mission.
“Wh-where are we going, Nee-san?!” Obito yells into her ear as she continues to hold him on her back and run at the same time. She runs down the street and takes multiple turns which leads the boy to believe she already has a destination in mind and it’s not to the hokage tower like it probably would be according to protocol.
“We’re going home, silly Obito.” She laughs and begins running up the wall of a building, hopping onto the roof in order to jump along the multiple rooftops and heading straight to the Hatake compound. Obito watches with a wide eye, as his other had seemingly been sewn shut as a result of his healing over an eye socket without an eye.
He had expressed his disdain at being a disabled shinobi who might not even be able to go on missions anymore only for Inari to agree only because she absolutely loathes the thought of children going on missions. She only had three main goals for being here; to see her precious friends, to stop the senseless fighting between villages and to put a stop to children going out to complete missions for their villages.
She had already completed her first goal and was well on her way to completing the second and third.
“Losing an eye is nothing, little cub! Even being blind is nothing! You’ll just have to learn to sense your surroundings, it’s easy!” She had said, grinning at the boy like it was a completely normal and obvious answer.
“Yeah, for you!”
“Yeah it is!” She had agreed instantly.
Obito watches as they hop right over the main house of the Hatake compound and start descending right over the dojo and training ground that Sakumo and Kakashi practically lived in. It had also become Inari’s home, too, so she was ecstatic to feel the multiple people already present as if they had been waiting for them all this time.
“INCOMING~!!!”
Inari announces herself and her scream echoes in the air when it’s like everything stands still while a golden flash zooms through the skies to descend upon team 7 and Sakumo. Her voice is loud and booming but there's still that telltale amusement as if she’s about to crack up laughing, especially at the shocked faces that greet her as they are seemingly frozen, perfect just for her to crash into.
The collision between Inari and the ground is immense, similarly like a really big earthquake and even the dojo threatens to creak and blow over from the huge indent made into the ground as smoke and dust prevents any of the people present from realising what the hell had actually happened.
“Inari?! Inari, where are you?!” Sakumo hurriedly gets up, “Kakashi?!” The smoke and dust inhibits his sense of smell and he has to squint his eyes to keep from getting sand in them.
“Tou-san!”
And with a wave, the smoke dissipates only for them to see Inari, grinning like a child on christmas morning as she waves her arms with a grace that completely clashes with the full-toothed grin that almost appears ravenous.
Kakashi along with Rin and Minato get back onto their feet as the surprise of suddenly seeing the fox-human back after who knows how long since she never really said when she was leaving nor when she would be coming back and their eyes instantly drawn to the brown stains on her haori and the bandages that are tied to her chest.
“Ina-”
“Nee-cha-”
They watch as she stick her tongue out of her lips as if in concentration as she suddenly bends at the knees and then pushes up off of the ground to throw something - someone - up and over her and all of their eyes widen unbelievably at the sight of Obito being caught in front of Inari by the armpits like a little puppy.
“OBITO!”
Minato, Rin and Kakashi scream and instantly run to take the Uchiha into their grasp as they all collide into the ground and completely ignore the huge hole that they all find themselves in as they cry and look over Obito as if they can’t believe he’s real.
“Sakumo, Sakumo!” Inari yells in glee at seeing the man she has come to see as something of a father. He smiles at her as if he feels the same, like he looks at her and sees her like his own child and her heart fills with fondness at the warmth that emanates from him because of her.
Once she breaks off into a skip towards him, he starts holding his arms out as if to catch her and that’s something she can never resist. She laughs and jumps, her legs wrapping around the elder man's waist as he catches her with an ‘oomf’ and wraps his arms around her back, feeling the slight movement of her tail as it wags, showcasing her happiness.
Sakumo smiles and while holding her with one hand now, he moves the other up and pets her head, “Welcome home, Inari.” The man says softly.
Sakumo watches her move back a bit from the junction of his neck and smiles, “I did good, right?” The way she says it though, she already knows the answer and just wants him to agree with her. Still, he can’t help but to watch the way Rin cries and holds onto Obito, thanking him for coming back to her as he watches in amazement, like he could never fathom that he would be missed this much.
Sakumo then looks at Minato who’s eyes flicker between Inari in amazement and admiration and then to his Uchiha student and Sakumo can see how grateful and relieved Minato is while he pets the boys raven hair and tells him it’s really good to have him back.
And lastly Kakashi, the boy cries softly and it’s clear he’s taking this the hardest with the thoughts that Sakumo could see had been dawning in his mind.
“You did really well,” Sakumo mumbles, “thank you so much, Inari-sama.”
As expected, Inari huffs with a smug pride and then begins to climb up his waist and turns over Sakumo’s shoulders. With a practised ease that Sakumo has grown used to by now, he assists to let Inari take her favoured spot atop his shoulders as they continue to watch team 7 reunite while seated on the ground together, Obito showing his newly acquired scars while Rin inspects the pink skin with an obvious interest.
“Inari-sama, this is amazing! Thank you so much!” Rin shouts and jumps up after looking over Obito’s face, arm and even his torso. And then suddenly Sakumo is surrounded by team 7 while Minato stands behind them. The blond man looks suspiciously guilty or saddened by something.
“Of course, only the great Inari-sama could do something so cool.”
“More than cool,” Kakashi says as he keeps his gaze down and locked on Sakumo’s waist. Sakumo raises an unimpressed brow but does nothing else, “this is… you brought Obito back to us, you saved him… thank you, Inari-nee-chan.”
He mumbles and Inari smiles warmly, “now hurry up get off of Tou-san! I swear you always do this at the worst times!” Kakashi snaps and Inari jumps a little in surprise, laughing as she rolls back effortlessly to backflip and land on her feet behind Sakumo.
“I get to be tall when I’m there!” Inari answers, catching three kids when they dive into her embrace, “It’s the best spot!”
“Yeah, yeah, we know.” Kakashi muttered even as his face was muffled from the cotton of her haori at her shoulder.
“You’re the best, Inari-sama.” Rin whispers.
“You’re so cool, Inari-nee-san!” Obito gushes and jumps minutely in his spot as he hugs her, squeezing her waist as she moves with him, hence making Kakashi and Rin move, too. Inari notes that they don’t mention anything about it and thinks that maybe it’s the small things that really make someone special.
Like Obito really thinking that being saved by Inari was cool rather than absolutely amazing. Or like Obito being unable to contain his happiness in the form of small hops - these small things that would have been gone forever if not for the fox-human girl who grinned with the brightness of the sun.
Later when the sun has lowered behind the hokage mountain and night comes, team 7 doesn’t want to be apart and Kakashi knows it’s because he’ll fear that all of this had been a dream and Obito might not be there tomorrow even though some part of him knew it was a useless thought in the face of the cool Inari-nee-chan because she had spent so many years protecting him from the cruel reality of being a shinobi so who’s to say that she wouldn’t do it for Obito, too.
They all settle in Kakashi’s house and still, Minato is weirdly withdrawn as if he’s voluntarily punishing himself. Sakumo had noticed that the man didn’t allow himself to be around Inari and also didn’t allow her to stay beside him. Whether Inari had realised this, he wasn’t sure but it’s clear to the three children that something was going on with their sensei.
“Oh, so you really thought you were gonna die, little cub?” Obito looks away almost shamefully and nods. Inari had grabbed Kakashi and pulled the oddly pliant boy into her lap as she sat on the floor in the living room. He had his body turned sideways and Inari had grabbed his jaw to look at him properly, watching the sharingan move sluggishly. After their journey together, he had finally told her the truth of how he wasn’t actually ‘being silly and playing in caves,’ and that they were actually attacked and he had chosen to sacrifice himself to save his friend.
“Hm, okay.” Is all she says before her hands start to glow.
For the first time since reuniting earlier, Minato perks forward and yelps, “wa-” and Inari looks at him with carnelian eyes that freeze him on the spot, “wh-what are you doing?”
Even Obito looks mystified because he remembers that bright colour, the way it made Inari look like a beacon in the darkness and then even shrouded him, too.
“You’re gonna heal him?”
Inari turns back to Kakashi to see his wide eyes on her but she can also see that there is no distrust, no wariness and only curiosity as he watches her unblinkingly. She hums and nods her head, her fingers idly rubbing against the thin material of Kakashi’s mask and he seems to slump in her hold. She feels his relief and warmth that feels a bit like the affection she feels from Sakumo. It’s familial, it’s pack and Inari doesn’t hesitate to rub her forehead along Kakashi’s cheek and then moves to nuzzle the boy further, rubbing her cheeks against his.
Something thick comes into her throat and she lets it out with a chirp, feeling the sharp inhale from the silver-haired boy as she feels his hands grip onto her haori.
“That’s okay, right? Right now, the chakra feels drained and urgh,” she makes an exaggerated disgusted expression and Obito looks affronted, “w-what do you mean?!” He leans forward and yells at her defensively so she does the obvious thing and hooks one of her arms around his shoulder and brings him closer so she can nuzzle his face, too.
“Your chakra is warm and thick. It’s like chocolate syrup.” Inari nods, “full of love and strong emotions.” Obito gapes before blushing furiously as he turns away.
“With Kakashi’s chakra it meshes okay but… hm, not as good as it should. Makes sense because they’re different bloodlines.”
“That’s it..?” Minato asks, his expression making Inari smile because it was so clueless and adorable. Sakumo scoffed, chuckling lightly and brought everyone’s attention to himself.
“Of course it is, it’s Inari.” He says as if she's simply the answer to all their problems and it makes Inari’s chest puff up pridefully as she beams before her chosen mate. He may not have chosen her yet but she’ll take anything that will make her the most appealing choice for him. Plus, she’s a sucker for compliments.
“That’s right, Mi-na-to~,” she winks, or at least she tries, and Minato finds himself blushing with an amused smile when Inari purposefully blinks her two eyes at him. Her eyes say that she’s trying to impress him, but the action is so funny and then there’s her complete confidence in her flirting skills that Minato is just left stumped.
He thinks he should find this problematic, he should care more about the fact that Inari winking at him with both of her eyes squeezed shut shouldn’t be as adorably silly as it was. He can’t believe that watching her beam and flirt would have him as charmed as he is by her. He feels like it’s hopeless to fight it but he chooses to think more about that and what it all means at another time.
So he silently stays nearby as he becomes entranced by the sight of Inari starting to glow from her hands as the liquid gold seems to run up her hands like water. It covers her body like a thin wrapping of silk though it’s transparent and glows like the full moon even though it’s the colour of the setting sun, or fire, or her own carnelian eyes.
While her hands are still holding Kakashi’s face, caressing his mask and sharing body warmth, the glow dances off of her fingers and begins to spread over his face, up his head and over his hair though it mostly focuses over his left eye.
Kakashi’s eye close almost instinctively because of the warmth that he’s suddenly bathed in but suddenly pops them open as if not wanting to miss a second of what’s happening to him. Inari feels immense affection and awe in the face of her precious little cub’s complete faith and trust in her so she doesn’t hesitate to lean forward to smoosh her lips against his forehead and then his nose.
Kakashi doesn’t move away but instead grimaces and weakly nudges her away with pink cheeks that look dark and flushed under the layer of gold. She grins and does it again, every few seconds like sneak attacks and still, Kakashi never pushes her away.
“You’ll have to work hard to adjust to the sharingan.” Inari comments. Sakumo watches the scene before him and can’t believe how much this team has brought him and his son so much happiness. More than that as well, he can’t believe coming across Inari in the woods over enemy lines would be such a huge turning point in his life.
“Hai.”
“Just because you have a cool, new eye doesn’t mean you should be reckless with it.”
“Are you trying to be responsible, Inari?” Sakumo can’t help but to ask and his smirk instantly turns into an amused grin when he sees the desired pout that gets aimed his way.
“I’m always responsible.”
“Hai, Inari-nee-chan.” Kakashi answers swiftly.
Despite his father’s joking manner, despite the fact that Inari claimed that she was always responsible, he feels utterly and completely indebted to the fox-human-god who his father saved years ago, who saved his father and who took his team under her wing and protected him and his team and practically all the youths of Konoha from having to see war and death and the brutality to man way too early.
And she saved Obito, Obito, who had been crushed by a rock that was meant for him, who had taught him the importance of never leaving your comrades behind, who was bleeding and dying, covered with blood and crushed and unable to move with only death creeping on him to claim him.
Kakashi didn’t think he would ever forget the picture of Obito laid underneath that rock telling him to leave and save himself and Rin after giving him his only properly functioning eye.
Inari exhaled decisively through her nose and nodded once, content with Kakashi’s answer.
“Inari-sama..” Rin seemed breathless as she crawled closer to the pair and watched the golden glow even when she couldn’t exactly see what it was doing to Kakashi’s chakra pathways.
“Will I be able to help my team like you do?”
Inari glanced at the girl and saw a hardness in Rin’s eyes that spoke of her resolve and determination and admiration. It looked like everything that Inari needed to see to nod and grin,
“I’ll place their safety in your hands, Rin-chan,”
Rin’s eyes grew wide and she almost appeared out of her depth. Inari studied the girl and Rin seemed to realise that it was almost like Inari was watching to see how she reacted, if she would falter or straighten up and everyone in the room grinned when Rin gave a wolfish smile that was mirrored on Inari’s face only a second later.
“En!”
“Minato!”
Minato watches the smile that grows on her face instantly just at the sight of him and finds himself melting inside.
“Inari-san..”
Just the sound of him saying her name makes her glow. It’s dangerous, the way it makes his blood sing at the power he seems to have over her. Inari is dangerous, with her fiery, golden and silky hair, adorable perked ears and wagging tail.
Her bright orange-golden eyes that shine at the sight of him and that wolfish grin that shouldn’t make his heart thud like it does. His skin tingles and he stares, suddenly forgetting what he was even here for just so he could stare at her.
“I- uh…”
Obito snickers and Minato closes his eyes with a flush at the realisation that his team had just seen all of that. Kakashi is more secretive but the glint in his eyes says how amused he is by the sight of his sensei floundering before the girl who’s absolutely besotted by him.
“I’m.. Thank you so much for bringing Obito back, and for healing him… Inari-san.”
Inari nods, eyes bright with a child-like innocence and Minato can see the way she’s preparing herself for when he compliments her. Inari has… a really big thing for being complemented.
“You’re so strong,” Minato admits, flushing at how easily it was to adhere to her whims when she glows and beams in glee, rosy-cheeked and wringing fingers.
“I’m also..” Minato stutters and has to look away from that bright gaze now, “ I’m really sorry that I put Obito in that situation. It’s my fault they were out there alone and we almost lost him if it wasn’t for y-”
He stops, wide-eyed at the feeling of a small finger lightly touching his lips.
Normally in this situation, Minato would blush from having realised that he had just been rambling and hence flounder to apologise in embarrassment while Inari would say what she thought was the right thing to say to someone who had been feeling guilty all by themselves for hours and even days now, seeing as Obito had been gone for a few days.
Instead, Minato watches as his entire face becomes hot when Inari mindlessly starts gently caressing the curve of Minato’s soft lips, touching his cupid's bow and then outlining his top lip with her finger as she blinks at the sound of an awkward cough.
“Oh, Minato, your lips are so nice.”
And he wants to die from embarrassment because he just knows that his face, chest and even his ears are turning unbelievably red as he stutters and chokes but is unable to pull away when Inari gets closer, smiles and cups his jaw like he’s precious to her.
“Silly Minato..” she smiles softly, it’s an unbelievably beautiful sight that surprises Minato. He hadn’t known she could look at him in that sort of way.
“It’s not your fault. I know how much you love your team.” Inari states, “You left them alone because you have faith in their strength and that just shows what a great and strong team you are.”
“I’m sure you were worried for them and I’m also sure you’re not the one who assigned the mission. Don’t worry, Minato.” Inari brings him closer and gently rests her forehead against his. It’s incredibly intimate.
“You’re not the one to blame, your team is back together and Obito isn’t gone.” She grins and Minato is breathless.
“I brought him back to you! To us!”
And so she releases him, backs away and smiles at the team who had been watching in silence. Obito is wide-eyed, Rin is a bit skittish and blushing while Kakashi is almost bored though he hasn’t looked away from his Nee-chan and his sensei. Sakumo is just grinning knowingly at the young sensei.
“I brought back Obito! I’m so strong, don’t you guys think? Haha! And now Obito and Kakashi can train their abilities together! It’ll be so cool!”
Inari jumps away from the blushing sensei and Minato is left holding his jaw and covering his mouth as if he’s having trouble breathing but really, he can’t believe just how fast his heart is beating like it’s trying to jump out of his chest.
Too close! Too much! She’s too cute!