The Wrong Blonde
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I know that I haven't updated this one in awhile, but that was because I got sidetracked by some other stories. I also have some new ones out and a poll up, if you're interested. Anyway, I think you've all waited more than long enough for this. So happy reading!
Chapter 8
Two days later, Naruto arrives in the Uchiha District with Karin and Sakura by his side. Those two were definitely going to help him find a place for his dad and discover if Suki actually liked Minato that way!
"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Karin tilts her head. "Just showing up like this unannounced?" She watches anxiously as Naruto taps on the door.
It was strange knowing that his dad was alive and that he was actually living with Suki. Neither of them seemed to mind all that much, but he knew that eventually his father would want to move out. If for no other reason than to stop the rumors that were likely already flittering about.
Naruto just grins at her. "Yeah." He was sure. "Don't worry. Dad will keep her from Chidoring us in the worst case scenario." Well at least that's what he hoped!
It took a moment or two, but eventually Suki opens the door and tilts her head at them. "Well if you want to see your father, he's in the shower." Though it was obvious she was a bit more perplexed about Karin. "Jugo and Suigetsu didn't follow you this time?"
Naturally, Naruto couldn't really blame her for being baffled. He rarely saw Karin without at least another member of Taka around. It was something of a security blanket, he supposed.
"Apparently, Suigetsu drug Jugo off to a weapons shop." Sakura rolls her eyes. "So they'll likely be gone all day."
That was true. Naruto had never met anyone who was more obsessed by swords than Suigetsu. Anyway, they still have two important missions to accomplish today. They had to find his father a new place and figure out what the deal with Suki and his father was (or if there even was a deal at all).
Suki just nods at that as Minato comes down the stairs with his hair still wet. It was bizarre. It was almost like his best friend was married to his dad or something.
"Kurama, can you tell?" Naruto was still hoping that the Nine Tails would solve this mystery!
Of course, even if he knew that didn't meant the demon was actually going to tell him. "I'm surprised he hasn't mounted her yet." Nevermind. Apparently, the Nine Tails was feeling very generous today.
Naruto suddenly feels sick. He wanted his dad to be happy and he wanted Suki to be happy, but he did not need those mental images of them together that the fox's response had triggered within his mind. Yeah. He definitely could have lived without those.
"You're sure that they like each other or are you just messing with me?" The second option was a very strong possibility.
"Oh Naruto." Minato smiles as he walks over and embraces his son. "Good morning."
The blonde couldn't really blame him, if that was the case. It must get boring being locked inside someone else's head all day, but he really wished that Kurama would take him more seriously outside of battle!
"The way he's looking at her hindquarters speaks for itself and her eyes have yet to leave him." Oh now that was just gross!
His dad was apparently checking Suki out and the feeling was mutual. Right. So now, he needed to figure out what he was going to do about this. Obviously, he would have to do something.
"Morning." He grins at his dad.
Sakura decides to take some initiative which was good because the sapphire eyed ninja was now feeling more than a little tongue-tied. "So we were wondering, if you wanted any help apartment or house hunting." The pink haired woman smiles at Minato. "We probably know more about which places are available now more than you do now. No offense."
Minato chuckles at that and nods. "No offense taken." He smiles at them. "Well I wouldn't mind having a look." He glances at Suki. "Would you like to come with us." To which she surprisingly nods.
Suki was voluntarily hanging out with them. He didn't have to beg or drag her off or anything. It really was true then. His best friend was either in love with his dad or she liked him. A lot!
"Great!" Karin smiles. "So let's get going then!"
That was all that needed to be said, it seemed before they were heading out. Well now that he knew the truth, Naruto was definitely going to have to talk to Sakura about this and see what she said!
"This is totally badass!" Suigetsu grins as he examines one of the blades on the other side of the village.
Jugo nods at him. "It's a nice sword." Then again, all the swords looked nice to him.
He didn't see much of a difference between one and the next other than size personally. Though he'd never say that in front of his friend. Suigetsu would probably take that as some kind of blasphemy!
"You bet it is!" Suigetsu smirks at him as he waves it around.
He was probably testing the feel of the blade or something like that. Apparently, expert swordsmen could notice a difference by testing the blade.
Jugo had never bothered with such things. As long as he could pick it up and it could do damage to the target, well everything else was an afterthought. That and he could make weapons out of chakra. So there had never really been a need for him to do more than that.
"I wonder why the Fourth Hokage is living with her?" That's when Jugo hears someone talking about Suki and Minato.
A Chunin woman. He could tell by her uniform. There was nothing remarkable about her. From her long brown hair to her matching eyes and to her build, everything about the woman just screamed average.
A second ninja shrugs. "Zara, I don't know." Well and apparently her name was Zara. "It could be as simple as she had the space available in her house or perhaps, he doesn't trust her not to run off again."
Nothing remarkable, except her personality it seemed. "Do you think she's sleeping with him?" Jugo twitches at that question. "That she bewitched him? I've head that Uchihas can do all sorts of things with their eyes."
He was Suki's shield. He wouldn't allow anyone to talk about her like that! "I don't think that the Fourth Hokage is the type of man who would be interested in a woman who is the same age as his son." A fair point, but even if Zara was right, she had still been enormously disrespectful. "Though I suppose physically he is the age he died. So maybe that wouldn't matter and if that's the case, she wouldn't need Genjutsu to seduce him."
SLAP! "How dare you say such a thing about the Fourth?! That's borderline treasonous Kaemon!" Jugo didn't see how.
"Owe!" Kaemon as he was apparently known glares at his companion. "You can't slap me for stating the obvious. She is a beautiful woman." He pauses and adds. "Insane or not!"
Suigetsu must have apparently overheard the commotion because he tries to hold Jugo back. It was no use though. The gentle giant had already gone into Beast Mode so to speak. The scales had been tipped and they hadn't been tipped in Zara's favor.
"He would never bed a traitor, if he was in his right mind!" The dumb bitch didn't even realize what was about to happen. "How could you say such a thing?!" And that's when Jugo struck, sending her flying with a quick smack to her back!
She went flying at least three feet backwards and into a rack of thankfully, kunai pouches. Otherwise she could have gotten seriously hurt.
"Well you know, if you weren't such a gossiping old hag, he probably wouldn't have lost it." He rolls his eyes. "Jugo, this isn't cool though." The Hozuki looks up at his friend with concerned eyes. "So knock it off. You definitely do not want Suki to know you're knocking people over for running their mouths about stupid shit!"
Zara gets up and glares at them. "You're such savages!" The woman apparently didn't know when to quit and that only infuriated Jugo more.
"Zara, stop picking a fight!" Kaemon though, well somewhere in the back of his mind, Jugo notes he seemed to have more survival instincts.
Suigetsus sighs and the raging ninja feels a sharp tap to the back of his neck before everything went black. "Sorry about the commotion." He looks at the shopkeeper. "My friend here has a medical condition."
The shopkeeper was a pretty young blonde. "A medical condition?" Probably a civilian. "What condition excuses him attacking someone?"
"He has an adverse reaction to jealous sluts badmouthing his friends." He smirks as he throws Jugo over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Amaya. Suigetsu was pretty sure the shopkeeper's name was Amaya. "I can understand getting upset, but that's no excuse to go around slapping people!" Well Amaya was now giving him a rather dirty look.
"Exactly!" Zara glares at them.
"Sorry. It just drives him absolutely crazy. I have to admit that I have similar tendencies sometimes, but you know I'm learning to be more accepting." Suigetsu smiles at Zara menacingly. "After all, useless trash like that only makes us look even more cooler." And before any of them could say anything, Suigetsu heads off while still carrying Jugo over his shoulder.
He really hoped no one was stupid enough to say such things in front of Suki because the Ice Princess would get really angry. And when Suki got angry, she made Jugo's dark side look like a cute, cuddly kitten. Which meant, the Leaf would be lucky if it was still standing by the time Suki was done with the likes of Zara and those like her. Jealous, catty bitches.
By the time the Sun was setting, Suki was exhausted. They must have looked over at least two dozen apartments and half as many houses. It seemed that as soon as people heard Minato was looking, they were all too eager to offer him a place to stay. For free.
"I'll have five bowls of Ramen!" Naruto grins at the old man who owned the Ramen Shop.
It was kind of them though it meant that Minato was a little spoiled for choice. Apparently outside of battle or his office, the man was rather indecisive. That or he was just humoring Sakura and Karin who were way too into the whole apartment (or house) hunting thing in her opinion.
Lets make this simple. Did it have four walls, a roof, was it structurally sound, and did it have enough room for your needs? If yes and within your price range, take it. Suki didn't see what was so ridiculously complicated about the whole affair!
"One bowl please." Sakura, Karin, and Suki all order at once.
Minato chuckles at the unity and smiles at the shop owner. "I'll have two." Apparently, being dead could work up one Hell of an appetite.
The civilian nods and heads to the back to get their orders. "Ramen Fetishes are genetic." Suki shakes her head in amusement.
"Well I wouldn't say that I have a fetish for Ramen." Minato smiles at her warmly. "I just like it, but I do have strong preferences for other things." He subtly runs his hand up her leg and Suki was trying her head not to blush.
He was a Leg Man then. Good to know. Actually, maybe he liked more than legs. Minato certainly enjoyed kissing. Wait she was getting distracted her.
The Fourth Hokage really should not do things like that out in public. They were together now, but they hadn't made any formal announcement. Hell, Naruto didn't even know yet!
Naruto grins cheerfully. "Really, like what?" Completely oblivious as always as far as Suki could tell.
Thank goodness for that. She wasn't sure what she would say to Naruto when the time came. Her best friend was a very accepting person, but this might be a bridge too far. Would the younger blonde view it as Minato cheating on Kushina?!
"Oh I'm quite fond of the color red." Minato beams at him.
Damn. That was a nice save. Thank goodness that Naruto didn't get it.
Suki wasn't really sure how that was possible considering who the man's Sensei's had been, but she wasn't going to argue. She wasn't quite ready to tell the younger blonde that her new favorite hobby was making out with his father (and that Minato was disturbingly good at foot rubs).
Naruto nods as he slurps some noodles. "Yeah. Red isn't bad." He smiles at him.
That's when an elderly man walks into the Ramen Shop. One that Suki realized as being Shura. He was a councilman. A fact which immediately set her on edge.
"Ah. There you are Lord Fourth." He smiles as he walks over to him. "Would you mind terribly, if I borrowed you from your party for just a moment or two?
Minato glances at them apologetically. "Well I don't see why not. I'm sorry." He smiles at Naruto, Karin, Sakura, and Suki. "I'll be back in just a bit." Though the last Uchiha was probably imagining it, she liked to believe that he was smiling extra brightly at her.
It was a silly and romantic notion, but Minato did have that affect on her. So this was what it was like to have feelings for someone that went deeper than friendship and camaraderie.
"Alright!" Sakura nods as the others do the same and Minato makes a swift departure to just outside the back of the shop with Shura.
A few moments later, Minato was frowning. One moment, he had been enjoying breakfast with his son, friends, and Suki and now, he was caught in a power struggle once again.
"And you say that you're the final vote?" Minato didn't envy the man.
Of course, someone had to be the tiebreaker in situations like these. That was why there were currently three people on the Council. That way decisions would always be either completely in agreement or at least two out of the three would agree. Majority rule.
Shura nods. "As you can imagine, it puts me in a rather difficult position." That was putting it mildly. "Either way, if word gets out I will be beloved by half the village and despised by the other half."
It was a complicated question. Technically, he should be Hokage. Then again, Kakashi shouldn't lose his seat because the laws of nature had been violated either.
"I will have to speak with Kakashi more on the matter." He sighs.
Shura shakes his head. "The Sixth Hokage has made it rather clear that he would much prefer you to reclaim your seat." That didn't surprise Minato, but he would still feel guilty.
His student was so different these days than how he had been on the other Team Seven. Carefree most of the time. Though Minato suspected that a good portion of it was an act.
Either way, the man wasn't suited to be sitting behind a desk half the time. It would end up driving him crazy and Minato had never particularly minded the administrative aspect of the job.
"If what you say is true, he'll tell me as much when I speak with him and in that case, I will happily reclaim my position." There was a chance the other man could be lying to him though.
That was why, he was planning on verifying his story. It was always best to double check in matters this important.
Shura smiles. "Well that would certainly make my job much easier." He tilts his head. "I'll let you get back to your friends then. Thank you, for taking the time to speak with me." With that being said, the man Flickers off.
Shura's appearance certainly killed the mood, Suki thinks to herself about an hour later when they were back at her place. "So are you really going to talk to Kakashi or did you just tell him that to make him go away?" She looks up at him.
"I'm going to talk to him." Minato sighs as he shuts the door behind them. "This isn't a decision to be made likely. I quite enjoyed being Hokage and it's fairly clear that Kakashi doesn't really want the position, but I still feel odd about upsetting the natural order of things."
Suki shakes her head. "Mhm. Upsetting the natural order of things is unsettling to you, but you're willing to put your hand on my leg with Naruto only five feet away?" That she didn't understand.
To his credit, Minato actually looks a little sheepish. It reminded her a bit of a puppy chewing on a slipper. It was cute.
"Well that was just a natural impulse." He smiles at her, his cheeks stained a rosy shade of pink. "You do have lovely legs and you're the one that brought up fetishes."
Suki shakes her head in amusement. "Who knew that the Fourth Hokage was a Leg Ninja." Then again, maybe she should have expected it.
Minato had been taught by Jiraiya and he was Kakashi's Sensei. Neither of those things were likely coincidences. It was quite possible that that one of the Leaf's most beloved heroes was actually something of a deviant.
That was an intriguing thought. "Fishnets or stockings?" She might as well explore it.
He almost lands falls over in shock at that question. Suki couldn't help, but smirk at that. Even if he was really only twenty-four, Minato had a few years on her. He was the more experienced one, no matter how she looked at it. So it was always nice to throw him off his game a bit.
It was probably because she was a naturally competitive person. That or she really was just as foolish as Itachi said she was. Either way, it didn't particularly matter. She loved making him squirm.
"Stockings, actually." He admits.
She probably should have seen that coming. "Stockings, huh?" Suki smiles and pushes him onto the nearest chair and sits in his lap. "Classy." Most men would have said fishnets these days.
The 'Anko Look' was definitely in style, but Suki couldn't really imagine herself prancing about as the other ninja did in a shirt made of nothing, but fishnets. That and the gray material that connected them. Whatever it was, it was semi transparent and even Naruto had gawked at her during their Chunin Exams.
Naruto never gawked. "I do try." It was like an unspoken rule of nature.
Apparently though, Minato could gawk. That or he at least admired and the man was more than willing to touch. Which only made sense. How else would he have become a father in the first place?
"Well you succeed." She smiles and wraps her arms around his neck. "So about these other preferences of yours?"
That had sounded interesting. Very interesting, really. It seemed that her hormones which she had easily overlooked or suppressed during her years at the Sound and during the War, were coming to the surface with a vengeance and really, it was all Minato's fault.
He chuckles at that and shakes his head as he kisses the raven haired woman's forehead. "Don't tempt me." Ah ha! So she could tempt him! Suki couldn't help, but feel incredibly smug at that knowledge.
"You know, if you become Hokage again maybe we should test out the strength of that desk." She nods sagely. "Just to be sure. We wouldn't want to discover he gave you a weak desk and have it crumble under the weight of all that paperwork or something. It's really more of a matter of safety than anything."
Minato raises an eyebrow. Unlike Naruto (or approximately half the men her age), he obviously didn't miss the innuendo. He knew exactly what she was suggesting.
He shakes his head at her and smiles. "Well perhaps." Minato kisses her briefly and then smiles at her again. "Though we did say that we were going to take it slow."
"Yeah." Suki returns the kiss and rests her head on his shoulder. "Slow so as not to give everyone in this village a heart attack." She pauses. "What are we going to do about Naruto?"
It was the question that had been lingering in the back of her mind ever since she had consciously acknowledged her attraction to the Fourth Hokage. Suki really didn't know how the younger blonde was going to react to this, but the last Uchiha knew that she didn't want to lose him as a friend.
Minato pauses and sighs. "I don't know." That wasn't good. "Part of me thinks he would be happy for us and the other part of me thinks that he would be well he wouldn't." That was putting it charitably.
"It's Naruto though." So there was really only one approach available to them. "We'll have to be very, very direct."
If they weren't, he'd probably mistake it for friendship. That was just the type of person that her friend was. In some respects, he could be ridiculously innocent.
Minato shakes his head. "You two have the strangest friendship that I have ever seen." Alright. That was accurate. "And that is including Gai and Kakashi." That was unfair!
"We are not worse than Gai and Kakashi." She rolls her eyes at that thought.
Minato's eyes shimmer with unhidden amusement. That could end very well over very badly. The man was full of surprises.
He chuckles again. "I'd say you are. Gai and Kakashi never blew each other's arms off." He shakes his head. "Though I was wondering, if any of the houses or apartments appealed to you."
No. Not really. That meant that Minato was moving out and she didn't like that thought. Suki had grown far too use to having her sexy blanket wrapped around her. Though she supposed for appearance sake, the other ninja had a point.
"They were all fine to me." She shrugs.
Minato was apparently smart enough to realize when she was being passive-aggressive. Damn. "Suki, you truly have no opinion on the matter." He smiles at her. "I mean you are going to be visiting quite often."
"As long as it's structurally sound, you like it, and we're together I don't care about the other details." She shakes her head.
That thought seemed to entertain him greatly. Suki didn't know why, but Minato was now laughing. She was about to tell him off for laughing at her, when he spoke.
"You're a very practical woman in some cases." Between gales of laughter, he manages to communicate. "Though just so you know, I do like legs but I admire the female form in general and I'm rather fond of white lace stockings and leopard lingerie."
Oh really? Rawr! "I can work with that." Suki smirks at the thought.
She never really thought that she'd actually have this. She'd have well, if not a lover, something close to it and she'd be accepted back into the village. Slowly, but sure though…things were settling into something that was a better version of normal and she could feel herself gradually beginning to relax for the first time in years.
