wow, looks like our story views are starting to pick up. Huzzah! Always encouraging. Most encouraging though are my best beloveds ie - my reviewers. so a happy new year to all and lets get down to it. weehoo107 - your review made me grin like the village idiot. Mostly you'll be dealing with Iruka's parents but he'll probably show up in kid form at some point. Sometimes, reading the manga, I get the impression he's the only sane character in a village of eccentrics. Always made me have sympathy for him ;) and yeah - heh - couldn't resist the ramen implications. As for your list of demands - that's why I was grinning. Hopefully Minato will, at some point, give away a bit more about his childhood but he hasn't so far to me. He's being very stoic about it and possibly repressed or perhaps just controlled. I suspect he's compartmentalized his past. I'm kind of waiting to see when it finally pops out of him - but at this point I'm still waiting. As for laughter, I'll put that in Kushina's corner and see what she can do with it. ;) I should put the lemon in her corner and see what she can do with it too but I think Minato might protest. I don't write straight up lemons. This is however a mature story and I'm not going to fluffy bear or pink ponies things. Tell you what, after I post up chapter 9, you tell me how I do, okay? and in the meantime - talk away! Getting reviews like yours makes my day and motivates me to do more. mc - yes, the little fox is very sense oriented, isn't she? I'm pretty sure Minato doesn't mind. She also seems to have solved the cupboard stocking situation in this chapter. Looks like there will be fox paws in a lot of things from this point on. ;) and aren't we all looking forward to it. You're right though - the Bleach and Naruto universes are HUGE and this is why I only dabble at the edges of them. We have fun while we dabble though, don't we? sammy-zee - romance? what romance? Minato hasn't noticed any romance! lol and it is certainly NOT continuing in this chapter. At all. In the slightest. cholericDolphin - yes, Minato knows not the can of worms (or fox) he's opened up. Yet. He doesn't realize it yet. One can only hope a man with his intelligence figures it out eventually though. Then again, he is a guy... lol And yeah, our Whirlpool stranger - I have no idea where he came from. Leaves me just as curious as I write to find out what's going on with him as everyone else. And velo - wow, your review was awesome. Yeah, Minato thinks he's got it all figured out, doesn't he? he's such a clever guy, surely he'd realize if the little fox started seducing him. Sucker - lol. I don't know, it's kind of fun watching such an intelligent guy hopelessly clueless about something. Would he kill to keep her safe? Yes. Without hesitation, guilt, or second thoughts. He's ANBU, the special ops of the village. He's used to finding threats and making sure they're not threats anymore. Whether he realizes it with the front of his mind or not, he considers the fox under his protection on the same level that his village is and he hasn't been trained to do things in half measures when it comes to keeping them safe. When he gets sent out on a mission, its usually because they're past the diplomatic solution. (also, if English isn't your first language, you've got an amazing grasp of its nuances. You write beautifully and very intelligently - and now I'm self-conscious about all my grammar mistakes) as for my regular updates - I will certainly always try. It means a lot to me that people notice and appreciate that. tagwenielwestwing - hey, and welcome to the party! get comfortable and hang on :D heh - Minato pick up on that? He's still waiting for her to start seducing him. Not that he wants her to, mind you. Not that it bothers him that she's not. Not that he's starting to obsess over that obvious lack at all. lol - just because we recognize the names doesn't mean he does ;) And as always, thanks to Jini for fact checking me and enjoying so completely how much Minato is already changing around Kushina and not even realizing it.

Chapter 7:

"How much did you eat?" he asked as he guided her back toward her apartment.

"A lot," she answered weakly. He shook his head at her and gave up, scooping her up into his arms to carry her the rest of the way.

"I don't think I've ever seen an Akimichi passed out under a table from being out-eaten before," he commented and she chuffed her pleasure.

"It was all so good."

"I saw."

"It was nice of you to bring something back for Umino."

"He'll have gone home by now but it'll keep until he comes over the next time. Which I assume will be tomorrow."

"I like him. He's good."

"Yes," Minato agreed as he pushed open the door to the building and headed for the stairs. "Umino is one of the best."

"Why don't you call him by his first name?"

"I don't call anyone their first name."

"You call me by my first name when you're talking around others. And you call Mikoto by her first name."

"Mikoto is a childhood friend. You're… you're supposed to be seducing me."

"I'm not?"

"No, little fox," it brought out a quiet smile. "You're not."

"But you like me anyway."

"I like you anyway."

She made a pleased, humming noise and snuggled down more into his arms, hands tucked up near her chin, as he dug out her apartment key and worked the lock, still balancing her against him.

"Why don't you call Umino his first name?"

She apparently wasn't letting it go and he used a shoulder to flick on the light switch as he stepped into her sparse apartment and shut the door with his heel. It locked automatically. He'd made sure she had a door that locked automatically when it shut. Not that it would stop someone that was determined, but it would slow them down, at least by a second or two. Sometimes… that second or two was all you needed.

"I don't know him well enough."

"He's your friend."

"I – " he hesitated for the first time and did his customary scan of the room. "I suppose he is."

"Then you should call him by his first name. It will make him feel good."

"He told you?" he somehow doubted that and she shook her head as he carried her into the bedroom.

"No. He just feels that way."

He made a non-committal noise and gently lowered her onto the neatly made bed. Umino had done a good job. The apartment, despite the mess moving had made, was spotless. And all the closet doors and other places someone could hide had been left open and exposed. Maybe… maybe he should acknowledge that he thought of the man as a friend.

The little fox rolled over on the bed and sighed out in contentment. Minato brushed a hand over her hair and straightened.

"Go to sleep, little fox. Sleep off your gluttony. I'll come for you in the morning."

"S'not gluttony," she murmured, face half buried in a pillow already. "Eat when you can… s'against starving times. Winter… when it's all hollow inside you… Mice in their nests, frogs in their mud… nothing to eat but snow…"

She sighed out and curled around the pillow and he pulled the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed over her. Leaning over to make sure her window was locked he left her keys on the table next to the bed and let himself out. He paused for a long time in the hallway before rousing himself and making his way to his own bed two stories up.

He'd been through a lot in his life. Starving every winter hadn't been a part of that…

He took his shower and ran his fingers through his hair afterward. Trying to do anything with the shaggy blond strands was fairly useless and he didn't have the time or attention to get it cut as often as he probably should. Now it sent cold drops down across his chest and back though and he reminded himself he should, at some point, visit a barber. Pulling on a pair of loose pants, he made his way to his own bed after finishing getting ready for the night and opened his windows. The cool night air washed into the room and he exhaled in contentment. True, it wasn't the view of Konoha that you could get from the Hokage's office or apartment but it was still a good view of the village and it never stopped that small warmth of pleasure in his chest to see it. He loved this place. For a long minute, he rested his palms on the windowsill and looked out. Then he pushed away and settled down into his own bed.

Today had been a long day, he thought as he closed his eyes. And yet, as he folded his hands over his stomach and let his body begin to unwind, he found himself smiling to himself. Because… it had been a good day. A – really good day. He had a strange warm feeling in his chest even now. It felt a little like contentment.

He should call Umino by his first name…

Something soft landed on his bed and he opened his eyes, surprised to find none of his automatic physical defenses had kicked in and sent him halfway across the room with a blade in his hand. He saw delicate fox paws and, raising his eyes, saw red fur, gold eyes and a black nose lowered close to his face.

"Fox," his voice came out throaty and he wondered if he'd fallen asleep and not realized it. "What are you doing?"

In answer, the nose lifted and he felt almost immediately after, the thud of little paws against his chest and stomach as the animal climbed up onto him and proceeded to circle. With a quiet huff, it settled, curling up on his chest, nose tucking under its tail. He shifted a hand to rest in the fur of its curved back and it let out a little sigh and snuggled in closer. He made a low noise in his throat and shut his eyes again.

As seductions went, she had this one entirely wrong. She should be trying to be a naked woman in his bed, not a tiny, furry fox. There was no way she could be that confused with as many seductions as she'd probably already performed. The only thing he could think of was that she obviously wasn't bothering to try.

He would have rebuffed her anyway. He'd do what was necessary to make it look as if he were fox-seduced but he had no intention of becoming that way. His body was nothing more than yet another tool in his arsenal but his mind and his heart were his alone and he had no intention of being stupid enough to lose either one. Absent his fingers scratched gently through her soft fur.

Apparently she wasn't interested in trying for them. He was surprised to find that it annoyed him, just a little. He'd expected her to try to seduce him anyway, just for the fun of it, just because she was a fox, just because he already knew her well enough to know she enjoyed teasing him. Instead she treated him the way she did and… and that wasn't with fluttering eyelashes and 'accidentally' showing skin and various trite actions designed to make a man's mind wander toward sex.

In fact, Umino had been the one in her bedroom helping her set up her bed. He frowned, just a little, at the thought. She seemed to really like Umino too. She'd even gone so far as to label him 'good'.

He agreed with her, of course. Umino was 'good'. One of the most purely 'good' people he knew. Just –

why hadn't she wanted him to get familiar with her bed and moving it, instead of having Umino help? It hadn't even occurred to him at the time to wonder about it, or volunteer. In fact, he couldn't even remember who had teamed them up to move the bed while he brought in the kitchen table and chairs. Had he? Had one of them?

Umino was married with a young son - but he didn't remember foxes ever caring about that kind of thing in the legends…

The fox sleeping on his chest huffed out a sigh and tiny fox feet started to twitch. It distracted him and the edges of his lips loosened. Dreaming of chasing rabbits? What did foxes who wore human form dream of when they dreamed? He rubbed her back absently and she made little chirping noises of pleasure even while her paws continued to twitch. A good dream then…

As foxy seductions went, his was obviously lacking. But that was the way he wanted it anyway, wasn't it? He'd work much better with her if he wasn't constantly worrying about her trying to jump him. It would be less of a distraction too once they were allowed into her grandfather's house. He liked the way she was with him now. She made him… she made him happy. The realization loosened the muscles he hadn't known were tense and he relaxed, fingers still moving absently through fox fur.

He was happy when he was around her. That was better than seduction.

The thought stayed with him and when he woke up in the morning, he felt surprisingly rested.

He was going on two weeks without dreaming. He suspected fox magic and he wasn't about to complain.

She was still on his chest, ribs rising and falling, and a low, sighing noise emanating from her with each exhale. It was… it was a cute sound and it made the edges of his lips twitch. His hand was still on her and he could feel her heartbeat against his palm. Where her body rested against his skin was also warm and in the vague chill of the early morning air, it was a good feeling, drowsy and content. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, simply enjoying the way this moment felt for a little while longer.

Fox fur was a surprisingly pleasant texture against skin.

With a silent exhale, he gently picked her up and shifted her onto a pillow. She made a protesting noise but didn't open her eyes and in his hands, she was completely limp. That made him smile too and he made sure she was comfortable before rolling over and standing up. She made a noise behind him and he turned to look over his shoulder. She'd slipped off the pillow and was now curled in the warm hollow his body had left in the mattress. He turned away, smiling. Again.

She still hadn't stirred by the time he'd finished cleaning up and getting dressed for the morning and he wondered if all the energy she burned with her constant swing of emotions and physical vibrancy required long hours of sleep as well. He didn't know much about foxes but he seemed to remember that dogs would, given the opportunity, sleep pointlessly for hours on end whether their lifestyle seemed to require it or not. Perhaps foxes were the same.

Who on earth would he ask to find out?

He was just in the process of realizing he was going to have to buy more eggs and soon, when he heard a knock at his door. It was early yet for Umino to be checking up on him and seeing if he needed any more help and the rapping was too soft for that anyway. It was the kind of knock that indicated you weren't sure you wanted anyone to hear it and he padded silently over to the door on bare feet, curious as to who would be up before dawn and visiting.

The door opened inward and he blocked it with his foot automatically as he stood to the side and pulled it open after unlocking it. He didn't expect any assassination attempts, not in the village itself and certainly not on himself, but paranoia was a way of life for ANBU. Or at least for any ANBU that expected to survive long.

"Minato-kun…"

Mikoto's pale face surprised him and what surprised him even more was the puffiness around her red-rimmed eyes. It roused his concern but he also felt the stir of something much darker that he did his best to keep hidden. His voice gave nothing away however as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Mikoto."

She sniffed and hesitantly crept into his apartment, large dark eyes looking around in curiosity despite the tears. While she took in his apartment for the first time, he ran his eyes intently over her. He didn't see any bruising or abrasions –

That didn't mean they weren't there. Other than the burns on his forearms and wrists, none of his scars were in places that would show either.

"Sit down," he told her, voice mild and she found her way to the kitchen chair while he went back to the stove and set the water to heat for tea. He didn't offer anything else and for the entire time it took for the water to heat and him to pour it into the mugs along with the tea packets, she didn't say anything either. He set one of the cups down in front of her and then wrapped his fingers around his own as he sat down in the chair across from her.

She sipped her tea delicately and then finally raised her damp eyes to his.

"Minato-kun – " she started and then she seemed to shrink in her chair and she looked back down at her drink. He made a low sound to show he was listening and she inhaled a shaky breath and swallowed.

"Do you…" she began again. "Do you ever wish… that things were… different?"

He hummed a vague sound and her eyes flickered to him before going back down to the drink in front of her.

"I mean – did you… did you ever want to change the way something was. So that – so that it could turn out differently?"

He wondered if there was anyone in the world that didn't but instead he just nodded and then took a sip of his tea, patient and willing to wait until she had worked around to her point. She turned the cup on the table in front of her with just the tips of her fingers and watched its movements.

"Minato-kun… do you think," she inhaled. "Do you think tradition is more important than what a person wants? Than what a person feels?"

He folded his hands loosely together and propped his elbows on the table so that he could rest his mouth against the side of his fingers, brows down.

"I think tradition is important," he began slowly. "I think in some cases, it's so important because it makes sure our emotions aren't allowed to get in the way of what we need to do. But I don't think tradition is sacred. I think there are times it doesn't serve the purpose it once did and it's time to let it go." He raised his eyes to look at her, voice still as inflectionless as ever. "Mikoto… is this about Uchiha Fugaku?"

She blinked her eyes and pressed her lips together in a heart-broken smile.

"Yes. And no. It's about… someone else. I don't – I don't love Fugaku. I love – " her eyes met his and filled with tears. Her voice was a broken whisper. "I love someone else, Minato-kun. I always, always have. And now I'm going to have to marry Fugaku. He's – he's not a bad man. He's kind and gentle with me and I think he cares for me a great deal. I just – " she choked off and buried her face in her hands. "I wish I could be with someone else. I so, so wish I could be with someone else."

He didn't have a reaction for her and a small part of him suddenly wondered why it was taking his fox so long to come out of the bedroom. There was no sound from the other room though and a larger part of him was glad. Mikoto didn't need the embarrassment of being emotional in front of a stranger. He knew it was already hard enough for her to be this way with him.

Feeling a little awkward he pushed a napkin across the table toward her and she took it with a watery smile of gratitude and used it to blot at her swollen eyes.

"What are you going to do?" he asked softly after a long moment and she shook her head, dark hair swaying.

"Marry Fugaku, I suppose. It's tradition and it will please my parents. He's not a bad man. I know he'll take care of me and care about me. I – I suppose I'll try to forget my love." Her shoulders shook and she buried her face in her hands again. "But it hurts. It hurts loving him and not being able to tell him."

Minato pushed her mug of tea a little closer to her and she took it with a nod and sipped the contents.

"I don't know how to help you, Mikoto," he admitted gently. Her eyes crept up from the rim of the mug and, almost shyly, looked at him.

"Would you – would you change things with… with me? If you could?"

His eyes locked with hers and he went very still. Once upon a time… as children, he'd thought….

But that had been long ago and his heart had gotten too shriveled and scarred since then.

"If I could change it so you would love someone you could marry, then yes, Mikoto, I would change things for you if I could."

"I see…" her voice was very small and she lowered her eyes back to her tea. He did the same and then lifted it to swallow down some of the bitter liquid. She finished hers and stood up.

"I should go," she offered and he left his tea and stood as well, simply nodding. He followed her to the door and she hesitated in front of it.

"I – thank you, Minato-kun. For… for being here for me…"

"I'm your friend," he meant it with what was left of his heart. "I will always be here for you, Mikoto."

"yes…" her voice was sad and lost but she nodded and quietly opened the door. "Thank you…"

He watched her until she took the turn in the stairwell and disappeared. Then he shut the door and went back to the kitchen to find his fox, in her human form, sitting in his chair. Her hands were around his mug in mimic of the way his had been moments ago and she looked up at him. The gold of her eyes was very burnished and ancient though. When he met them with his own, she unfolded from the chair and slipped over to wrap her arms around him and nudge at his throat and the underside of his jaw with the top of her nose. Without understanding quite why, it helped, just a little, and he loosely wrapped his arms around her in return and exhaled. Her teeth nipped his throat, barely there and it made the edge of his mouth shift tiredly upward. He responded, tightening his arms around her a little more and shut his eyes, lowering his head to rest his cheek against her fox soft hair.

He'd given up pieces of himself all his life in order to survive. Lost little bits and edges of who he was in order to become something that wouldn't break, that wouldn't bow. To become a man that wouldn't fall, no matter what came at him. It had cost him though. Somewhere along the way it had cost him whatever part of himself had been gentle enough and kind enough to love a woman as soft and delicate as Mikoto.