Title: Pompous Hair

Summary: MinaKushi drabbles.

Rating: Varies from K to T.

Disclaimer: I don't own this series in any way. I don't know who is the author of the cover picture, so if you do know please tell me so I may credit them. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

Kushina's first impression of Namikaze Minato was not favorable at all. 'Girly' didn't even cut it. He was a wimp, a weakling, and a pantywaist. Not to mention that ridiculous, pompous blond hair that just wouldn't sit down. Was he trying to imitate the sun now? How could he even be in the Academy for ninjas with those looks? Certainly the other children mocked him – because she as sure as heck was.

Her blood hair was apparently rare, she realized with a frown as the mockery – almost insults, really – continued nonstop. Back home at Uzushiogakure it was completely normal and the Uzumaki clan was famous for its redhead members. But apparently in Konoha this brought you the status of an aberration.

The bullying eventually stopped, even if it was by her own hands as she kicked every single jerk's ass – and there were many, mind you. Some people managed to stay on her good side, however: old Mito was like a grandmother to her and both belonged to the same clan, Mikoto of the Uchiha clan turned out to be a surprisingly good friend and annoying, girly Namikaze was by her side sometimes as well.

Why, she had no idea. The boy, for some reason or another, was popular with everyone in the glass and was in no way bullied to Kushina's envy. No, the boy was a genius who aced all exams but she had yet to see him in action. Maybe he was just a pompous nerd. Yes, that's what he was: a pompous jerk that importunate her for some reason or another.

That's why he was currently sitting by her side on the grass as she rested and caught her breath after failing yet another ninjutsu test. He had been one of the first to finish the assignment so she didn't even see him in action. For all she knew, he could've probably bribed some student or teacher – after all, no one could be that good. And now excellent, over-the-top boy genius was waiting his time talking to her, the failure of almost every class expect taijutsu. Just great.

"Don't worry, Uzumaki-kun, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it someday." He said with a smile.

Someday? Who was he to say when she'd get it or not? And she really didn't like how he addressed her as '-kun' – she could be a tomboy, but she was still a girl, dammit! Well, she would beat him to a pulp if he ever dared use '-chan' after her name too.

"You see, the key to ninjutsu is-"

And now he was doing the teaching act? He may be a genius, but he was no teacher. She just couldn't take it, the annoying jerk.

"Listen, Minato-" Realizing her mistake she stopped, but the boy eagerly caught on it.

"Does this mean I can call you by your first name, Uzumaki-kun?"

Argh, '-kun' again.

"No, and stop calling me that." Ignoring his confused look, she continued. "In fact, stop hanging around me too, I don't want to talk with you."

"It's fine, we can talk another time." He smiled in reply.

She growled. Did nothing freak him out?

"No, I don't want to talk with you. Ever."

"You're probably just tired. The training was quite tough today." He answered as good-natured as ever. It was really irking her.

"I don't like you, Namikaze."

"Oh?"

The jerk didn't even seem altered by that. Well, it wasn't like it was news either.

"You're annoying and girly."

"I see. I'm sorry you think that, Uzumaki-kun. But I'd still like to chat with you." He kept his usual smile.

This was really annoying her to no end. How could he remain impartial like that? Maybe he was some sort of new ninja generation or something. But she didn't want to deal with him, not now or ever. So she said the only thing she had left.

"Your hair is pompous."

That hit the spot, she realized with a smirk. The boy wasn't smiling anymore and he looked very down. She didn't want to see the ever-smiling Namikaze with such a grim expression; somehow it just didn't seem right. Ignoring the increasing feeling of guilt in her belly, Kushina turned around and got up. She meant to leave but her legs seemed too heavy now. Dammit.

She sighed, unsure if he had caught it. Breathing deeply, she said the words in a hurry.

"Your hair is pompous. But… it's also kinda… it'scute."

She had no idea if he even heard what she said, because as soon as those words were out, Kushina ran as fast as she could. In a few moments she was already one block away but she continued running until she arrived at her home to see old Mito standing outside. With a smile to the old lady, the redhead girl walked inside quickly.

After waiting a few moments she realized with a sight that Minato didn't follow her. She wasn't upset at all, that was final. So he wasn't able to hear her, huh… Well, it's not like she would ever say it again, anyway. And even if he did, he'd never think of her hair as something beautiful. She didn't like her hair and the villagers hated it, so it was absolutely impossible someone could ever like it.

Gazing at her reflex in the mirror, particularly at her straight long red-hair, the young kunoichi in training pouted.

"At least his hair is pompous."

A/N: (Btw, I tend to use Japanese name order). The Japanese suffixes are very important in their culture, so to explain briefly: '-san' is used as a term of respect for someone of higher class or older than you, like a teacher. '-kun' is used for classmates, usually boys (hence Kushina's anger) while '-chan' is more of a term of endearment to a small child or young girls who you are somewhat close to (now you can understand Minato's fear of calling the Red Hot Habanero that, no?). Also, only closer people call each other by their given names, most use only their last names (first in Japanese name order). Of course Kushina would let it slip every once in a while, though.

I'm in love with this pairing. While I don't watch Naruto anymore, a friend of mine showed me their episodes and I just had to write something about them. These are short, simple ficlets that tell the development of their relationship.

If you're interested in other stories with this pairing, check 'Home', a darker story told by Kushina's point of view and 'Mother's Day' for a short fluff story told by Naruto.