Yay! I updated again! Kami... this chapter was finished around midnight! LOL, can't control the inspiration I guess. And I knew that if I'd waited 'til morning, it would have been long gone. ;) It's a bit dramatic at the beginning, but it was necessary for character development. And there are a few fluffy moments too!! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED!! You guys make me so happy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; Kishimoto-sama does. I do own Murasaki Kikyo, Hisakata Kaede, and any other characters, jutsus, etc. that you don't recognize, however.
-o-o-o-
Minato looked over to where she was pointing, though he knew exactly what it was. His blue eyes dulled almost to gray.
Kushina, however, didn't see his saddened expression. She looked curiously over at the strangely-shaped rock. It was a deep blue-black color, and it looked as if something was scratched all over it.
She got up from the stump she'd been sitting on and made her way to the stone monument for a closer look.
"Nani? It has names all over it," she said as she hunched over the rock.
"They're the names of great shinobi, who did much for this village," Minato said in an unemotional voice. Kushina narrowed her eyes and looked at him.
"And?"
The teen sighed loudly, looking into Kushina's brown eyes with his dull blue-gray ones. "They gave their lives for Konoha, and this is a memorial to honor their sacrifices."
Kushina looked away from the boy, and ran her hand over all the names. With her index finger, she traced the letters of one name. The silence stretched, until she broke it with a quiet whisper.
"Gomen-nasai. I shouldn't have asked."
Minato looked up from the grass he'd been staring at. His eyes were wide with disbelief. She's not evil? She actually meant what she said there!
"I-it's all right. You didn't know what it was," he replied slowly, forming his words carefully.
Kushina closed her eyes, still feeling the etchings with her fingers delicately. Her mouth formed the names under her hands silently. Minato watched in solemn curiosity. Where had she learned to read without sight?
The girl whispered again, "They must have been very important to you. Whoever you lost, I mean."
"Kushina-san..." Minato started, not knowing what to say in response. He looked up at the sky. Kami... I really don't want to explain.
"It was my teammate, Hisakata Kaede. We were on a B-rank mission; I was the chuunin captain. She was killed by an Iwa-nin while fighting to recover a stolen scroll."
Kushina nodded silently at Minato's story. "I lost my family to the Umi-Getsu War. I was 12 years old, a genin. During the war, my team was sent on a reconnaissance mission." She took a deep breath.
"I don't remember much, except that I woke up two weeks later in the hospital. I heard that my family had died and that I'd missed the funeral. Being the stupid, hormonally-imbalanced pre-teen that I was, I tried to commit suicide using kunai to my eyes." The girl laughed humorlessly. "I was blind for a year. A traveling medic-nin nursed me back to health."
Inside, Inner Kushina was panicking slightly. Why did you tell him that? Now he thinks you're a suicidal maniac! You've never told anyone this – only sensei knows!
Outside, the redhead managed to keep her calm; only the shivering gave her away. Minato watched her trembling back with apprehension. I really don't like it when girls cry! Waa...what do I do?
"Hey, I've got an idea – would you like to spar with me? Let's take our minds off our not-so-perfect pasts, hmm?" the blonde boy asked softly, tapping Kushina on the back.
It took her a moment to answer. "Yeah... I'd like that."
-o-o-o-
They danced with their blades swinging through the air, clanging in the sunlight. The two teens whipped in and out, blocking and attacking with practiced ease.
"Fuuton: Senpuu!" A gust of wind cut through the air, dodged gracefully by a redhead girl.
"Mizu-bunshin!" Water from the nearby lake formed three copies of the girl, each holding the same wakizashi as the original.
They quickly charged at the blonde boy opposite them, and he cut them down with precision. Then, with a quick burst of speed, he sank his own sword, a taitou, into the girl's side. He looked up at her shocked face and smirked.
"I don't go easy on anyone, not even a girl."
It was Kushina's turn to smirk. Her wide eyes narrowed as she grinned evilly. "I'm glad," she said, blood dripping down her chin. "Kai!"
Minato had almost no time to react. Out of habit, he reached for and threw one of the kunai on his belt. The boy vanished in a flash of yellow, just as Kushina's mizu-bunshin exploded.
Steam was everywhere throughout the clearing, and the whole lake was boiling with the intensity of the explosion.
Minato's blue eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw the destruction. He walked back out into the clearing cautiously. Kushina leaped down from the tree she'd been hiding in, shaking the branches on her descent. She walked up to the boy with a large grin on her face and a hand extended.
"Good game, Mina-chan," she said cheekily at the awe-struck jounin. "Did you like my Kibaku-mizu-bunshin? Invented it myself: B-rank ninjutsu dealing with fire and water."
Minato could only stare at her with a 'manly' pout on his face. This...this girl just beat me in a spar! "It was okay... I knew it was a bunshin, or I wouldn't have stabbed it, but I never expected it to explode."
At the pout on his face, Kushina's chesire grin widened. She patted his cheek, all the while saying, "Cheer up, Mina-kun. You can't always win, right?" She turned away. "Well, I think it's time I get going, the sun's all ready going down! See ya' tomorrow."
"Wait!"
The redhead stopped and called over her shoulder in a long-suffering tone, "Yes?" The blonde teen ran up to her and plucked something out of her hair.
"You had a leaf in your hair," he stated bluntly, earning a strange look from the girl. "Here." He shoved the leaf into her hands, stuffed his own hands into his pockets. "Ja." The blonde awkwardly turned around and walked away.
Kushina just rolled her eyes and looked down at the leaf, only to find that it was a Sakura blossom. "Che."
A few minutes later, both suddenly realized something, and two identical screams were heard.
"EEEIIIAAAA!!!!" (Kushina's was first, of course, since girls realize such things quicker than boys)
"EEEIIIAAAA!!!!"
Was I just... flirting with him/her? NOOOO!!!!!!!
---Meanwhile, in the Hokage Tower---
Sarutobi shuffled through the large file of papers, thoroughly frustrated. He massaged the bridge of his nose and took a long draw of his pipe.
"Having trouble finding messengers for the news, sensei?" the white-haired man asked with an amused chuckle.
The older man looked up with unconcealed hostility. "Well, it's certainly a task! Your student would blow any of the genin to Kingdom Come without hesitation! Especially with news like this!"
Jiraiya grinned and chuckled yet again. "And that's why we don't send a genin team to do this... slightly dangerous mission. Look through this." He threw a small file onto the Sandaime's desk.
Sarutobi let out a huff. "I don't need more paperwork, gaki." He opened it and raised his eyebrows as he read through the report inside. "An academy student? Jiraiya, are you mad?"
"Now why would you think that?" the young man said, earning a glare from his former teacher. "He's not your ordinary academy student, sensei. He'll be perfect for the job, and his stamina levels are high. If Minato really does blow him to 'Kingdom Come', he'll run back in no time!"
Sarutobi gave his old student a withering look before bowing his head over the report. "All right, I'll take your word on it. If anything happens to this boy, you're responsible."
Jiraiya just smiled in his infuriating way and disappeared.
The Sandaime just shook his head and looked back down at the report. Taking another long draft of his pipe, he said quietly, "Maito Gai, I really hope that you really are as 'perfect' as Jiraiya says. He has a habit of exaggerating. But, I guess he knows his student best, after all they've been through together."
-o-o-o-o-o-
Once again, I'm terrible at writing battle scenes, so hopefully the sparring match wasn't too bad... --' LOL, I thought the rest of it came out pretty good, though. I find it funny that both are pretty sexist. I can relate to Kushina, though, since I'm a bit sexist against boys (no offense, guys). I know it's not a good habit, but pretty funny to see the looks on boys' faces when I make comments undermining them.
Anyways, see you later people!!
