Undying Affection

Chapter 1

"Kushina, will you marry me?" a soft voice asked.

One man snorted while the other muffled his laughter by turning away from the blonde who was on his right knee. Minato somehow knew this was going to happen when he decided to practice his marriage proposal with Shikaku and Fugaku. He wanted to be prepared and have all the right words to say when the time came to ask the red-haired girl to be his wife but at this rate, with his friends laughing, he wasn't going to get it down anytime soon.

He stood back up, dusting the dirt off his pants. This really wasn't going as planned.

Shikaku turned back around, handing the blonde his pack. "I'm sorry Minato. Really, I am," he apologized, unable to hide the amusement in his voice, "I just couldn't help it with you on the floor like that."

Minato hefted the pack onto his shoulder. "Well," he began, not caring how they just laughed at him, "that's how it's supposed to be isn't it? The guy gets on the floor on one knee and asks for her hand in marriage."

"Yeah but the way you were doing it looked pretty funny," Fugaku pointed out, folding both arms across his chest. His famous Uchiha smirk appearing on his lips, mocking him.

"Especially the way he said it," added Shikaku. He cleared his throat and swallowed thickly. "Kushina," he mimicked, his voice a tad bit higher than Minato's, "Will you marry me?"

Minato shook his head. If he really looked and sounded like that, he was doing a pretty horrible job.

"You forgot to get on your knee," Fugaku said.

"Oh, right." Checking the trail around them, Shikaku found a generally smooth spot and bent down on one knee. "Give me your hand Fugaku," he outstretched his arm.

A dark scowl crossed the Uchiha's features. "You're kidding."

"I'm not." Shikaku shook his head and said once more, "Give me your hand."

"No."

"Just give it to me."

"No."

"All you have to do is outstretch your arm." Shikaku exasperatedly said.

"Don't you know what the word 'no' means?" Fugaku asked angrily.

Sometimes Minato wondered how he even managed to befriend these two men and with a heavy sigh, he spoke before Shikaku had the chance. "Guys, this is serious."

"I know it is and because of that, I'm trying to show you how it's done." The Nara stood back up and walked over to the blonde who raised a golden eyebrow.

"But you haven't even asked Yoshino to marry you—"

"That's beside the point. When you ask Kushina to marry you, be confident, sound confident and tell her something nice, like um…like…" He couldn't really think of anything at the moment so he just said, "'your hair is the color…of my…yearning heart?"

Minato's face fell and Fugaku frowned even deeper at the poor, romantic line. He was definitely not going to say that to her and if he ever decided to do so, God help him.

"Nara's." The Uchiha muttered, shaking his head in disapproval. "I think that's the worst line I've ever heard. It doesn't sound passionate for a start and it's quite pathetic if you ask me. Not even my own people would say something that ridiculous."

Minato stayed quiet, silently agreeing.

"Well let's hear you say something passionate then. Go on Fugaku. Show us what you would say to a girl, to your Mikoto," he urged and sat upon a flattened rock, waiting for the frowning man to say something.

Fugaku tensed. "If I'm going to tell my wife something," there was a hint of protectiveness in his deep voice, "I'd tell her and only her. Not you."

"Hm." Shikaku propped his chin onto his palm, "Well, can't argue with that one. However, I still think we should show Minato how it's done."

Fugaku released a frustrated groan, turned and walked the other way from Shikaku, neither caring nor wanting to do it.

"I think," Minato began, watching Fugaku walk away, "We should keep moving. Konoha is only a few miles away and if we push ourselves now, we'll get there before—"

Crunch.

Minato stopped himself short and looked at Shikaku then back at Fugaku. Both men weren't near dried leaves or twigs, making that noise highly suspicious. He watched his surroundings carefully, the trees, the bushes, the random birds that perched on branches.

Strange.

Minato crouched down, touching the ground with his index finger. His muscles tensed as he narrowed his eyes.

"Before what?" Shikaku asked, standing to his feet. He noticed how Minato wasn't paying attention anymore and neither was Fugaku.

Looking towards the tall, green bushes, the Uchiha reached for his shuriken holster while Minato took hold of a hiraishin kunai from his bag.

Shikaku didn't realize what was going on until he noticed blood red filling the Uchiha's dark eyes, three colons forming around his pitch, black iris.

That's when it hit him.

They walked right into an ambush without even knowing about it.

A shuriken whipped past Minato and Fugaku, whistling through the air as it flew straight towards Shikaku.

He didn't have time to move. Minato threw his kunai, both weapons clashing in against each other as sparks flew in midair.

"Focus Shikaku!"

About eighteen shinobi leaped from their hiding spots, from the bushes, to the trees, to the underground dirt, each surrounding all three Konoha men with smirks. They probably thought numbers against the Yellow Flash would do them good, even when they were told to flee on sight whenever they encountered them but they probably didn't expect an Uchiha and a Nara along with him because he saw most of those smirks turn into frowns, fear showing in most of their eyes.

Minato looked over at the ones in front of him, and then eyed the ones next to him. Sandy red and brown uniforms. One long sleeve on one side, a lapel on the sleeveless side.

Iwagakure.

"Damn," Fugaku muttered, shifting his stance.

"How troublesome," added Shikaku.

Minato stayed silent. Expect the unexpected was what the teachers had taught them in the Academy, he'd just didn't think it would happen here, so close from Konoha's gates.

It went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds when one of the shinobi slammed both hands against the earth, the ground roaring in despair as a landside of earth headed towards them.

"Fugaku!" Minato called out.

Fugaku quickly took a step forward, his hands forming various hand seals. Snake. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger.

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!

A massive amount of flames released from his mouth, both jutsus clashing in against each other in a wild frenzy, exploding at the slightest touch. The ground violently shook, trees fell, birds flew in panic, and all three Konoha shinobi took this opportunity to scatter.

As Minato leaped away from the blast, he threw a set of eight shurikens towards the Iwa nin behind him, his weapons flying straight towards the shinobi. The man dodged but the shurikens whipped across the air too fast for him to deflect them all. Minato threw his special hiraishin kunai. The Iwa nin had one second of life left.

Flash!

He sliced the shinobi's neck before landing on a tree branch.

While the man fell towards the ground, he scanned the area for his comrades. Shikaku had several shinobi immobilized under his shadow technique, the jutsu binding them by the neck to suffocate them slowly. Fugaku was on the opposite side, casting genjutsus that bounded many shinobi from moving, finishing them off with a devastating killing blow to their heads.

A shout instantly rose above Minato, an Iwa nin coming down straight at him with a kunai. Minato stepped back, threw a smoke bomb and dashed in with a kunai in hand. Both men clashed. The shinobi wasted no time reaching for a second kunai, hurling it towards Minato with blunt force. Not having enough time to fully dodge, the weapon nicked his arm. Minato hissed.

He leaped up and fell upon the man, smashing his face against the tree's branch and onto the ground below. He cried out in pain. Minato thrust a kunai into his heart, silencing him.

There were four remaining Iwa nin left, all coming towards him. Minato threw a fine set of hiriashin kunais ahead of him.

Flash!

Minato appeared behind the second nin, jamming his kunai deep into the others back.

Flash!

His next opponent was stabbed behind the knees, ripping the flesh sideways to leave him immobile. The second began crying out in pain.

Flash!

No extra weapons left, Minato rammed his fist into the third's throat and swung around to kick another in his ribcage. His hard, blue eyes glowered at the final one, the man blanching pale as death, as if Minato's glare looked into his very soul.

Shikaku and Fugaku appeared in mere blurs alongside Minato, each folding their arms across their chests.

"P-please," the man weakly stuttered. He was trembling, sweat trickling down his face at the very thought of losing his life.

All three Konoha men looked at each other before nodding in agreement. Minato took a menacing step forward, the man clasping both hands over his head protectively, shrinking back from the blonde.

He narrowed his dark,blue eyes. This was pretty odd for a shinobi to do; surrendering to your enemy was something a ninja must never do, especially in such a sorry state. Minato saved this piece of information for later but for now…"You're coming along with us for interrogation," Minato stated, turning back around.

The shinobi looked back up. "You're letting me—"

Using his sharingan, Fugaku stared directly at the Iwa nin's black eyes, casting a genjutsu that knocked the man unconscious in an instant.

Minato heaved a sigh, flinching at the sharp pain on his arm. He forgot about the small injury until now, removing the bands from his sleeves and rolling it up to closely inspect the gash. It didn't look like much but the stinging sensation was a reminder that it was more than a simple cut. Luckily for him, he had a mini medical-kit in his pouch, full of basic necessities for times like these when he accidently let the enemy land a blow. Hissing as he cleaned and sanitized his injury, Minato placed his thoughts somewhere where he didn't have to think about the hot pain searing within his arm. He really wasn't expecting any of this to play out today nor was he expecting to get ambushed in the middle of his practice. Really, that was quite embarrassing.

Minato bandaged the area with adhesive gauze, finishing it off with an elastic bandage. That feels a lot better, he thought to himself as he slid his sleeve back down his arm.

"He needs to be taken to Konoha Intelligence Division and figure out why the hell his team ambushed us!" Fugaku fumed, wiping the trickling blood from his head. It seemed Minato wasn't the only one to suffer some blows because the Uchiha also had a wound on his leg.

The only one without an injury was Shikaku, who greatly sighed. "That's why we didn't kill him in the first place because if we did, we wouldn't even know their reason for being in this country."

"There's something off though." Minato joined in. He was already writing a note to inform the Third Hokage about their situation, letting him know beforehand what happened. He summoned a small toad to carry out his missive.

It just didn't make sense. Why were they near Konoha? Why attack them? Why become exposed when clearly they were doing a pretty good job being undetected?

"We'll leave that to Tadashi and his team," Shikaku remarked as he took a seat. "So, about that guy, who's going to carry him?"

Minato and Fugaku exchanged exhausted glances.

"You," they chorused.

Minato didn't realize how very calm and hot Konoha was when they arrived. Spending half a day traveling in the forest was cool and refreshing but once they reached the gates, humidity hit him hard in the face.

It was just too hot.

No time to think about that, he mused as he noticed Tadashi waiting for them hidden behind a thick tree. Minato nodded, all members of his team meeting up with the interrogation ninja. Shikaku dropped the Iwa Nin off his back.

Thud!

"Man," he grumbled, rubbing his neck to free him of pain, "I wonder what this guy eats."

"Never mind that," Tadashi spoke. "I'll take him and see what I can get out of him. Iwagakure nin shouldn't be around here for a start."

Minato thanked the man and turned to Fugaku. "You can release the genjutsu now."

"I removed it a long time ago. He'll come around in a few hours."

Behind him, Shikaku bursted. "You mean I was carrying a man that could have woken up any moment? What the hell were you thinking?!"

Fugaku shrugged carelessly. Tadashi and the Iwa nin disappeared in a puff of smoke. Minato sighed loudly. Not again.

Their bickering wasn't going to stop anytime soon so Minato continued on his way back into the village, signed in, and headed straight towards the Hokage Tower to report. The town was abuzz about the upcoming Konohagakure Fireworks Festival and many of the shops were preparing for large-scale sales that day. Some were placing wires above so they can hang bright orange and red lanterns the following day, others were getting their stands ready. A yukata shop he passed by had many customers yelling at each other, women fighting over different style of clothing and children begging to leave the rowdy place. It was always like this when festivities were around the corner and Minato usually stayed clear of that. He didn't like being whacked by older woman nor did he want to spend a whole day in one store because of a one-day sale. That was Kushina's thing, not his.

He picked up his pace before anyone pulled him aside to get opinions from him. It wasn't that he didn't want to help but he had more important business to discuss with the Hokage and as much as the older man liked him, it was still not a good idea to keep him waiting.

Up the stairs, round the corner was the main office, the door slightly ajar for some reason. He stopped. Manly giggles were coming from inside of the office, pausing Minato's trail of thought.

Weird.

"It's not finished yet but what do you think? How is it?" a booming voice asked. There was only one person in the entire village with a voice like that. Jiraiya-sensei.

Minato heard a chortle. "I don't think I've ever read something this ludicrous before. It's a good laugh."

"What?!" Jiraiya sounded very insulted. "How is passionate love, high-end drama, burning tragedy ludicrous?"

"It's predicable."

"Predictable is good sometimes."

"And cliché."

Minato thought it was an appropriate time to knock now. Overhearing his sensei's conversations, no matter how normal or inappropriate they are, wasn't a good idea any—

"Come in Minato."

Oops.

He pushed the door aside and walked in, keeping his expression neutral so they wouldn't learn his eavesdropping a couple minutes ago.

"Hokage-sama," Minato greeted with utmost formality and smiled to his now sullen sensei, which really wasn't paying any attention to him. He was mumbling something like "No appreciation" or something like that. He was butt hurt no doubt.

The Hokage leaned back in his chair until it creaked. It was probably as old as the man sitting in it. "Where's the rest of your team?" he asked.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave them behind. Minato opened his mouth to reply how they were both arguing outside the gate—

"Right here, Hokage-sama," Shikaku replied. Hands stuffed in pockets, he stood beside Minato, followed by a scowling Fugaku. Minato couldn't tell if that was his normal scowl or his angry scowl because frankly, the Uchiha sported one almost all day. Said man handed the Hokage their report and began reading it silently, Jiraiya standing beside him. When Sarutobi finished, his eyes closed as a long, suffering sigh escaped his lips. His sensei snorted. Minato could only guess it was because Jiraiya's been in the thick of war since his younger days that it was almost normal now for these kinds of situations to happen.

After a brief silence, the Hokage broke it. "Make sure eyes are watching him at all times whiles he's with the interrogation team. This shinobi's presence might bring danger to the village in a few days if none at all."

All three men nodded. "Shikaku, I want you to speak with Inoichi about this situation. Fugaku, you may return to your law enforcement duties until further notice after you have a medic take a look at you and Minato," he said, turning to the blonde, "I'd like to speak to you in privately."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," all three men chorused.

"You two are dismissed."

Both men disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Minato alone with his superiors. He already guessed what the Hokage was going to ask him.

He was supposed to head towards the clinic but with the meeting done and over with, Minato instead made his way home. Kushina was probably waiting for him with a plate full of hot food on the table with some nice, cold water to a side.

He snorted. As if!

Kushina wouldn't do that unless there was a very special occasion going around, like the time he was promoted jonin when he was sixteen or when he finally had the courage to ask her out on a date.

His stomach growled. It'd be nice though, if there is something already made to eat. He didn't have any money to eat out at that small restaurant stand called "Ramen Ichiraku" and even if he did, he'd have to walk all the way back towards the hokage tower and past the hospital to get to it. Yeah, there was no way he'd do that especially if his house was standing right in front of him.

He sighed and reached for the knob. The door opened abruptly, an arm-crossed Kushina appearing on the other side. Her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail and she was wearing her usual blue apron.

Wait.

Blue apron.

Was she cooking? Dear lord, he hoped so.

"You know, I'd thought you weren't going to come today seeing how long your mission took," she said dryly. "But I guess it couldn't be helped you being sent on that trip, huh?"

He grinned. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, do you want to come inside or not?" She asked, stepping aside.

In two strides, he was inside. Not much changed in the last month, except for a few photos here and there and freshly picked flowers on the stand next to the couch.

The scent of newly made food wasn't there, disappointing him of his wishful thinking.

Kushina shut the door and made her way towards the kitchen, Minato following. "I was about to start cooking when I felt your chakra outside. Speaking of which, you okay?" She turned around, searching for any signs of injuries on his body.

He turned a little to the side, not wanting her to see his ripped sleeve. "I'm fine." He assured her. "Why? What's wrong with my chakra?"

"It's pretty low."

What? That couldn't be. "Impossible. I feel normal." Nothing felt out of the ordinary and even if he was running on low chakra, shouldn't he be on a hospital bed?

"You know, maybe you should—" she stopped, narrowing her violet eyes on his arm.

Oh crap.

"If you're fine, then explain that—" she pointed an accusing finger to his arm.

"It's only a scratch." It really wasn't but to him it was.

"Only?" She began removing her apron and if he didn't know any better, she was about to haul him to the hospital. "Did you even get it checked? Don't answer that. Let's just go."

"Kushina "

"You trying to act all tough and pretending it doesn't—hey, you listening?"

"Yeah…" The chair in front of him turned fuzzy. He gazed elsewhere, making a terrible mistake as the whole room turned into a blurry sight. He shut his eyes, leaning against the wall for support. What the hell was going on?

"Minato? Are you okay?" She rushed to his side, touching his forehead to check his temperature.

He didn't answer. His head began pounding merciless, an iron clang filling his ears as every part of his body seared with hot pain until he could hardly breathe. He fell, struggling to move. Kushina kneeled beside him, cradling him in her arms, her distress apparent in her words as she soothed him. It didn't do much.

Minato tried to understand what was happening to him. Was it his injury? Could it be that…

A faint knock sounded at the door, Kushina yelling for them to come inside.

Six white-clothed medics rushed inside, immediately swarming around the pair on the floor.

"Minato, stay awake." She lightly tapped his cheek so he could keep his eyes open, her voice sounding terribly faint. "The medics are here. You're going to be fine."

Shivering uncontrollably, he nodded. "S-sure t-thing."

And as much as he tried to stay awake, his eyes felt too heavy to keep them open.

A/N: Ah, the minakushi fic is finally up and running! This one was initally supposed to be my first story on here but alas, that wasn't to be. Anyways, I'm making this one as interesting as the other so be prepared for some twists here and there. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Feel free to critique and review, those are always appreciated!

Have fun reading!

Cheers~