Ficlet: A touch for decoration
Notes: I had a one word prompt, but I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I decided to research expressions that contained that term. Here goes an attempt to use all of them in one single fic(let).
Theme: 038 - Touch ( fanfic100)
Disclaimer: Naruto (c) Kishimoto and probably some other companies whose names I don't know. I am making no material profit out of writing this.
Touch for
A touch for decoration
A magic touch
Minato had not been able to accomplish much of anything on his first week as Hokage of Konoha. On his first day, Kushina had given him explicit (and quite graphic) warnings that if he were to go anywhere near the administrative tower, she would make sure that he did not leave the couch on their shared flat until he had forgotten what their bed felt like. She had decided that, before he could start working, she absolutely had to lend her magic touch in interior design to Minato's new office.
Be an easy touch
The minute he had stepped in the next day, his ANBU escorts immediately accused him of being too much of an easy touch. While he agreed that the massive plants Kushina had brought over from her own personal garden had little to do with the gravity that the workplace of someone in his position should reflect (and he was glad his relation with his fellow ninja had not changed that much with his appointment that they felt they could still make such comments), he really would have preferred them to have done so when the whole Council of Elders was not standing right there, listening.
Be in touch
The Sandaime, well-aquainted with the twists and turns of dealing with women, had embarrassed him further by giving him a smile worthy of a grandfather content to sit back and watch his grandchildren learn through experience. (The rest of the Council had not missed a second of that either.) Later, though, he had gotten in touch with the old man to ask for his opinion on the matter. Privately.
Be out of touch
Sarutobi's response had been quick and succint, and for some reason Minato had been reminded of how one shook the rain off a coat before putting it away: "I am out of touch with how you young people do things these days, Minato. That's why I gave you the job in the first place."
Be touch-and-go, cover all the bases
The survival of Kushina's self-proclaimed masterwork in décor had been touch-and-go for a while after that, but in the end he had found a way to keep everyone happy. For the moment, Kushina was pleased (though that would soon change if anyone were to touch the room), while the ANBU, Councilors and - betrayal of betrayals - his students were not. For his part, he did not care either way and frankly thought that everyone else was making too much of a big deal out of it, so he tried to find a compromise with the disgruntled party to cover all the bases.
Finishing touch
His ANBU had complained that the overflowing vegetation was making their job harder. According to them, it created too many blind spots, although he personally thought they were being too paranoid. His solution to that had been to simply give them permission to put in their own finishing touches, as long as they were careful enough that Kushina would not pick up on it.
Have the Midas touch and Hit a nerve, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole
(He had a sort of Midas touch when it came to dealing with her moods, but if he could prevent her wrath to begin with, all the better. It would really hit a nerve if she found out he had let someone mess up her efforts. She might turn into some sort of monster no one would want to touch with a barge pole.)
Lose touch with reality
As for the Councilors, his answer had been ever simpler. He had turned Sarutobi's words around and told them that they had lost touch with the present reality. This type of office-stroke-greenhouse was all the rage these days.
Not to touch a drop, put in touch with, put the bite on
His former teacher Jiraiya had brought a different set of concerns to the table. "Where was the booze?" he had asked mournfully. To him, Minato had said that he refused to touch a drop of the stuff while he was working and suggested that he could put Jiraiya in touch with Tsunade if he was feeling so deprived. The two could do him the favour of putting the bite on loan sharks throughout the country while they were at it.
Soft touch
Accusations that Minato was too much of a soft touch had been all but cast aside at this point. Anyone who might have made them was too busy solving the problems they themselves had brought up. Unfortunately, four days had already gone by and zero work had been done. Minato was getting nervous that, by the time he sat down at his chair, he would find that the village had fallen apart without him realising it.
Strike/touch a chord, the common touch
Kakashi, Obito and Rin had been the only ones to bring up an issue that Minato did not readily dismiss. They complained that if Kushina had gotten to leave her mark on the office, then so should they. Minato had taken them to see Kushina so they could plead their case themselves. (The less Minato spoke to her about the Great Redecoration Misshap, the greater the chances that his back would not suffer for weeks on The Couch of Penitence.) Their puppy eyes as they begged for her permission had been so innocent and so effective in touching a chord within Kushina, that even Minato forgot for a moment that the three were already jounin and perfectly capable of killing a man twice their size. Obito's common touch was what really clinched the deal, though. He had pulled up his goggles and fixed his bottomless black eyes on Kushina, while delivering a speech about his admiration for his teacher that Minato was sure had long been perfected through extended and repeated use on his own mother.
Touch a nerve
Touch a sore spot
Touch at some place
Touch base
Touch down
Touch of
Touch off
Touch on
Touch to
Touch up
Touch with
Touch wood
Theme: 038 - Touch ( fanfic100)
Disclaimer: Naruto (c) Kishimoto and probably some other companies whose names I don't know. I am making no material profit out of writing this.
Touch for
A touch for decoration
A magic touch
Minato had not been able to accomplish much of anything on his first week as Hokage of Konoha. On his first day, Kushina had given him explicit (and quite graphic) warnings that if he were to go anywhere near the administrative tower, she would make sure that he did not leave the couch on their shared flat until he had forgotten what their bed felt like. She had decided that, before he could start working, she absolutely had to lend her magic touch in interior design to Minato's new office.
Be an easy touch
The minute he had stepped in the next day, his ANBU escorts immediately accused him of being too much of an easy touch. While he agreed that the massive plants Kushina had brought over from her own personal garden had little to do with the gravity that the workplace of someone in his position should reflect (and he was glad his relation with his fellow ninja had not changed that much with his appointment that they felt they could still make such comments), he really would have preferred them to have done so when the whole Council of Elders was not standing right there, listening.
Be in touch
The Sandaime, well-aquainted with the twists and turns of dealing with women, had embarrassed him further by giving him a smile worthy of a grandfather content to sit back and watch his grandchildren learn through experience. (The rest of the Council had not missed a second of that either.) Later, though, he had gotten in touch with the old man to ask for his opinion on the matter. Privately.
Be out of touch
Sarutobi's response had been quick and succint, and for some reason Minato had been reminded of how one shook the rain off a coat before putting it away: "I am out of touch with how you young people do things these days, Minato. That's why I gave you the job in the first place."
Be touch-and-go, cover all the bases
The survival of Kushina's self-proclaimed masterwork in décor had been touch-and-go for a while after that, but in the end he had found a way to keep everyone happy. For the moment, Kushina was pleased (though that would soon change if anyone were to touch the room), while the ANBU, Councilors and - betrayal of betrayals - his students were not. For his part, he did not care either way and frankly thought that everyone else was making too much of a big deal out of it, so he tried to find a compromise with the disgruntled party to cover all the bases.
Finishing touch
His ANBU had complained that the overflowing vegetation was making their job harder. According to them, it created too many blind spots, although he personally thought they were being too paranoid. His solution to that had been to simply give them permission to put in their own finishing touches, as long as they were careful enough that Kushina would not pick up on it.
Have the Midas touch and Hit a nerve, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole
(He had a sort of Midas touch when it came to dealing with her moods, but if he could prevent her wrath to begin with, all the better. It would really hit a nerve if she found out he had let someone mess up her efforts. She might turn into some sort of monster no one would want to touch with a barge pole.)
Lose touch with reality
As for the Councilors, his answer had been ever simpler. He had turned Sarutobi's words around and told them that they had lost touch with the present reality. This type of office-stroke-greenhouse was all the rage these days.
Not to touch a drop, put in touch with, put the bite on
His former teacher Jiraiya had brought a different set of concerns to the table. "Where was the booze?" he had asked mournfully. To him, Minato had said that he refused to touch a drop of the stuff while he was working and suggested that he could put Jiraiya in touch with Tsunade if he was feeling so deprived. The two could do him the favour of putting the bite on loan sharks throughout the country while they were at it.
Soft touch
Accusations that Minato was too much of a soft touch had been all but cast aside at this point. Anyone who might have made them was too busy solving the problems they themselves had brought up. Unfortunately, four days had already gone by and zero work had been done. Minato was getting nervous that, by the time he sat down at his chair, he would find that the village had fallen apart without him realising it.
Strike/touch a chord, the common touch
Kakashi, Obito and Rin had been the only ones to bring up an issue that Minato did not readily dismiss. They complained that if Kushina had gotten to leave her mark on the office, then so should they. Minato had taken them to see Kushina so they could plead their case themselves. (The less Minato spoke to her about the Great Redecoration Misshap, the greater the chances that his back would not suffer for weeks on The Couch of Penitence.) Their puppy eyes as they begged for her permission had been so innocent and so effective in touching a chord within Kushina, that even Minato forgot for a moment that the three were already jounin and perfectly capable of killing a man twice their size. Obito's common touch was what really clinched the deal, though. He had pulled up his goggles and fixed his bottomless black eyes on Kushina, while delivering a speech about his admiration for his teacher that Minato was sure had long been perfected through extended and repeated use on his own mother.
Touch a nerve
Touch a sore spot
Touch at some place
Touch base
Touch down
Touch of
Touch off
Touch on
Touch to
Touch up
Touch with
Touch wood