A Little Warmth for His Teacher

"Ugh..."

Obito watched helplessly as someone took away half a lifetime's savings.

He felt as though his heart was bleeding.

Minato-sensei.

If you don't put in a few hours of work every night... you'll have let my precious money go to waste!

He picked up the packet of medicine and hurried out of the pharmacy.

He needed to get away from this place that had broken his heart.

The shopkeeper watched him go with a smile.

"What an interesting little fellow," she murmured.

When Obito got home,

he put the medicine away, then ran to Grandmother's room.

"Grandmother, I'd like to take a jar of the fruit wine you made to my teacher."

"He's been really good to me, so I thought I'd bring him something and pay him a visit."

Grandmother naturally had no objection to her grandson's request.

"Of course. Would you like me to go with you, little Obito?"

"And will one jar be enough? Take a few more if you need to. We have plenty of fruit wine."

Obito grinned.

"I can go by myself, Grandmother!"

"I'll take just one jar for now... I'm worried my teacher couldn't handle any more."

Grandmother didn't quite understand what he meant, but she nodded anyway.

I suppose my dear grandson's teacher can't hold his liquor.

He doesn't even dare drink much fruit wine...

After telling Grandmother where he was going,

Obito fetched a jar of fruit wine from the kitchen and returned to his room.

He opened the medicine packet and carefully read the instructions inside.

"There are sixty small packets in here. Dissolve one in water and take it each day, so that's a two-month supply."

"Hmm..."

Obito fell deep in thought.

After a while,

he opened the wine jar and dumped ten packets of medicine into it.

"This much should have some effect..." he muttered.

Obito dashed back to the kitchen and returned with a small spoon.

He stirred for a while.

Once the powder had completely dissolved, he took a tiny sip.

"Mm. It's still sweet and fragrant. Should be fine."

He sealed the jar again, then carried it out the door.

"Grandmother, I'm heading out! I'll be right back!"

Grandmother called after him from inside.

"Take your time on the way, Obito."

Obito answered loudly.

"I will, Grandmother!"

To make it easy for his students to reach him, Minato had given all three of his apprentices his home address.

Obito followed the address at a jog and soon arrived at Minato's door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Obito knocked gently.

A woman's voice came from inside.

"Huh? Minato, I think someone's knocking, y'know?"

Minato answered right away.

"Keep cooking, Kushina. I'll go see who it is."

Footsteps rustled toward the door, and it soon opened.

"Obito?"

Minato looked at the little boy in surprise.

"What brings you here?"

Obito grinned.

"I came to visit you! My grandmother just made some fruit wine, so I thought I'd bring you a jar."

With that, Obito handed him the jar.

Minato took it and ruffled Obito's hair.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Obito."

"Come on in. Your... teacher's wife happens to be cooking, so stay and have some."

Obito shook his head like a rattle.

Even if I starved to death, I wouldn't take a single bite of her cooking!

"No thanks, Minato-sensei. My grandmother has dinner ready at home, so I won't trouble you."

He grinned. "I'll be going, then. See you tomorrow, sensei!"

"See you tomorrow, Obito."

Minato watched Obito leave, then looked down at the wine jar in his hand, feeling a little moved.

Obito really is a good kid.

Minato carried the jar back inside.

Kushina emerged from the kitchen with lunch.

She looked at him curiously.

Seeing her expression, Minato raised the little jar and explained.

"That was an apprentice I just took on. He came all this way to bring me some fruit wine."

Kushina arched an eyebrow.

"Oh? Your apprentice knows how to make a good impression. Let me see."

She set the food down and took the jar from Minato with interest.

Kushina broke the seal and sniffed it. Her big eyes lit up.

"That smells pretty good! Want to have a little with lunch?"

Minato nodded indulgently and fetched two small wine cups from the kitchen.

"Sure."

Both were veteran ninja and could easily tell the wine wasn't poisoned.

But medicine meant to nourish the body was much harder to detect.

After all,

who would expect his own apprentice to have prepared this sort of treat for him...

After Obito finished eating at home,

he returned to his room and flopped onto his little bed.

He lay there for a while.

Unable to fall asleep, he kicked off his blanket.

Obito felt like a little furnace, ready to burst into flames!

"What's going on... Could this be from that one sip of fruit wine?!"

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

If one tiny sip hit me this hard, then Minato-sensei and Kushina...

(Minato: Thank you so much. Really. I owe you one!)

At Minato's home,

Minato and Kushina had shared a few cups of wine.

Then he suddenly felt a fine current coursing through his body, stirring strange feelings in his heart.

He looked at Kushina and couldn't help saying,

"Kushina, why do you look so beautiful today?"

Kushina gave him a smoldering look, her fair legs brushing together beneath the table.

"What, am I not beautiful every other day?"

Minato's survival instinct kicked into high gear.

"You are. You're beautiful every day. You're just especially captivating today."

Kushina rose with a grin and settled into Minato's lap.

"You're getting sweeter by the day, y'know."

She wrapped her arms around Minato and pressed his head against her ample chest.

"Minato, I'm feeling like a rest, but it's still so early..."

Without a second thought, Minato threw a kunai toward the window.

Holding Kushina, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique and appeared beside it.

He gently drew the curtains and whispered in Kushina's ear.

"Now it's dark."

That evening,

Minato tidied up the mess in the room and gave a weary, wry smile.

"That fruit wine Obito's grandmother made sure packs a punch..."

Kushina's big eyes shone alarmingly bright in the darkness.

"Honey, why don't you have another cup? We can talk a little longer."

"Uh... Honey, I have to teach tomorrow."