Summary: Uzumaki Kushina was not the jealous type. It just so happened whenever a certain blonde was involved, she'd explode. Minato could only find it cute to some point. Fluff. You have been warned.
7 YEARS
She stood beside the boy, watching as he conversed with the girl who had unknowingly been receiving glares. She looked so innocent, asking him for a kunai, seeing as the only ones she had were destroyed during her so called "training".
His face flustered at something she said, and the girl sitting in the sidelines rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.
For what seemed like forever, he rummaged through his pouch and handed her a nice, polished kunai (which, take note, he didn't care much for his weapons, seeing as they would get dirty and scratched up anyway. So where did he ever-so conveniently find a perfect one laying around?). She thanked him, smiled that stupid smile that was oh so tempting to punch right off her face- and walked off.
The blonde turned, unaware of his female friend, and instantly cowered before her almighty glare. "Welcome back." she scoffed sarcastically.
"What's wrong?" he questioned, his previous anger melting into an inferior apologetic look once he realized what he had just asked her. Her, of all people. A part of him hoped she would answer the question like a normal person, rather than exploding violently. But then again, it was the inevitable. He bit his lip, looking for a way to save himself from an untimely death. "It's just a kunai."
She bit back the part of her that wanted so bad to snap at him. "Exactly, so quit getting so worked up about it." Her feet started leading her away from the spot, leaving a confused shinobi wondering…
1. Why she didn't explode in spontaneous combustion. And…
2. Why she would accuse him for getting all "worked up about it", when she was the one glaring daggers at him for trying to be generous.
It only took him until she was almost out of sight to run up to her and further the conversation. He had to be careful though. One slip of the tongue and he was in for it.
"There's such thing as 'no', you know?" she almost snapped, surprising him.
"Err…" he stuttered at first, looking for the right thing to say at the moment. "She needed a favor."
"Well if she needed it, she could have asked someone else." she yanked her wrist from his hand, and started off again.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, on the verge of losing his temper. He was just seven after all, and she was getting on his nerves. "Why don't you like her?"
"I dunno," she stopped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "She's just…icky." she answered, her childlike attitude getting the best of her. Minato froze. In the half year that he's known her, she had never shown such dislike for a person. Except, of course, the jerk-wads that would pick on her. But that was different.
She watched as he pondered, thinking up things to say (which she also took the time to come up with any comebacks…just in case). Somewhat patiently, she stood, just waiting for him to speak up.
It was her turn to be surprised when he started chuckling. She felt her face heat up, both in anger and possibly embarrassment, as she reached over to give him a nice punch for laughing at her like that.
"What's so funny?" she nearly screamed, her fist missing his head by centimeters as he dodged the attack.
"Nothing, nothing," he dismissed the thought. "Geez, you're so violent. You're cuter when you're jealous."
She paused, taking it all in. In the mean time, he grinned at her, this time his turn to wait for a response. And once her spongy brain soaked up all it needed to…
"EHH?" He backed up, knowing what comes next. "Baka! Get back here!"
10 YEARS
By the time he was ten years old, he was known as a prodigy. A genius. A phenomenon who had graduated from the academy at such a early age. As much as Kushina was happy for him, proud to say that flaky genin was her "best friend", she hated the attention he was getting.
From the extra praise he was getting from elders, to the admiring encouragement from peers, she couldn't help but feel inferior to him. And that was the last thing she wanted.
So she practiced. And trained. To the point where he'd find her on the training grounds passed out from the lack of chakra and exhaustion. He'd scold her about not overtraining (in which she'd doze off and take advantage of his super comfy couch and the secret ramen stash) and ask her why she does such things. She never really answered with words, and instead would roll her eyes at his concern for her.
But the additional acknowledgement was nothing compared to what she despised the most. And her.
Inuzuka Tsume.
Now, the girl herself was pretty okay-ish. They had crossed paths once or twice (luckily not involving their subject of argument), and her talkative, friendly nature was appealing to the redhead. But he just had to walk in and ruin their nice, peaceful girl talk.
She knew her own temper, and tried as much as possible to steer clear of the girl to avoid fights.
But like always, he spoils everything. With that stupid charm. And that dumb, childish grin that sparks a fight between her heart and her ribcage.
Her grip on the kunai she held tightened when she glanced at them for the umpteenth time. She promised herself she was only there to train after he ditched her for the Inuzuka girl. But it wasn't her fault she couldn't help but glimpse at them every second or so.
Guilty of not being able to train with her very often (considering he was all high and mighty with his genin team and whatnot), Minato had randomly offered to do so one day.
It just so happened to be the day the dog girl had strayed from her own team to train on her own. When he asked her why she was on her own (in which Kushina was sure a nerve had popped in her head. They were here alone for a reason, dammit!), her intention was to catch up to her comrades in ninjutsu she was struggling with.
Again with that innocent look.
So he couldn't resist. And offered to help.
Of course, Kushina knew when it was the right time to kick his butt for deciding on something she disapproves on (because she had unknowingly adopted the role of a wife so soon, and therefore they had to make decisions together). So she waited until they were done for the ass-kicking.
"Kushina," he shook her sleeping form.
"Mmm…" she moaned. "Minato-kun…"
He blushed (what was the stray suffix doing there?), thankful she wasn't awake to see him (otherwise she would laugh at him for being even more girly than usual).
"That's new," he whispered, close enough for her to hear, but far enough to give him room to escape if her fist comes flying towards his face.
She sat up at the sound of his voice, and jumped back after realizing their proximity. "What do you want?" she rubbed her head, trying to relieve herself of the dizziness.
"I thought you would have left by now." he shrugged, sitting beside her.
"Nn…" she shifted. "I'm sure I fell asleep on that tree…" she looked up at the large branch above her. "So how'd it go?"
"Uh, good…?" he answered, unsure of how else to respond to her question. "You still up for training?"
"Tch, no thanks, Namikaze." she stretched her legs out, throwing her arms up in the air. "You already did your training." she teased, hoping he wasn't too dense and get the message behind her sarcastic sneer. "Besides, I'm sleepy."
"It's barely past noon."
"Yeah well…" she sat up straight. "I'm tired anyway." She stood up and turned her back towards him, her hair following her as she walked off seemingly angry.
He couldn't stop the smile that tugged on his lips as he watched her storm off.
15 YEARS
The hot ramen steamed, its mist fogging the air around her face as she stirred her lunch with a pair of chopsticks. She was more than eager to dig in, if it weren't for the fact that she would probably burn her tongue off if she tried.
Minato watched, amused, as it taunted her. She was hungry, that much was obvious. But she would just have to wait a little longer.
She gave up after a while, huffing as she rested her chin on her hand. He chuckled at her impatience- to which she questioned him and he dismissed it with a shake of the head.
They sat on one side of the family-owned mini restaurant, enjoying the time together, seeing as they were getting assigned missions here and there (And of course, Kushina had blamed Minato for being such a wise ass and graduating so early. If he hadn't their chances of being on the same team were at least a little greater).
Then she came along.
Kushina glared at the countertop, shifting in hopes of keeping the girl unnoticed. As much as she should be happy (he did say it was his treat anyway), she found herself scowling at the food in front of her when she was noticed after all.
"Tsume-chan..!" he called out to her.
What the crap? She gets a 'chan' at the end of her name now?
"Mina-kun," she smiled back. He surprised Kushina though, by standing up from his previous seat (and had the guts to walk around her like she was a complete stranger) to sit beside the other girl. She wouldn't mind…if they weren't sitting on the other side of the place.
Kushina picked up her chopsticks once more, shoving a mouthful of steaming food into her mouth, determined to get out of there as fast as she could.
And being the super speed eater she was, she only had to listen to eight minutes of their shameless flirting before she stood up silently, left some money on the table (and though she had planned to tell him he owed her, it was her food. So she decided on keeping quiet), and left.
She had better things to do than sit unnoticed, playing the role of the unwanted, third wheel.
As quiet as she was in leaving, Minato knew she had run off. He sighed. Of course she'd leave.
17 YEARS
"It's okay, honey, let it out." Mikoto gently pat her head, comfortingly as her friend lay face first into a pillow. "I mean, it's not like they're…officially together or anything. They just happen to hang out a lot, especially recently, and…" Kushina looked up, dejectedly. "I'm not helping, I know…"
"I never asked for these stupid feelings," her free hand now hanging off the couch. "We're supposed to be friends. Nothing more. He just complicates things." she dug her cheek into the cushion. "With that stupid charisma. And those eyes...I mean...his smile makes me go weak at the knees, if you can imagine." she scoffed.
"Love is complicated." she ran her hand through Kushina's flowing red hair. She was pretty. Smart. Talented. What else could a guy ask for?
She decided perhaps it wasn't smart to blame Minato for this. The boy was 17 after all. For normal people, seventeen is the known age where hormones take over your life. And as much of a "genius prodigy" he was, he was still human. It didn't help that Kushina wasn't exactly the 'bustiest' teenager around.
"This is stupid." she growled. "He's stupid. Genius my ass."
Mikoto laughed. "He's not going to figure it out on his own." she tried. "Especially the way you've been dropping "hints"."
Kushina raised an eyebrow at her friend, and couldn't help but giggle at the statement. See, most girls will laugh at the corny jokes and bat their eyelashes prettily as he blushes at her choice in clothing. But, as most people had established, Kushina was the other five percent of the girls who don't do such things. She'd tell the insulting jokes, he'd laugh, and she'd blush whenever he'd take his shirt off during training.
Needless to say, the way she "drops hints" probably wouldn't even be considered close. Yet she assumed in the 10 years he'd known her, he would know the way she deals with things. "Flirting" being one of them.
"Tell him." the dark haired girl said out of nowhere, interrupting her train of thought. She helped her sit up, combed her hair with her fingers, and led her to the door.
"But…what do I say?" the panic arousing once the door had opened.
"That's up to you." she shoved the kyuubi vessel out the door. "Now go! And don't come back 'till you've talked to him!"
The door was slammed before she could answer.
It only took her half an hour to find him at Ichiraku's for the second time that day. She had half expected him to be at the training fields, "training" his butt off like he usually did to keep up with those expectations and such. But at Ichiraku's. Suspicious...
She took a deep breath and prepared to walk towards him, when she noted there was someone else.
Oh. It was her.
Fantastic.
Kushina was a ninja, right? So she decided to hang back and hide behind a building close by. She didn't care much as to what their conversation was about. She was merely hiding because ninjas wait for the right moment to attack. In this case, when the girl was gone, she'd go in for the kill.
Her plans were crushed though (crushed, stepped on, beaten with a fly swatter, thrown into a toilet and flushed down) when she squinted and watched as the brown-haired girl get up on her toes and kiss him.
Right on the lips.
Kushina's heart sank. Like…deep. Into the depths of the ocean (maybe lower).
She tried to get up, seeing as doing anything else was useless, but she couldn't tear her gaze off the two. It wasn't until she felt her eyes water could she blink and pick herself up. But what kind of exit was one without tripping? Cursing, she jumped up.
And she ran.
Minato pulled away, sensing a familiar chakra. He looked around, seeing nobody around. He looked back at the girl, apologized, and excused himself.
She sobbed loudly into the pillow she had previously smothered herself with, throwing the shinobi rule (yes, the one that had forbidden emotions to be expressed) aside as she soaked Mikoto's pillow with her tears.
"I'm sorry…" she told her genuinely sympathetic for the girl. "I shouldn't have pushed you to go."
Kushina sniffed. Loud. Before shaking her head. "It's fine…I wouldn't have known anything if you didn't."
At this point, Mikoto (the usually talkative one), couldn't think of a word to say. So she thanked that annoying doorbell that bothered her her entire life, when it interrupted the awkward silence. "Er…what do you want?" she glared at her visitor.
"Is Kushina here?"
"Well…yes." she couldn't lie. "Why?"
"I need to talk to her."
"Oh, do you?"
He sighed. This was getting nowhere. "This won't take long." he tried.
"I know it won't." she answered, and took the initiative of a good friend and closed the door. He stopped it, though, planting his foot firmly between the door and the frame. "Please?"
Mikoto sighed, knowing when she was beaten. She stepped aside and told him she was in the guest room.
It was never easy talking to the Uzumaki girl when she was either depressed, angry, or when she didn't feel like talking. So when all of the above are an evident problem, he was well aware he would be getting no response from her.
So he rambled. And went on about how he didn't enjoy it, despite being a part of the notorious teenage male population of Konoha, and that it wasn't him who insinuated the whole scenario she had walked in on. Even if the whole time she wouldn't even look at him, Namikaze Minato wasn't one to give up so easily.
"How do you not enjoy that, virgin boy?" was the first thing that escaped her mouth. She didn't get the chance to stop it, for her need to insult the poor boy took over.
And though that may have stung a bit, he couldn't help but feel grateful and accomplished she had said something.
There was an awkward silence as she looked away again, half wishing she hadn't said anything. Stupid motor-mouth. "I dunno," he shrugged. "I like someone else."
She flinched. If it wasn't the dog girl, who else could he be messing around with?
…And didn't tell her!
"Virgin boy?" he interrupted her thoughts.
"Don't think I don't know." she turned to him, a teasing grin playing at her lips. "You've never kissed a girl. She was your first."
He stared at her, aware that he was probably red-faced. "…So?" he glared. "You haven't kissed anyone either."
"Yeah…but it's different." she crossed her arms defiantly. "I don't go around kissing girls and claim to not enjoy it afterwards. I'm…saving for someone."
He raised an eyebrow at how corny that sounded (because she was supposed to be that scary tomboy girl. What was that about a Prince Charming?), and leaned over to where she was sitting. "Well he's gonna have to wait." he closed their distance, inwardly smirking as the girl tensed at the contact. Her fists balled up. How dare he try to make a move on her when she was pissed at him? She prepared to punch him when he turned his head slightly to get a better angle.
So she went limp in his arms. And she swore she'd get him back for this.
He pulled back, grinning that stupid grin again.
She opened her mouth to speak, when he beat her to it. "You know…you're still cute when you're jealous." he stood up. "I'll see you later. 'Kay?"
She nodded- or tried- as he dashed off (as Konoha's Yellow Flash, it is imperative you make a flashy exit). Kushina sighed, plopping back into the couch.
…Where'd Mikoto go?
LOLOL I phail. Well there ya go. MinaKushi fluff right before the school year starts (I'm not a fishy anymore! XDD) I probably won't be writing for a while, but I'm always on deviantArt (FilipinaChick57). 8D
REVIEWWWWWW! Pwease? You get a cookie :3
God bless,
~FilipinaChick