DAY 9

She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. But she had to.

There were no words for what was flowing through her mind.

She didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to feel.

So she did the only thing she could.

She walked away.

Then all of a sudden Kushina was walking away.

Minato had been eyeing her for any clues that could give away what was going through her mind. Needless to say, he hadn't seen any. Kushina truly was a kunoichi; giving nothing away even when confronted with such devastating news.

So when he saw Kushina walking away towards the inn they were staying at, he decided to follow her. He was aware that not letting emotions take control of your actions was an important part of being a ninja, but bottling all the feelings wasn't good either.

The next thing he knew was that he was standing before their shared room's door, contemplating whether he should let her be alone or go in there and try to help her.

He chose the latter.

She heard the door open and all she could feel was her irritation grow. Why, she didn't know for sure, she could only guess. Was it because she simply wanted to be alone, or was there something more? Was it because she felt like she could possibly open up to him and that thought was the one that annoyed her? Was it because she knew she could trust him and she knew that he cared for her and she cared for him and that made him a danger? Because admitting that he meant even the tiniest bit of something to her, made her vulnerable.

Or who knows, maybe he's here to make fun of her for being this weak, letting the news get to her in such way.

She couldn't be sure anymore. Nothing seemed to be stable in this world for her anymore. Not after this.

"Why are you here?" she asked. There was little hostility in her voice. She surprised even herself, but could do nothing to it.

"Shouldn't I be here? If I remember correctly, this is also my room," he said.

Kushina could only mutter an almost silent "oh yeah" and sink back to the silence.

Minato couldn't take the silence anymore. He had to say something. Just as he was about to say something, Kushina whispered something so quietly he almost missed it.

"I'm breaking the rules… and I dare to call myself a kunoichi…"

"Kushina… I –"

And with a slightly louder voice, she started to repeat the same three sentences, over and over again. It was like a mantra to her. If she stopped, she would crumble and succumb to her sadness. And she couldn't do that. She didn't want to do that.

"It's a shinobi rule: Never show your feelings. Keep your mind focused on your mission. No matter how much you're hurting inside, you can't shed a tear."

"Kushina," Minato tried to reach out to her, but to no avail.

"It's a shinobi rule: Never show your feelings. Keep your mi-"

"Kushina! Snap out of it!" He practically yelled. And Minato never yells.

This made Kushina forget her sadness for few moments. But then her sadness turned into a mixed emotion between rage and devastation.

"You can't possibly imagine what I'm going through or what I'm feeling. Has your whole family; scratch that, your whole goddamn village been wiped out? Have you ever been the sole survivor of your clan?"

At this point Kushina was shaking wildly, still fighting the tears.

Minato didn't know what to do. Sure, he had offered his shoulder for crying women before, but their reasons for their tears were so small compared to this.

The next thing he heard truly broke his heart.

"I have no one left. I'm so alone, more than ever…" she whispered.

Before Minato completely comprehended what he was doing, he had enclosed her in his arms, like he was never going to let go.

"Kushina, you're not alone. I know these words may sound meaningless to you, but they're not meaningless to me. I will be your new home, I will be your new family, I will care for you, I will cherish you and on top of all, I will love you."

Then he whispered with the tiniest and calmest voice she had ever heard him speak,

"I love you, Kushina. So please, let me in."

And she did.

It was like Minato had charged trough every wall Kushina had ever built, but she didn't care. Being held by him made her feel like nothing could hurt her ever again.

"Kushina… may I kiss you?" he asked and if the situation had been even slightly different, she would've laughed. Who even asked nowadays if they could kiss you?

'I guess that's Minato for you,' she thought.

With the slightest of nods, she answered his question.

Having his answer, Minato slightly bent down, and then their lips met.

All the teasing, arguing, all of it had led to this moment. It was like they were in their own imperfect little world, but to them, it was perfect.

Starting to lose himself, Minato tried to pull away, only to be stopped by Kushina, who was eager to deepen the kiss.

"Kushina… as much as I'd like to continue where this is headed, I don't think the timing is ri-"

"Do not continue that sentence," Kushina said with half-lidded eyes filled with need and lust.

'Shit, only I get stuck in these kinds of situations and try to stop them from happening. I'm too good for my own good'

"Don't get me wrong, I want this to happen just as much as you do, but are you sure you want it to happen like this? When you're feeling –"

"Minato, the thing is… I feel numb. The only thing that can make me feel anything at the moment is you. So please, Minato, make me feel good, make me feel whole, make me feel something."

And that did it for Minato. Pressing his lips against hers so hard he was sure he was hurting her, but when nothing but soft sighs were leaving her lips, he abandoned all his conscious thoughts. If she wanted to feel something, he was going to make her feel him.

Both hands on her shoulders, he skimmed one down her body, over her breast, down to her waist and finally pulling her closer to him while his other hand gently tugged at her hair, exposing her throat to his hungry lips. He proceeded to kiss down her throat to her collarbones and as down as her clothing would allow.

Arms at his shoulders she brushed back his jonin vest, which settled to the floor with a soft sound. Kushina stood with her hands on the shirt at his chest, feeling the warmth that was shining through the fabric. Delicately, she traced the outlines of his muscles through the shirt with her fingertips, then she reached her hands up under it, savoring the feel of nothing but his skin beneath her hands. Minato jerked the shirt up and off to land in the floor with his vest.

While Kushina was busy with his clothes, Minato decided that he shouldn't be the only one being undressed. Doing the same what Kushina had done to him, he brushed of her jonin vest, joining his own clothes on the floor. Taking of her shirt and unclasping her bra, he was left with a sight so stunning he was sure he could ever forget.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered to her, pulling her up against him, the heat from his chest burning her up, consuming her completely. Kushina couldn't imagine a feeling as wonderful as this, her bare skin up against his, her breasts pressed flat against his chest in his embrace.

Roughened fingers plucked at the waistband of her pants, sliding them down her legs as she stepped out of them. He skimmed his hands back up her calves and thighs and over her hips as he repeated, "You are so beautiful."

Kushina thought she would melt under his gaze. Hands on his shoulders, she sank toward the bed, Minato following. He knelt above her, one knee between her thighs. Her hair was fanned out around her, framing her face against the white of the inn's pillow. Unable to bear just his gaze on her any longer, but yearning for his hands and his lips and his body, she reached up, drawing him down to her.

"Minato," she let out a whisper filled with so much emotion Minato was sure he would fall apart, "Minato, I want you so much; I need you."

She whimpered in delight as his lips touched her at her cheek, shoulders and chest, everywhere. At the same time one large palm was covering her breast, heat from his hand causing her to gasp out loud and moan his name.

To hear his name from her like that, so heavy with desire, nearly drove him insane. He moved his hand aside, kissing the underside of her breast and trailing his tongue up to flicker around the center before he covered her with his mouth. Kushina clutched his shoulders, arching up into him.

Why had she ever denied this from herself?

He kissed further down, lipping at her hipbones, dipping his tongue in to her navel, half mad with desire and delight that he was the cause of her pleasant little moans and gasps.

Why did she ever think that he could cause her pain?

Sitting back up, he slipped his thumbs beneath the elastic of her panties on either side drawing those down off her legs as well. He was now settled between her legs, kissing his way back up from ankle to calf to knee to thigh. His hand was gentle but firm, pressing her thighs a little further apart as she tensed in a sudden bout of nervousness.

Could he hurt her?

"Shhh," he whispered, his lips tickling along her thigh as he made the sound. Kushina gasped aloud as he explored her with his tongue, gentle, seeking then softly kissing back onto her belly. Dipping one hand between her legs, he teased her with one finger, then a second as she whimpered beneath him, begging for him.

No, she decided, he couldn't.

Pausing from his work, he quickly shed his pants, stretching his body back out over hers, kissing her, twining the fingers of one of his hands with those of her own, gripping tightly, and then he sank into her.

If something was clear to her, it had to be this.

And Kushina forgot where she ended and Minato began.

He loved her, and she loved him back.

(A/N): Okay, so, wow.

I was not gone for that long, huh? Just 5, almost 6 months passed between this and the former chapter…

I can't begin to describe how sorry I am, that I've been absent for that long period of time. But please, let me try to explain:

Last spring was the busiest I had ever been so far in my life. All the studying started to get to me and on top of that I got a summer job which required huge amounts of training for it. So, when I wasn't in school, I was in training.

So then the summer began. Needless to say, that summer job kept me busy all summer long. In two weeks I have 4 days off in total, sometimes even less. And since here in Finland we have these 'matriculation exams' (google that word, should be a fun evening reading to you all & you probably understand the whole concept better) at the end of our high school (they basically determine your future), I needed to study to those when I wasn't working. This equation left me no time to write.

And then we're finally at autumn. I had my matriculation exam a week ago, which means all my time this fall has been devoted to studying, studying and some more studying.

But now that I've got that hell of an exam over for now at least, I can actually focus on writing. I'm not making any promises when the next update is gonna be, but I'll say so much that I'll try to finish this fic before next year, probably near Christmas!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and rated and done whatnot to this story! I appreciate each and every one of you! I will not be listing you all here this time around (since I'm just so desperate to get this chapter out) but know that I love every comment I receive!

I also have to thank my friend for helping me with the lemon-ish/smut-ish part of the chapter! I couldn't have written it without her, so thank you! (: