"Top of the world, bottom of the ocean... Cause the future is not what you see.
It's not where you've been to at all..."

I held the girl in my arms. Her dazzling golden eyes stared up at me. The warm liquid gushed over my hand as it pressed over the enormous, gaping wound that was on the girl's stomach. No matter how hard I pressed, the blood refused to clot. Tearing my eyes away from the pooling blood, I looked to stare back in to her eyes. She smiled up at me, her skin getting paler by the second.

She smiled. I knew that she was biting back cries of pain and screams of agony. Her coal black hair pooled underneath her head on the emerald grass, which was rapidly being dyed crimson. The blood continued to flow forth from her body, and all I could do was clutch desperately to her in a sorry attempt to quell the rush of liquid. Her breathing was heavy, shallow and ragged. It sounded as though she were choking.

"You should leave, Minato," she choked out, her mouth dyed a dark shade of red from the blood that had risen up in her throat. I bit my lip, my arm tightening around her shoulders. I shook my head.

"I won't just leave you here," I whispered, my blue eyes stinging as I bit back tears. I mentally kicked myself. Through all of this, she had not cried once. And here I was, being the weak one. I wasn't even in pain. She smiled again, coughing softly, and I pressed down firmly against the wound. "I can't let you die here, Ojike," I murmured, pressing my lips in a firm line as I stared down at her. I was so young. We were so young... She was so young.

"There's still time to save her," she said, breathing in heavily. I heard the blood crackle in her throat as she did so, her eyes widening from the brief pain. I brushed a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. They looked like pools of gold, contrasting greatly against her charcoal locks. "Sh... She l-left her hair... In the path... I stalled them..." I shifted her body slightly in my arms, and she hissed in pain. I could feel, through the blood, the offending metal object imbedded deep within her flesh, which was now slowly sucking the life out of her.

"I'll wait for a medic-"

"Don't be stupid," she snapped, her lips now tinted red from the overflow of blood in her mouth. "You kn... Know a... as well as I do that it...s over..." Ojike said, her eyes fluttering dangerously. I shook her gently, attempting to make her snap back to reality. She forced her eyes back open, smiling up at me for a third time. "Rem...ember when we met?" she whispered, attempting to bring her hand up to the side of my face, but she was too weak. I grabbed her hand, placing her cool palm against my cheek, nodding.

"Look around you," Jiraiya said, taking a glance around for himself. I, too, glanced to my left and right, taking in my new team. To my left was a dark skinned boy, who had said nothing since we got here. To my right, a lightly tanned girl with jet black hair. She had been staring at me ever since I arrived, her golden eyes never once leaving me. It made me feel pretty uncomfortable and awkward, but I hadn't quite figured out how to bring it up.

"This will be your team from here on out," Jiraiya said, nodding at each and every one of us. "So, let's all introduce ourselves. I'm Jiraiya,"

"My name is Namikaze Minato, and-"

"Kushina says you're a wuss," It had been the dark haired girl who had spoken, and my eyes met hers briefly before replying.

"And, you are...?" Her smirk widened, and she crossed her arms over her chest, her golden eyes looking me over for the millionth time that day.

"Senju Ojike," she replied firmly. I raised an eyebrow. I had no memory of this girl from the academy. "My friend Kushina says you're a wuss." I frowned slightly. I definitely remembered Kushina.

"Well, I'm not,"

"You kinda look like one." she retorted, raising a perfectly groomed, coal black eyebrow. My frown deepened as Jiraiya chuckled softly.

"Yeah, well, I'm not. Kushina just based her opinion on my appearance, and-"

"So, you'll admit it then?"

"Admit what?"

"That you look like a wuss!" she clarified, smirking playfully. I scoffed, crossing my arms and turning away. I didn't even know this girl, and already she was being unbelievably rude. If she and Kushina were friends, it was obvious why this girl didn't like me so much. Kushina didn't like me so much, either.

After another hour or so of training, Jiraiya dismissed us, telling us to meet back in the morning. We left the clearing, our third teammate turning left as Ojike and I turned right. Despite myself, I glared.

"Why are you walking with me?"

"I live this way."

"So? Walk by yourself," Generally, I was a polite person. But something about this girl's personality, and her terrible first impression, just got to me.

"Make me." she retorted, crossing her arms and glaring over at me. My blue eyes met her gold ones, and even though she was glaring I could see something else there as well. I couldn't put a finger on it- I had no idea what emotion it was. Ojike looked away quickly, her eyes moving away from mine. I glanced over at her curiously. She bit her lip nervously, her eyes darting around, before they met back with mine.

"A-actually, I live that way, so..." And with that, she took off down the opposite path, quickly distancing herself from me. I paused, staring after her as her long dark hair swayed in the breeze. I frowned, making a confused sort of face to myself.

"There aren't any houses that way..."

"Get off of me, Minato!" I chuckled, helping Ojike stand from where she lay on the ground, having previously pinned her there myself. Despite us having innitially gotten off on the wrong foot, it had been a little more than a year since then. Ojike still took great pleasure from teasing me whenever she could, but I always had the upper hand. I was a Chunin already, and she had yet to pass the final round- It got to her every time.

"You've improved a little," I muttered, releasing her hand as she finally stood upright. Jiraiya had yet to arrive for afternoon practice, as we had both gotten here early. Ojike swept her long dark hair behind her ear, looking downwards at the ground, staring at her feet. I frowned, never having understood Ojike's growing nervousness around me. I figured she was intimidated- She had been the one who had asked if I was a wuss on the day that we first met, after all.

"Thanks," she replied, peering up at me from underneath her lashes. "Kushina and I have been practicing." she said softly, clearing her throat awkwardly and looking anywhere but at me.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I snapped, finally loosing my patience.

"Doing what?" she replied, looking away again.

"That!" I said, pointing at her accusingly. She finally turned to look at me, her eyes centimeters from my own as I leaned down slightly to be on eye level with her. Once realizing our close proximities, she yelped, pushing me back roughly and backing away herself.

"Minato! Don't do that!" she cried, crossing her arms tightly across her chest and looking the other way. Her cheeks were now tinted pink, which stood out next to her dark hair. I looked at her questioningly. I had never seen that expression on her face before. Thankfully, Jiraiya arrived minutes later, making things less tense, although the rest of practice passed in a rather awkward manner. Whenever I got anywhere near Ojike she would either yelp or flinch, back away rapidly, and flush crimson. After we parted for the evening, Jiraiya held me back.

"What's going on with you?" he asked curously, looking down at me.

"Me?"

"You and Ojike." I shrugged in reply, looking ahead of me and watching as she quickly rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

"It's nothing I'm doing!" I replied, looking up at my teacher, who was smiling at me fondly. "She just started acting really weird today..." I mummbled, still not quite grasping the nature of Ojike's sudden shyness towards me. Jiraiya chuckled, folding his arms and looking down at me knowingly.

"Ah, Minato. You understand so little about women." I frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you know about women?" I retorted, which earned a barking laugh from Jiraiya.

"More than you, Minato. More than you..."

"Then what's her problem?" I blurted, waving my arms in the air wildly.

"You really don't know?"

"No." Jiraiya sighed, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly before speaking.

"Ojike likes you, Minato," he explained, looking down at me to see if I now understood.

"What? No..." I muttered disbelievingly. Jiraiya laughed again, turning and walking away. I walked after him quickly, still not sure what he was getting at. "Well, I mean, the day we first met she said I was a wuss!"

"That was over a year ago," Jiraiya replied, looking down at me as we walked. "Plus, people sometimes make fun of those they like."

"That's dumb." I said simply, shoving my hands in my pockets. Jiraiya laughed again, glancing up at the sky.

"Hey! Ojike!" I called, running up behind my teammate, who jumped slightly at the sound of my voice. She smiled when she saw me, her gold eyes glittering.

"You came!" she said, throwing her arms around my neck. This was Ojike's second time going through the Chunin exams, and she had finally made it to the fourth round. I nodded, releasing myself from her grip and returning her enthusiastic grin.

"Of course I came," I replied, running my fingers through her dark hair. She shivered slightly, her face turning pink as she watched my fingers. Ever since Jiraiya had explained things to me, Ojike's feelings had become more and more evident. After finally having understood exactly why she acted the way she did around me, I began to watch her closely. The way she blushed when I was near, or yelled when I teased her, or flushed when I touched her while we sparred. It all made sense, now.

"Minato, what are you doing?" she whispered, and I realized that I had involuntarily been leaning towards her. Her eyes darted around, checking to see if anyone else was around. They weren't. We were completely alone.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked bluntly, drawing nearer to her face every second. She shook her head slightly, and I finally pressed my lips to hers. They were soft, full, and warm. We stayed like that for a while, just lingering there, our lips pressed against each other's. Slowly, cautiously, I began moving my lips against hers. It felt easy and simple and just... Right. My hands ran themselves over the contours of her body, memorizing it, and coming to rest on her hips. Her fingers tangled in my hair, and I bit down slightly on her bottom lip.

She gasped, and I slipped in my tongue, battling with hers for dominance. She tasted sweet, like pears, or apples, or any number of fruits that I could name. She was better than all of those. The heat from her body seeped through my skin as I pressed her against me roughly, deepening the kiss. I stroked her hair, running my fingertips across her neck lightly. She shivered, moaning quietly as the backs of my fingers grazed her cheek.

Relucatantly, I pulled away. Ojike was breathing heavily, her face a brilliant shade of pink. Her gold eyes were shining, meeting with mine as she gazed up at me. I smiled softly, running my fingertips over her face, tracing her eyelids, running down her cheek. She really was... Beautiful.

"I thought you might be here," Ojike jumped, turning around to face me. She sat on the edge of the roof of the Hokage's building, her feet dangling off of the edge as she faced the rising sun. She smiled, pulling her hair out of her face to get a better look at me. "Does your father know you come here in the mornings?" I asked, walking over to her slowly and sitting next to her. She smiled, eyeing the cloth I held in my hand.

"No, I doubt it," she replied. "What's that?" she asked, and I unwrapped the bundle, revealing four onigiri.

"You're always hungry during practice," I said, turning away to hide the light blush that tinted my cheeks as she beamed up at me. "I figured you skip breakfast to come here."

"Yeah." she muttered, picking one out of the middle and biting into it. "If I don't wake up early enough, father will get here before me." I made a mocking 'tsk' sort of noise in the back of my throat.

"Keeping secrets from the Hokage can only lead to trouble," I teased, laughing as she frowned. Ojike did not resemble her father, Senju Tobirama, much at all, although she did bear the same red markings on her face that he did. For the daughter of the second Hokage, she was oddly rebelious and secretive.

"So why'd you come here today?" she asked, leaning back on her hand and taking another bite of her food. I smiled, hanging my feet over the roof and leaning over, resting my elbows on my thighs.

"Thought I'd see what's so great about this place in the morning," I replied, looking back at her. Her golden eyes glittered as the rising sun struck them, the molten gold pools eyeing me fondly.

"It's nice, isn't it?" she said, scooting closer to me and pushing the onigiri aside. I straightened up, slowly leaning towards her. She hesitated, inches from my face. I pressed my lips to hers, and I heard her breathe in sharply. I pulled her closer to me, and I could feel her heart beat through her chest. She pushed me back, and I pressed my back to the roof, breathing heavily. We didn't break away, and I stroked her bottom lip with the tip of my tongue. She opened her mouth, and her sweet taste filled my mouth. Her breathing was erratic, and she pressed her chest against mine. I ran my hand slowly up her thigh, loving the feeling of her smooth skin.

"Ojike?" A stern voice rang through the open air, and we both jumped, breaking apart.

"Ah... Father," Ojike said, laughing awkwardly and tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Is this where you've been coming every morning?" the Hokage asked, crossing his arms and eyeing me seriously. Ojike nodded slowly, and I stood up, taking her hand and pulling her up with me. The Hokage continued to glare, but left once satisfied that he had adequately disturbed us. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck nervously and looking over at Ojike, who was still blushing feverishly.

"Great. Now I have to find a new roof."

"Ojike!" I called, waving at the dark haired girl in the distance. She looked up, the girl next to her crossing her arms in annoyance. The other girl's hair was slightly longer and red, and I assumed that it was Kushina. Ojike hugged her goodbye, and took off in my direction, a wide smile on her face. I hadn't seen her for three months, since she had left the village to train.

"Minato!" she said happily, making her way up to me. She was dressed differently now- She wore mesh shorts covered by a dark brown apron skirt, and a white three quarter length sleeved shirt was tucked into it, which bore the Senju clan symbol on the back and shoulders. Her long dark hair was now divided into two equal parts, which draped over her shoulders and were held together with red metal beads at the ends.

She beamed up at me, her gold eyes glittering. In three months, I had grown only a little, but I was still much taller than the coal haired girl. She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my blonde hair.

"It's been way too long, Minato," she muttered, pulling back and meeting my eyes. I smiled, brushing her dark hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, it has," I said softly, capturing her lips with my own.

"Let's cut it out with Public Display of Affection," said an amused voice behind us, and we quickly broke apart. Ojike bit her lip, embarrassed, and suddenly took great interest in her toes. I laughed, meeting the eyes of Jiraiya as he neared us. "It's been a while, Ojike," he said fondly, leaning down to get a good look at her. "You've grown into a fine young lady. I can't wait until you turn eighteen... Too bad it's five years away."

"Sensei," I said, crossing my arms and frowning. Jiraiya laughed, ruffling my hair.

"I'm kidding, Minato, she's all yours." I smiled back up at the man above me, who was now turning and walking off in the opposite direction. "No time to waste, you two, let's get training," I felt Ojike slide her hand in to mine, and I looked down at her, but she was refusing to meet my eyes. A light blush coated her cheeks, and she pulled me along behind her.

The grass tickled my face as I lay on my back, staring up at the stars. The heat radiating from Ojike's body kept me warm, despite the cool night air and the water from the grass that was seeping through my clothes.

"Minato?" Ojike said suddenly, shifting her position slightly to look at me.

"Hm?" I turned to look at her, blue meeting gold, which was still startlingly visible in the darkness.

"Do you ever wonder... You know, if maybe you'll die?"

"Everybody dies, Ojike,"

"I know that." she said firmly, rolling over on her side. "I mean, we hear about people our age dying. In exams, on missions... But we never think that it could happen to us."

"I've never really thought about it." I replied, rolling over and coming face to face with her. I stroked her face with the tips of my fingers, tracing her eyelids. They fluttered under my touch, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "But I would never let you die, Ojike." She laughed softly, pressing her fingertips to mine, keeping our hands in between us.

"I know."

"M-Mina...to, I..." Ojike trailed off, coughing up more blood. Some small flecks landed on my clothes, staining the white cloth. I smiled, nodding slowly, and tracing her eyes just like I had the day I first kissed her.

"And then you asked how I felt about you, and I-" I stopped talking suddenly. Ojike was no longer moving. Her head hung limply without the support of my arms, her dark hair spilling on the ground around her. Her eyes were wide open, staring up at the sky, and filled with an eerie sort of emptiness that sent an icy feeling through my chest. Somehow I could already feel her body going cold. I took the hand that had been on her wound, patting her stomach nervously. "H-hey. Hey! Ojike, stop. This isn't... That's not funny, okay?" I muttered, shaking her a little. She flopped lifelessly in my arms, her lips parted in an odd, slack sort of way.

I was choking on my own breath, and I could see my vision becoming hazy. I blinked rapidly, setting Ojike carefully down on the ground. I rubbed my face with my hands, smearing blood all down the right side of my face. A coppery tang filled my mouth, some of her blood dripping over my lips. I wrapped my arms over my knees, pressing my lips against my arms and resting my head. I stared down at the corpse in front of me, and I watched as Ojike's wound finally began to clot.

"And I said, 'I think that I love you'." I murmured to myself, pushing myself upright with my knees. I sighed, turning away from the body of my teammate. My eyes instead came to rest of the trail of red hairs, which were leading the way towards the person that Ojike had desperately been trying to save. I heaved a great, shaking sigh, stabling myself. My emotions were still threatening to over flow, and I had to fight myself to keep from looking back at Ojike's body. She had wanted this- She had died for it. And if I couldn't save Ojike, then I was going to save the girl that she had died for. I was going to save Uzumaki Kushina.

"Hollow heart, your hollow heart. You know, and we're worlds apart."