Hello everybody!

This is my very first fanfiction in english, which is not my mother language. I hope you don't bother about some mistakes, improving my language skills is a nice side-effect of writing this story about Kushina and Minato.
For all of you who read the German version before: I've changed, deleted and rewrote many parts of the story... So I recommend a re-reading of the story although the main parts and plot remained the same :)

Enjoy the story! R&R!

Kushina was running as fast as she could although she was well aware that she was late, excessively late. She ran as if it was a matter of live or death and in some way it actually was: If she missed this mission, Kushina would kill herself. On her way through the crowded streets of Konohagakure, people had to jump out of her way quickly, otherwise she bumped into them, shouted an apology over her shoulder while running headfirst into the next person, never stopping on her way. Angry and bewildered citizens looked after the young girl, some of them exchanging worried looks before turning back to their everyday business. The redhead was known to be quite an energetic and loud kid who always messed up with other children her age. Was she in trouble again?

It was a calm, warm morning in the Land of Fire promising a sunny day. Sweat drops were running down the young kunoichi's face already. Why did she had to sleep in today? Today of all days! When the most important mission ever was awaiting her!

›Almost there!‹, she encouraged herself when the great gate came into sight and she even managed to speed up a little. She hoped for the others to wait for her and that they hadn't chosen someone else for the mission when she didn't show up. It would mean the end of the world to Kushina, because this mission would bring her home. Home to the Land of the Eddies where she grew up, where her father and mother were waiting for her, where she could finally, finally feel at home again. That's why this mission was so important to Kushina and surely not because of the blond shinobi who saved her live a couple of weeks ago and who's team she was accompanying in this mission. At least that's what she tried to convince herself about.

When Kushina reached the gate, she slammed her heels into the ground, sliding over the dusty road until she stopped and stood still. Breathing heavily, she looked for her teammates, turning around herself desperately.

The team was gone.

»Damn it, dattebane!« Desperate and disappointed Kushina sank to the ground, cursing herself for being late. When the Hokage had called for her two days ago, she had been thinking it was something about the incident a couple of weeks ago when Kumo shinobi had kidnapped her because of her special type of chakra. Without a certain Namikaze Minato she'd probably be in a dark cell in the Land of Lightening today. Or worse.

Instead the Hokage had told her about this mission and Kushina had beamed at him with the happiest smile on her face. Their task was to bring a valuable scroll to the Land of the Eddies and because Kushina was born there and knew the land accordingly well, he had chosen her for this mission. She had never been chosen without her team and sensei for a special mission before and now she already failed without actually participating in the mission at all. Kushina slouched her shoulders and let out a loud groan. Why today of all days?

»Finally«

Kushina shot up from the ground and looked around herself in shock. A young shinobi her age appeared in front of her, his black hair bound together on the back of his head. He wore a red Hitai with the sign of Konoha on his forehead and a black ninja-suit. Kushina new this shinobi quite well, she had beaten him up one or another time when they were still in the academy: Nara Ryosuke.

At his view Kushina put on an annoyed face and swept away the dirt from her clothes. She wore the cream-colored outfit her mother had sent from the Land of the Eddies. She always wore it on missions still being a genin and not being in possession of the chuunin-vest, which most of her former classmates wore now. Although Ryosuke was a chuunin already, he didn't wear his vest today, neither did his teammate who appeared next to him. Kushina shifted her attention from Rysosuke to him, taking in his features and the small, polite smile on his lips. Had he grown since the last time she'd seen him? Had he always looked at her so warmly?

Suddenly again a shinobi appeared in front of Kushina, forcing her to take a step back. It was a white haired, cranky man with two small lines underneath his eyes and a wide grin on his lips. He stood with his hands on his hips and bent down a little, the grin on his face getting cheeky. »There you are! I already wanted to send a toad for you, you know!«

›A toad?‹, Kushina wondered silently for a second, but then bowed down hastily, pressing her palms together in front of her head in an apologetic gesture. »G-gomenasai, Jiraiya-Sensei!«

»Geez, women! They always keep you waiting«, Jiraiya complained shaking his head but not truly angry.

»We finally can get going.« Without waiting for his sensei to agree, Ryosuke started moving. Jiraiya gave the young kunoichi an estimating look, saying: »Let's go! I hope you're not out of breath, yet, Kushina-chan!«

She quickly shook her head, but the three shinobi already started moving and she hurried up to follow them. Relieved Kushina let out a breath. She'd made it in time! After almost seven long years she will finally see her home again! Has it changed a lot? Would her friends still recognize her?

»Nice to have you with us on this mission.« The soft voice interrupted her thoughts and Kushina turned her head, looking at the face of Namikaze Minato. The blond shinobi travelled next to her, jumping from tree to tree, his smile never leaving his lips. »We've already started worrying.«

Kushina couldn't stop herself from blushing. »I'm sorry.«, she mumbled and lowered her head. Her heart started speeding and she tried to convince herself that it was just because of the fast running. »I didn't mean to let you wait…«

»Jiraiya-Sensei, what's the matter with that scroll we have to bring to Uzushio?« Ryosuke's voice sounded as bored as always but someone who knew him could hear the curiosity out of it. Jiraiya gave him a big smile, shaking his head. »You know that's none of your business, Ryo-chan!«

›It's a seal, for sure!‹, Kushina thought and focused on Jirayia, who was currently carrying the big scroll on his back. ›Or at least the instruction how to perform a certain seal…‹

It took her a few seconds to notice that Minato was still looking at her. She started blushing again and gave him a questioning look that she couldn't remove again for some unknown reason. His eyes looked at her with curiosity, almost inquiringly, but then he focused on the track again, this certain smile still on his lips (did it ever disappear?). »If we carry on dawdle around like this we'll never reach the Eddies, Sensei!«, he said and Jiraiya gave him a cheeky smile over his shoulder.

»That was just for heating-up, Mina-chan!«, he claimed and started speeding. After five minutes Kushina started sweating again and she gasped for breath. This was the actual pace of team Jiraiya? She couln't imagine their original teammate Yasuko Teuchi, who had to make place for Kushina in this mission, to run as fast as they did now.

»Tired already?«, Ryosuke teased with a grin and Kushina gave him an angry look.

»Not at all!«, she hissed and sped up, running in front of them the whole way.

Because of Kushina's late appearance, they had to keep their pace up until dawn. During those long hours of running none of them said a word concentrating on the track and their mission ahead. Her own team had never brought Kushina to her physical limit like that before, and when Jiraiya finally gave a sign for setting up the camp, all she wanted was to drop to the ground and sleep. Or to puke. Or die.

Minato gave her a worried look when he saw her superheated face, but Kushina tried to cover it by focusing extremely on searching firewood. After a short time, the four shinobi had everything prepared for their rest and Kushina tried to keep her cover up, trying not to look too tired and too exhausted. She was glad the day was over but horrified at the thought of resuming this terrible run the next day at the same time. When Jiraiya gave them their ration of food she suddenly realized how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything today due to her late awakening and when her meal was given to her she couldn't hold herself back anymore and literally inhaled the food. Perplex Team Jiraiya watched her this time amazed by HER pace, and Kushina just realized that she was the object of everyone's amusement when Ryosuke rolled his eyes and Jiraiya chuckled. Embarrassed she swallowed the big bite she had in her mouth and almost chocked. She didn't know what to say or how to react. In her normal team, Shibi would have told her that chewing every bite 24 times is the best way to eat and Mikoto would have told her that this was not how girls should behave, both always correcting her. Thinking of their way of treating her, she was all the more surprised when Minato passed his bowl of food over and said: »Enjoy.«

She actually didn't want to accept his offer, but Minato insisted on it. She forced herself to eat the rest of her meal slowly and when she finally put the bowl to the side she still felt embarrassed but at least full.

»I'm taking first watch!«, Jiraiya claimed, laying back on the soft grass. Kushina frowned while Minato gave her an apologetic smile and Ryosuke rolled his eyes again. Soon Jiraiya's snores were heard in the whole forest and Minato sighted silently in his sleeping bag. His sensei was simply incorrigibly!

The warmth of the day was gone now, and the cold air caused Minato to shiver slightly. He slid deeper into his sleeping bag until his blond hair was the only thing of him visible. The long run and the missing food had worn out his body and he tried finding some sleep. Ryosuke next to him breathed deeply and relaxed for quite a while now – Minato envied him. Ryosuke could sleep everywhere anytime. Minato however was sometimes so preoccupied with thoughts obtaining his mind that sleep was no option at all, no matter how tired he was. It was a good night if he came up with a solution for the problems stocked in his mind; it was a bad night if not. And tonight, there was again this incident with a certain redhead he remembered and couldn't get out of his head.

Suddenly a hand touched his shoulder and Minato's head snapped out of the sleeping bag. Startled he looked up to the figure bent over him. He hadn't remarked anyone getting closer, probably having fallen in a half-sleep after all. The fire was almost gone but the pale light of the embers let Kushina's hair gloom, too. Before he could ask, what she was doing, she put a finger on her lips and removed her hand from his shoulders. Minato's eyes narrowed in concentration. Were there other shinobi around them? He tried to sense something, but his instincts couldn't point out any enemies or dangers.

Kushina gave the still snoring Jiraiya and peacefully sleeping Ryosuke another look, then she bowed down to Minato and whispered in his ear: »Come!«. Minato hesitated, knit his brow but then wrested out of his sleeping bag and followed Kushina. The night embraced him with cold hands and he shivered again. Surveying Kushina and her short outfit, he wondered again if she ever felt cold at all and what she wanted from him in the middle of the night. She evaded his looks but took his cold hand in her warm one, guiding him away from the camp. Minato could feel goosebumps on his arms from the sudden warm touch, and the young ninjas were so preoccupied with themselves, that they didn't hear the change in Jiraiyas snoring when the jounin couldn't suppress a cheeky grin anymore and kept on snoring even louder.

Kushina guided him deep into the forest, sometimes reconsidering her direction but always keep on moving. Minato tried to remember the way but when they crossed a cleaning the moon made Kushinas hair glitter and he couldn't look away anymore. He didn't know any other girl with such long, straight hair that fell over her shoulders like a waterfall and he was always surprised by the fact how girly it made the tomboy Kushina look. How long did it take her to brush it in the morning? Was that the reason for her late appearance today?

»I've been here as a child before.«, Kushina whispered and interrupted Minato's thoughts. Her quiet words were so loud in the dark forest.

»Here?«

»Yes. My father brought me here when I came to Konoha. He lured me here with it…«

»Lured?« Bewildered Minato rose his eyebrows and walked faster trying to catch up with Kushina.

»When I had to leave my home. He lured me away from my town with the promise to show them to me.«

»Show you what?«

»Sshh!« Kushina stopped and put a finger on her lips. She didn't explain why they had to keep quiet, but Minato said nothing until they reached the rock face they just passed on their travel. Looking up, he could see the cliff vaguely in the darkness not too high above, but Kushina kept on moving, looking at the basement of the rock until she found what she was looking for: A hole.

»Where are we?«

»Come on!«, Kushina said instead of answering his question and bent down crawling into the hole.

»Where does this hole lead to?«

»Don't ask, just come on!« Her voice was happy and lively as if they were playing a funny game. Skeptically Minato threw a look back to the camp over his shoulder, but the forest kept quiet and obviously harmless. Finally he overlooked his concerns and followed Kushina into the hole. The rock was wet and slippery and the drop off so sheer, that Minato had to hold on to the walls with both hands, climbing in pure darkness. Only the noises of Kushinas movements and her breathing guided him. When his right hand suddenly gripped into thin air, he stopped, reconsidering his options. How deep was this hole?

Suddenly Kushinas hand touched his chest. »Here!«, she said and pulled on his jacket. He made a step forward into thin air and was surprised by his foot hitting even ground again. Slowly he followed Kushina, his hands up in front of his head for not hitting a stalactite all of the sudden. »We are almost there!«, Kushina said, moving just as slowly as he was. Water dripped on his head and Minato grew more nervous with every step. If they continued this walk in this pitch-black darkness, they'd break their bones for sure! And why was Kushina guiding him here? What was in this hole after all? Why did they have to keep it a secret from Jiraiya-Sensei and Ryosuke? He suddenly had to imagine Jiraiya-Sensei waking up finding two of his subordinates missing. What would Jiraiya-Sensei do? Following their track?

Suddenly he walked right into Kushina and apologized quickly. This had to happen at some point in this darkness, but it was still odd to be so close to the girl. Kushina didn't seem to notice his concerns and said happily »Look!«, her hands searching for his. He didn't know what she was up to, what she needed his hands for, what he should look at in this darkness, but his heart suddenly started racing in an irrational speed and his knees felt like pudding. What was the meaning of all this?

But then he realized what Kushina was doing: She guided his hand in the darkness somewhere specifically and wanted him to look where his hand was. And then he saw a light. A small, pale, single, blueish light right next to him. Minato blinked in surprise, taking in the small light, and leaned closer. It was so close he could touch it, but what was it?

»There are more of them. Come on!« Kushina grabbed his arm and made him follow her. The tunnel made a curve, went downwards a bit and suddenly Minato spotted more of those little lights. He realized they were attached to the walls of the rock. A glooming rock?

»Here we are.«, Kushina said and Minato drew his attention away from one little blue light to the sound of her voice and suddenly he could see Kushina again. She was standing in the middle of a big cave, surrounded by stalactites and stalacmites and everywhere were those lights, making him able to see her smile. Minato didn't know where to look first: At her and her joyful face or at those thousands of little sparkles so uncountable like the stars.

»Wow«, he breathed, laid his head back in his neck and turned around himself. Everywhere around him, above and underneath, it blinked and sparkled as if he had entered the night sky, as if the world turned around him and Kushina all alone. »That's beautiful.«

»I hoped you'd think so.« Kushina giggled and imitated his turning carefully not to touch any rocks illuminated by the lights.

»What are they?«, Minato asked and stopped turning. He moved to a wall to examine the lights and saw little, thin worms hanging on strings that were almost invisible. »Glowworms!«

»Yes.« Kushina chuckled. »My father brought me here, telling me when I lived in Konoha I could come here every day.«

»That's amazing! No one has ever told me about this cave!« Minato beamed at her, coming closer, trying to take in everything at once. »Thanks for bringing me here, Kushina!«

»I- I am the one to thank you«, she said nervously brushing back a strain of her hair behind her ear. »For- for saving me, dattebane.«

»You don't have to thank me for that.« Minato smiled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. »It was self-serving, too. I don't want anything to happen to you.«

»But you were the only one.«, she whispered, her heart racing again by his words, and Minato lowered his arm. »You were the only one who cared.«

»That's not true! Hokage-sama, his ANBU and other Jounin were searching for you, too!«

»But you were searching for ME.« Kushina looked up and Minato was startled from the hurt look in her eyes. »The others were searching for… For… You were the only one who searched for me as a PERSON.«

Minato rose his eyebrows. He didn't understand what Kushina was talking about or what she wanted to tell him, but she sounded depressed and deeply hurt. How could her mood change that quickly? How could he cheer her up again? Thinking about it, nothing came up his mind. He suddenly realized that it might had something to do with her feeling like an outsider. That no one wanted her in the village. He had to make sure to show her that this was not true.

»I'm sorry.«, Kushina said confusing Minato again.

»About what?«

»I've never taken your dream seriously. I never believed in you becoming Hokage one day. I never recognized… But now I believe that you can do it, dattebane! You are strong, Minato-kun! I think you'd be a great Hokage!« Kushina took his hands and squeezed them slightly. Feeling his cheeks burning, Minato looked into her beaming face with her sparkling eyes and couldn't think of anything else to say than: »Th-Thanks.« Until today everyone had supported his dream to become Hokage and encouraged him on trying, but no one has taken his dream as seriously as Kushina just did.

»Of course you won't become Hokage because I will become Hokage.«, Kushina said then and let go on Minato's hands.

»Of course, huh?« Minato grinned. »It's a challenge then?«

»Of course.« Kushina chuckled and Minato joint in, their laughs echoing from the walls.