Infamy - 汚名
9
Mikoto
I don't have the time for this, the Uchiha decided as she quickly skirted around the edge of her bedroom, aiming to slip out through the window.
"Mikoto!" She heard her mother's voice call and she winced. Alas, never seeing Fugaku's face again wasn't meant to be. In fact, she had seen him every single day since the marriage was officially arranged. That was too much before that meeting had happened, and it was definitely too much afterwards.
With a sigh, the raven-haired girl straightened her back and with as much dignity that she could muster, she walked out of her bedroom.
And right into Fugaku's chest.
Mentally cursing to herself, she stepped back and looked at him with schooled features. By now, she had a mastered poker face. It took a lot of effort to not burst into laughter every time Kushina said something stupid, cute, or both. Because the girl was smart, which made moments like those highly humorous.
"Hn, your mother sent me to retrieve you. It's time for breakfast."
It was all Fugaku said as he turned and walked punctually to the kitchen, with a frustrated Mikoto following behind.
"Kaa-san!" She called as they reached the threshold to the room her mother cooked in, "I don't need breakfast. My team and I are grabbing a bite in the mornings now," Mikoto informed her mother and watched as Masuna popped her head out, a small frown on her face.
"Going out for breakfast, Mikoto," she corrected and Mikoto felt her cheeks heat up slightly. She was probably picking up too much of Kushina's speech. Next thing to happen would be Mikoto actually ending her sentences with 'dattebane'. She shuddered, it was only a matter of time.
Hn. Perhaps the separation was good for something.
"I'll keep that in mind, Kaa-san," Mikoto called back before slipping off her slippers and shoving her feet into her outdoors shoes.
"You need to stop hanging out with that girl. She's rubbing off her bad habits on you," Fugaku was lecturing as he followed behind her to the front door.
With tense shoulders, Mikoto whipped around to look at the kid and with a downright venomous glare and tone, she murmured out darkly, "I'd sooner marry her than you."
He looked stunned but Mikoto didn't care. She was just so frustrated and yet she couldn't properly express it because the clan would frown on her which would only bring her parents disappointment.
Huffing out a sigh, the Uchiha girl swiftly left the house to head over to her team's training grounds.
When she got there, Minato stood, onigiri in hand, talking animatedly with Jiraiya. The sannin only seemed to reciprocate as the two of them had wide eyes.
"...know fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya was asking as she got within hearing range. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her two best friends had always gone on about seals and numbers but Mikoto never really had the patience for it. Or rather, she didn't have the art skills to get anywhere within that specialization.
Mikoto could remember times when she felt jealousy that the two of them had that to share but then she had to remind herself how Kushina has only ever slept at her house and never his.
"K-Kushina has been teaching me," Minato was blushing and the Uchiha couldn't help but lift a brow at that. It had been an entire three days since the three of them had hung out. Something had obviously been wrong with the two but every time she had seen Kushina, she was only a bit angered by his sudden disappearance in her life.
"It's not like I'm his keeper, he can come and explain himself to me whenever he wants to. I certainly did nothing wrong," Kushina had said and it had only made her more confused.
Why had the puppy of their group, always so loyal and supportive, suddenly want to leave them.
"I see you blushing!" Jiraiya was laughing now, his large frame shaking and his voice deep, "Is this Kushina your girlfriend?"
"N-no! I don't l-like her at all that way!" Minato denied and Mikoto suddenly had the feeling that this was why he was avoiding Kushina.
For one thing, Minato never stuttered unless he was severely nervous, or he was lying. The blonde had grown comfortable enough with the Toad Sage that the first one could be crossed out, so the only thing left was the latter.
She didn't know how to feel about that new information. Minato actually liked Kushina. She wished she could say that she'd seen it coming but in all honesty, he had only ever treated Kushina like a friend. Even when she joked about them getting married, he never betrayed any emotion over that. Only Kushina did but that was due to her being vehemently against love and marriage.
Mikoto couldn't help her laughter as she realized what kind of task he had ahead of himself, "Good luck with that, Minato! She'd sooner say she loves me than you."
"I said I didn't l-like her that way," Minato was still fumbling causing the Uchiha to get close enough to pat him on the back.
"You need to get better at lying if you aim to become the Hokage."
"Ah, so my student wants to become the Hokage?" Jiraiya asked, a grin on his face as he gave a hearty laugh, "Well it's a good thing that I was trained by the guy who's the current one."
"We know," came Shikou Nara's voice as he walked in like a well fed cat, lazy and lanky as he was, "you brag about it every chance you get." It was said dryly but with the little twinkle in his eye, he meant it jokingly.
"Well, kid," Jiraiya said seriously, a sharp glint in his eye as he grinned, "I am not only the greatest student of Sarutobi Hiruzen, I am the Toad Sage! I summon the biggest and largest toads to aid me on the battlefield but not only that," Jiraiya leaned theatrically towards the Nara, his body forming into a kabuki pose, "I'm one of the Legendary Sannin!"
"And a super pervert at that," Mikoto grumbled under her breath as she gazed at him. He would only need the make-up, then he would fit right in with real kabuki.
Her teacher twitched before seemingly ignoring her comment as he laid his meaty hands on his hips, "Okay, team, tomorrow we'll be heading out on our first mission to one of our bases to pass along private information. It should only be a days trip so pack lightly."
Kushina was going to be so jealous when she found out.
"Yes, sensei!" the three of them chorused and faintly Mikoto realized that without Minato or Kushina being so close to her, she never would've taken the exams until her parents told her to. Probably, in another universe, this team would have looked a lot different. For one thing, they probably wouldn't have specialized, and Minato's team would have had a second civilian, him being the single non-clan member of their team.
With a wry smile, she decided that she liked this take on the universe.
Attached - 愛着
Kushina
It was hard trying to get the twins alone. Very hard.
Firstly, Yuka was always with them and then there was the added fact that, oh hey, Hakuba likes to do missions back to back and give us no time to rest. He was worse than Tsunade when she packed in her lessons.
The first day, after we had gotten finished up with training, we did three all in the span in an afternoon. That, as it turns out, was the bare minimum we had to accomplish in an entire day. I didn't really bother to keep track of how many we had done, but in the last three days, I felt as if Isamashii and Kira had become easier to work with (I was starting to be able to read into Kira's actions , so I suppose there was a some good that came out of the exhaustion.
If I was more honest, I'd even say that Hakuba was an excellent teacher.
"I just want to ask how the village is doing," I groaned, face on the table in my bedroom as Mikoto got dressed in front of me. She was going to spend the night, which was a much needed reprieve from all the boys I'd been hanging around. I'd already changed into some spandex shorts and a tank top but she took a little extra time to get dressed.
"Then why don't you just ask all three of them," Mikoto dryly suggested, the tightness around her eyes saying how much of a bother it was to talk about them. I bit my lip, considering my next words carefully.
"That girl scares me. Every time I see her, it's like she knows everything about me and I find it very disconcerting.
"Maybe your boy toys told her about you. They are teammates after all."
"Hmm, I guess," I relented before my face reddened and I sat up, "Hey!"
Mikoto snorted, "You didn't deny it."
"They aren't!" I cried, "They aren't my boy toys."
She grinned, "Good. Otherwise, Minato would be so..." She trailed off, snickering to herself.
"What would Minato be?" I asked curiously and she just shook her head, sliding on her shorts. She had on a sly expression, "No, tell me!"
"Eh, I was just thinking that you already have enough toys."
My brows furrowed. What could that mean? I asked her, only with her to reply with a snort as she dodged the question.
"By the way, what's so special about those two anyway?"
"About Ichigo and Kenma?" I asked, them being the only people that came to mind when she spoke in such a way.
"Yeah," she confirmed, looking unimpressed by my stellar deduction skills.
"Well, I guess it's because they're my cousins. I mean, I grew up with them and we were sort of raised as siblings," I laughed, "Kenma was the most annoying one, by far."
"Hn."
"Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering," she sighed, "I was stopped by the stupid one on my way to training, and he was asking for directions to your place. Apparently none of them had thought to ask where Mito-sama even lived. A group of idiots, if you ask me."
I just snickered before sobering up as I drew the conversation away from the boys, "How are you feeling about your first C-rank tomorrow?" I glanced at her pack, filled with everything she would need on her mission.
"I don't know. Something feels wrong with us being specialized so soon. I'm just worried that Konoha has gotten themselves in too much trouble. I mean, I know we're basically canon fodder to the higher ups, but both of our teams are filled with clan kids. Well, except Minato but even his own parents were shinobi."
I mulled over the thought, "Maybe it has something to do with Uzushio..." To the best of my knowledge, Mikoto hadn't been on Jiraiya's team in canon, but I had honestly just chalked it up to my influence over her as a friend. That was most likely the reason in her case, but I wasn't sure if a Nara had been Minato's third teammate.
How much had Uzushio's survival change?
Mikoto just sighed, "It's getting late. Let's get some sleep. We both have to get up early in the morning," she reminded me and I nodded.
"But first!" I jumped up, palms outstretched as I looked at her devilishly, "Tickle fight!"
"Ah, Kushina!" She yelped when I jumped at her, ready to hear her laughter.
That stuff was to be worried about later. Besides, only time would tell how much of an impact Uzushio's standing had made.
Attached - 愛着
"Come here, Kushina," Mito called to me as Mikoto and I prepared to leave. I hopped over to her, worried that she was out of bed at such an hour.
"What's wrong?" I whispered, my brows furrowed.
"Nothing," she smiled at me, as she brought her weathered hand out to caress my head, "I'm just very happy you are here."
I flushed, "Are you sure everything's fine? It sounds like your saying good bye for some reason."
"That's a silly thought, Kushina," Mito laughed, but she wasn't denying it, "Have you been meditating like I instructed you to do."
I nodded, "Even when it's boring."
"Alright then, I suppose you're ready to delve into your mindscape, no?"
I jumped up, worry disappearing as I grinned, "Is it cool to see within your own brain?"
Mito laughed, patting my head gently, "You're not seeing your brain, your seeing something that isn't physical. Remember what I said? This is something very special that I talked the Yamanaka clan into divulging so keep it a secret."
I snickered, "Yes!"
"Oh!" Mikoto's voice interjected, sounding surprised, "Good morning, Mito-sama." I turned to see her bowing the full ninety degrees and I chuckled to myself.
"Good morning, Mikoto-chan but there's no need to be so formal."
Mikoto looked distressed, "I'll try, Mito-sama."
The elderly woman laughed, eyes lighting up, "I suppose that's the best I'll get out of an Uchiha. Always so bound by rules. They need to learn to live a little, right Kushina?"
"Right!"
"Ah, I have been meaning to talk to you for some time, Mikoto-chan," Mito said, causing the two of us to glance up at her in curiosity, "I want to thank you for having taken care of my dear Kushina for all these years. It hasn't been easy for her, but yet you have still brought to her many fine memories and laughter, which is something I will be eternally grateful for. Please tell that to Minato-kun as well. But add that," Mito leaned in close to a flushing Mikoto, whispering in her ear something I couldn't hear.
I pouted but I suppose it was only a message for him.
When Mito pulled away, Mikoto looked almost as if she wanted to laugh, but restrained herself by bowing and thanking her for the compliments and informing Mito that she would deliver the message today, when they left on their mission.
"Please do," Mito murmured softly in reply as she patted my head, "Well, I won't keep you too long from your duties. If you'll excuse me," she gave one last stroke over my locks before promptly leaving the room.
"Mito-sama sure has a sense of humor," Mikoto snickered to herself and I narrowed my eyes are her.
"What did she say?"
"Eh, nothing really," she smirked.
"You're lying!" I cried, mouth agape as I jumped after her before she could flee. Mikoto slipped easily past.
"I'll see you later!" she yelled back and I huffed out a sigh.
"Tch, you better be careful!"
Attached - 愛着
"Aha!"
I restrained from yelping out in surprise as I spun around to see Kenma laughing and Ichigo smirking, "The two of you never change," I ground out, narrowing my eyes. It was the seventh day into their stay, meaning they would be leaving soon. I still hadn't managed to catch them without Yuka but could it be that they were looking for me? My expression softened.
"We could say the same to you, Kushina," Ichigo replied with making me shake my head with amusement, "We've been looking for you, by the way, but you're an unusually busy genin."
I shrugged, "Not something I can change. So why have you been looking for me?" I asked them confused, "I mean, I just wanted to talk about Uzushio."
"To catch up," Kenma said first, before laughing, bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish manner, "A lot of things have actually changed, huh? You used to always have time for us. Almost an insufferable amount of time."
"Things have changed," I echoed softly before smiling, "Let's hope its for the better. Hmm, why don't we go get dango? Tell me everything that you know. What happened to Arisa-san? How is Aisa-chan and her aunt? Is the clan leader doing well? Who had been chosen for the clan heir, he must be getting old! Oh! What about Wataru-san? It seems he was the leader of all the rebuilding going on."
"Wow, I didn't expect you to be so curious," Ichigo murmured, eyes a tad bit wide, "Let's go get dango then."
I nodded, grinning as the three of us walked in companionable silence and I led them to the best dango shop of Konoha. It also served as a tea house, but most shinobi didn't step foot into the place for that reason. We were all in it for the sweets.
After we ordered and paid, taking our seats on a bench outside of the establishment, I couldn't help but sigh in contentment. It was almost like old times, when we could go see Mika and get an after school snack.
Perhaps a bit wistfully, I turned to look at them, "So?" I prompted them.
"Hmm, well, Arisa-chan is fine. She's actually getting married...to Wataru-san. Aisa-chan is now one of the best medics at the hospital, along with her aunt. They're both in charge of the place, actually. What was your other question?" Ichigo asked, searching his head.
"Clan leader? How is the guy and who will be the new heir?"
"He's doing well, he's a lot kinder, that's for sure," Kenma grumbled under his breath about a cranky bag of old bones and I snickered, "As for the heir..." He slid a glance to a flushing Ichigo, "You're looking at the guy."
I gaped, "No way! You'd be awesome at the job!"
"Thanks," Ichigo murmured, almost shyly.
Before I could tease him about it, our order came out and the three of us were soon munching on a stick of dango.
"This is actually really good. Not as good as Uzushio," Kenma noted, "but good."
I nodded, "You should go out to Ichiraku's, this ramen shop, the recipe is actually based off of Uzushio"
"Is it any good?" Ichigo asked curiously and I nodded.
"The flavor is watered down for Konoha's preferences," I added as an afterthought, "But it's still there."
We were quiet, lost in thought as we nibbled on our treats before Kenma suddenly asked, "Are you ever homesick?"
I considered the question seriously and confidently nodded, "I am a lot of the time. It helps when I have friends to keep my thoughts off of home, but they don't always work. I still have Kaa-san's memories so it as if I've forgotten what our island looks like. I miss it a lot."
"You never write to us," Kenma mumbled, almost bitterly and I looked at him in mute surprise.
"You haven't been getting my letters?" I asked, hollowly, swallowing thickly as I realized the reason that they had never written back.
The two boys looked shocked, "So you have?"
I nodded, "I've been sending pictures too. I wanted you guys to know everything. For a while, I was angry but I figured that the two of you were to busy," I set aside my stick as I leaned back, stretching out my body, "I'm just glad I've actually gotten to see the both of you once more."
"I wonder why they haven't been sending," Ichigo said with a thin voice, I shrugged.
"Maybe this summon can fly and I could just send them that way," I suggested, pointing to the scroll strapped to my side. I still hadn't taken the time to study it, too nervous about the whole thing.
"You haven't looked at it yet?" Kenma sounded surprised and when I turned to see his face, I saw him him chuckling to himself.
I narrowed my eyes, "Do you know what it is?"
The twins nodded, "We thought Satsuki-san had very good taste, and an actual sense of humor."
"What is it?" I asked, jumping up as I faced the two of them head on, "Tell me!"
"Are you sure you don't want to find out for yourself?" Ichigo asked and I gave him a look.
"What's the difference?"
They shared a look before they grinned devilishly and said in unison, "Tigers"
I gaped, surprised, "No way! That's so cool!"
They nodded, as they stood up, after having tossed their sticks to the garbage can to their left.
"Well, we should be going. Yuka wanted to get together for lunch."
I snickered to myself, "I hope you haven't spoiled the meal."
They just outright laughed, "That won't be possible, we've got as big as appetite as you," Ichigo joked.
"That's saying something," Kenma tacked on and I couldn't help the grin that spread out on my face.
I drew both of them into a hug, "I love both of you a lot, you got that?"
"We love you too," Kenma had said while Ichigo just softened into the hug, patting my back.
I pulled away first, pointing an accusatory finger at them, "Don't get much taller than that, you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah," Kenma waved me off, "See you again soon."
Then the two were off, and I was left alone.
Attached - 愛着
"I'm home!" I called and found the house empty. I couldn't help but be surprised. Ever since Mito had been restricted to her bedroom, there was always someone around to take care of all her needs. Suspicious, I checked Mito's room, only to close it as I found it was empty. She must have been at the hospital, or maybe she had taken a trip to the grave to give Hashirama's grave some flowers. She did that sometimes but usually she invited me with.
I felt chills run through my back as I stood up straight. Someone was here but it was a familiar presence.
Biting my lip, I quietly made my way to the backyard in hopes of slipping out. It wasn't meant to be.
I saw their faces before anything else but I didn't waste too much time observing them. Instead, I took off running, nearly slipping on the floor as I panicked. I didn't know it was supposed to happen so quickly after I graduated! My blood ran cold as I was brought down, kicking and screaming. One of them had my arms pressed into my back and my struggling ceased. With a flick of his wrist, he could break a bone, I could feel it.
"No!"
"Shut her up," a thin voice commanded and I shook in fear feeling the killer intent as if it were a cloak on my body. With wide eyes that threatened to spill tears, I felt them shutting involuntarily as my entire world faded to black.
Attached - 愛着
Minato
Kushina has been kidnapped.
It was still ringing in his ears after having heard it from Mikoto, who had ran into the training grounds panting. It had sent Jiraiya away from the two and Minato had known that she at least was being looked for. However, he had to do his part.
The expression of raw terror on her face sold the truth to him as he had immediately taken off, jumping into the trees to get a good vantage point. He needed to find her, needed to get to her before bad things could happen to her.
Minato felt sick.
Why had he been ignoring her anyway? It was senseless and stupid and she shouldn't have been left alone. He shouldn't have left her side. That expression on Kushina's face when he last saw her, that look of curious confusion, her violet eyes alight with humor and her skin looking as soft as her hair, it didn't want to leave as he continued his search. He wanted to tell her, he didn't even care that she didn't like him back in the same way. He just wanted her back, and close, and most definitely in his sights.
He wished that he could just teleport to her, to simply warp through space and time and keep her safe from all of this. That's what he really wanted.
Desperately, he observed the surrounding area and finally slid down from the tree when that proved fruitless.
Minato wasn't thinking straight. There was supposed to be an order to things, an order. What it that could be was entirely hidden in his rather distraught consciousness while he surveyed the area around him.
Mikoto had gone already, probably searching for Kushina like he was.
With a whimper, the fact that Kushina wasn't safe kept hitting him in the gut, over and over again. It was as if the ache couldn't get worse, but Minato was only to be proven wrong when his stiff body continued to . He couldn't handle stuff like this yet, he wasn't ready to lose someone he loved.
Just when all hope seemed lost, and the world looked bleak, he saw it.
A single red strand of hair. He picked it up, his accelerated heartbeat slowing down as he looked to see if there were more. Miraculously enough, strand after strand, he realized that they made a trail.
"That's just like her," Minato couldn't help but say out loud with a laugh as relief filled his body. They could find her now. He could find her.
And so he did.
With the stealth skills he'd picked up on from missions with Jiraiya, he traveled by tree, his movements nearly silent as he followed the trail. They had gotten pretty far and eventually he had to sneak out of the village borders. He probably should have gone to tell someone but he had a strange feeling that he was the only one that should find her.
It didn't matter how much time it took, he would reach her.
He had been running for about an hour now, siphoning out his chakra in doses to relieve the stress of keeping up such a pace. He jumped from tree to tree, never making a sound as he took care to tread carefully.
With sharp eyes, he kept a watch out for her, surveying his surroundings with each step.
A flash of vibrant cherry red hair, clear to see in the shining moonlight, alerted him to stop.
He'd found her.
Attached - 愛着
Kushina
I had never known my body to feel such exhaustion.
I kept up with a rather hectic pace and I was far from out of shape. My stamina was one of my greatest attributes. But why...?
My head felt light, my eyes, at times, so unfocused that I thought the entire world was melting away. I was about to hurl and for some very strange reason, my chakra was depleting in an unusual fashion. They'd probably done something to me but I was too tired to really care. Minato better come soon. He'd better come soon.
What if he didn't come?
Immediately, I wanted to deny that possibility but what if I had done things so differently from the real Kushina that he had learned to hate me. He had been ignoring me so it wasn't entirely unthinkable. I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my chest, my blood almost freezing as I wished desperately for that not to be true.
We continued to walk, the ropes around my waist and hands rubbing and twisting over my skin. I was going to have a pretty irritating rash if I got away.
Where did that come from? It was the only thing I could think as I roughly tripped over a rock, hitting the dirt none too gently. The breath I had knocked out but still, I was forced to stand back up, the man with my leash, wrenching me up with a dispassionate flick of his arms.
I was panting, my hair messily hanging over my face as I had to see through it. I took another step forward, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep.
Behind me, the man that had been keeping a close hold on me fell.
I don't think I had ever felt that much relief in my entire two lives as I watched a golden flash take down the other two guys with relative ease.
It was over that quickly, in the blink of an eye. One second I was a hostage, and then the next I was safe, Minato standing right in front of me.
I fell to my knees, breathing harshly as I continued to blink away the tears that I wanted to shed.
With the calmest expression I had ever seen on his face, he slid a kunai over the ropes, promptly freeing me as I fell into his open arms. With a gentle, supportive murmur, Minato picked me up as I weakly gazed up at him.
"You came," I whispered, feeling my entire body shake with an unknown emotion. Joy? Happiness? I couldn't put a name to it.
"Of course I did," Minato replied with as we made our great escape, him jumping to the trees as I held on for the ride.
"But why?" I wanted to know, still trying to hold back the tears, "You...I thought you hated me..."
"I couldn't ever hate you, Kushina. You are...very precious to me."
"Then why? Why did you leave me alone? Why did you just disappear on me?" I was too weak to hit him, but that wouldn't account for later. He was surely in line for a beating when I was feeling up to par.
He was quiet, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Why?" I prompted him, desperate to know what had taken my best friend away.
"I'm... I can't tell you yet."
I froze before hesitantly asking with wide eyes, "Why?"
Why couldn't he tell me?
He looked calm, as if he'd finally come to peace with whatever had been bothering him. I couldn't help but be happy for him, even if I was kind of frustrated with the fool.
"I don't want you to worry about that now," he stuttered, that calm expression vanishing as his face burst into a blush, "You should focus on getting your strength back."
I raised a brow, "Are you saying I'm heavy."
"No!" His eyes went wide, "I would never think that." His face colored, "You'd be perfect no matter what you looked like."
There was something so genuine in the way he said it, making me almost believe him yet I couldn't bring myself to. I wasn't perfect, far from it. I found myself sighing and leaning into him. If only what he said was true but I wasn't Kushina. Not the real one, at least. I just had her name and face.
Life is confusing. So terribly, horrifyingly confusing.
I couldn't say anything as the tears I'd been holding back fell. I let out a choked sob but tried to muffle it with my hands, only then feeling the sting that the ropes had left. I whimpered, terror of being stuck and trapped in this dangerous world filling my body as I shook. They had made a terrible mistake in placing me here.
A terrible, terrible mistake.
"Kushina...? Kushina!" Minato panicked as I just clung to him, feeling too much of everything at that moment. Confusion, fear, exhaustion, anger, resentment, relief, happiness, joy...and then, and then there was that unidentifiable feeling that I was wracked with every time I looked up at Minato.
I tried to explain it to him, I truly did, but I was too far gone in my sobbing, clutching onto his jacket with all my might.
I don't know really how much time had passed before everything around me got brighter. Any moment now I would just go to sleep. Right after I stopped crying, that is.
"What happened to her?" I heard a confused voice say. It was Tsunade.
"I don't know, she just...I don't know!" Minato cursed underneath his breath, "Can you take her? She's low on chakra, and I'm fairly certain that she has severe wounds on her wrists."
"Of course," Tsunade murmured and I felt the shift occur in a blink of an eye as I was snuggled against her large breasts. I didn't even care anymore. I was too busy trying to gain my breath as I hiccuped, "Sweetie, what's wrong, what happened?"
I didn't respond but I finally managed to calm down enough that I could breathe. The tears were still falling though. I couldn't see anything but Tsunade's blurry figure in front of my face but even then I was feeling rather disoriented.
"I need you to tell me what happened to you Kushina."
"Boys are stupid!" I wailed as I rubbed the tears away, my eyes puffy.
Tsunade blinked, having not expected that, "Okay...?"
"Boys are stupid!" I repeated, adamant about this fact.
"I agree with you completely, but can you tell me what happened?"
"Okay," I sniffed, "I'll tell you."
Attached - 愛着
Mikoto
"That's strange, I don't know if I believe you," the Uchiha girl said bluntly and Minato looked stricken.
"I know you don't, but it's true," he murmured mournfully.
"So she wouldn't stop crying?" Mikoto asked, mildly surprised about that. Kushina wasn't the crying type.
"Yeah, I don't know if I did something wrong or..." Minato sighed as he trailed off, blue eyes dark.
Mikoto huffed out a breath before knocking shoulders with him, "I doubt she was crying because of something you did. Unless...you confessed to her. Now, that would scare her."
Minato scowled, the expression odd on the usually calm boy, "I didn't tell her."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
There was silence before Mikoto spoke up, "I wonder why she was kidnapped by Kumo-nin, of all things."
"I wouldn't know."
"She has special chakra," a new voice piped up, causing the two genin to jump. The both of them looked up to see Ichigo there, a frowning Kenma close behind him. Yuka was no where to be seen.
"Special chakra...?" Minato looked confused.
"He chakra is very unique, even in the Uzumaki clan itself."
"What does it do?" Mikoto asked, always weary of the two boys.
Ichigo smirked, "That's top-secret. All you get to know is that it's the reason for her kidnapping."
"Can I at least know one thing?" The blonde boy asked, eyes serious, yet slightly curious.
"What?" Kenma snapped, obviously upset over the whole ordeal.
"Does it affect her health? Is there anything we should be on the look out for?"
The younger twin looked surprised, "Why would...? I guess you are her friend after all," he released a dry chuckle, "As far as I know, it won't."
"Except," Ichigo interjected, "I'm not sure when, but there will come a time...," he paused, seemingly frustrated as he brought his left hand to his face, "Except...how do I phrase this?"
"Just spit it out," Mikoto impatiently snapped.
"There will be a time that you must stay very, very far away from her when she's angered. If she's on the verge of a mental breakdown, don't hesitate to knock her out."
"Why would we do that?" Mikoto couldn't even fathom hurting her friend for just having emotions.
"Trust me, she'll be thankful for the help," Ichigo sounded serious, his shoulders tense and his jaw set, as if this secret had been weighing down on him for quite a long time.
"What are you even talking about, Ichi?" Kenma asked, lost and it was somewhat strange seeing two different expressions on the same face as Mikoto glanced back and forth.
"It's better if you don't know, Ken. Now, let's go find Yuka before she murders someone."
The two brothers walked away, leaving the genins to ponder of what had just been said.
"Well, that was certainly something," she commented and Minato just sighed.
"I wonder what I can do to cheer her up."
"Why is she sad in the first place?" Mikoto asked, only saying it to humor the boy. She'd been done with this conversation for quite a bit of time by then.
"I don't know."
She rolled her eyes, "Well, Kushina was just kidnapped, you couldn't know what she's thinking right now. It could have been from the fear, or maybe she was just strongly relieved that you kicked their asses. It doesn't have to be that she's sad. Besides, it'll pass."
"No," Minato frowned, "She started crying after I didn't tell her why I've been avoiding her."
Mikoto flipped her hair, frowning as she said, "You love her...but you obviously don't know her very well if you think that's the case." No way in hell would her best friend be crying over something to stupid.
"I know," he sighed, making Mikoto narrow her eyes, "I'm an idiot. Kushina hates me."
"If you don't stop with this sighing and whining bull crap I will call you embarrassing nicknames in front of her. Like, say, Lover Boy, Mister-I've-Got-A-Crush, or, or, get this one, My-Name-Is-Minato-Namikaze-And-I'm-In-Love-With-Kushina-Uzumaki."
Minato titled his head away, his bangs coming to shroud his face. Mikoto was nearly worried that he'd hurt his feelings even more, but after a moment of silence, tiny laughter resounded in the air.
"Pft..." It was coming from Minato and then suddenly, he was bent over, clutching his sides to contain the laughter.
Did I just break him?
"Oi, it wasn't that funny," The raven-haired girl reached out a hand to nudge his shoulder. He just laughed harder, "No, seriously. It wasn't that funny." He didn't respond, only agitating Mikoto more, "I'm serious!" She stamped her left foot, only sending him into another round of laughter. Her face flamed before she groaned out, "I'm going to go eat something if you don't stop."
"S-sorry!" He was stuttering out as he tried to regain his breath. Mikoto scowled, knowing she couldn't leave the lunatic alone.
"You better be," she grumbled out as she settled against the wall to wait it out.
After about a minute, as she tried to figure out what had been nagging at her all day, she jumped, snapping the Namikaze boy out of his laughter. With wide eyes of her own, she started to nearly choke on her laughs as she pounding her fist on his shoulder.
"What is it?" He was asking, alarmed.
"You wanna know what Mito-sama told me to tell you a few days ago?" She wheezed out, begging her body to quit.
"What?"
"She said that you should marry Kushina as soon as possible if you want to keep her away from the two stooges."
"M-Marriage!?" Minato blanched at the notion, sending Mikoto into another round of whooping laughter before she finally sobered up.
"Yeah," she wiped away a stray tear, "marriage. This is funny to me because I highly doubt Kushina could ever get to that point with anyone. Love is not a word in her dictionary."
Minato looked stricken, "Someday...someday it could be!"
"Alright, Lover Boy."
He snorted, trying to cover it up as a cough before saying in a calm voice, "Don't call me that."
"Yes, yes, Boy-Who-Is-In-Love-With-Kushina."
"Mikoto," he whined and she just waved him off. Boy was stupid if he thought he would get out of this one. It was time for the pay back of being left with a depressed Minato for the past week. Which, let it be known, isn't very fun.
Attached - 愛着
Kushina
"I know what you are."
I looked up, surprised. My eyes were still puffy and red, but on the inside, I felt a lot better than in comparison to when I had come in. My wrists and abdomen didn't hurt anymore, that was a sure plus.
However, that didn't change the fact that Yuka stood before me, talking to me as if she were addressing what was for breakfast.
"Excuse me?" I asked, almost certain that I had misheard her.
"I know what you are," she repeated and the before I could reply, she went on, "I know that you're a reincarnation of someone else."
My eyes widened, "What...what are you talking about?"
Yuka rolled her eyes as she sat down at the foot of the bed, "You don't have to hide it. After all, my sister was one too."
"C-come again?" I spluttered out.
"It's not that hard to believe, you know. Reincarnation is natural and normal. What isn't normal, is when they remember their past life," With narrowed eyes, Yuka leaned in, "What do you remember?"
I blinked, not sure what to make of this change of events that had come on suddenly.
The girl before me leaned back, frowning, "My sister didn't remember much, but then, I wouldn't know if she was holding things back," there was a moment of silence as she jumped up to pace across the room, "Speak up!" she snapped, "This shouldn't be a one-sided conversation."
"I'm just," I started, "I...I thought I was the only one."
Yuka snorted, "You thought you were special? As if," her eyes turned dark, "When people die, the world keeps spinning. It wouldn't matter if you still had things to do, everyone will go on sooner or later. Death is inevitable, after all."
I narrowed my eyes, "What do you want from me?"
"Information," she said simply, "What came after the Kyuubi's attack?"
"I won't tell you."
She grinned, "You will. I always get my way, you know. Life is too short to pussyfoot around."
There was silence as I just glared at her. She hadn't given me any reason to trust her with such valuable information.
Yuka raised a brow as she continued on in a sing-song voice, "I know something, you don't know."
"What?" I grounded out in a thin voice.
"An exchange then. Tell me something small, and I will too."
I narrowed my eyes before searching my mind on what to say. My gut told me to find out what she knew. It was something important, I could feel. Something after the Kyuubi's attack...I sighed, "The masked man desires a fabrication."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She scowled and I heaved a groan.
"I told you something, now keep your end of the deal."
Her eyes narrowed before she shrugged, "You'd find out eventually, I suppose. Mito-sama is in the hospital, and she'll be dying soon."
I looked at her with wide eyes. No, that couldn't be. She must be lying.
There was a knock at the door.
I cringed, and watched in awe struck horror as Jiraiya himself walked in. He looked grim, but tried for a smile as he laid his eyes on me. I shook my head. This couldn't be true.
"If you'll give us a moment of privacy," the Toad Sage dressed Yuka and she nodded, waving at me before she left the room. With a click, the door shut.
"So, it's happening...?"
"It's happening."
I withheld a sob, my blood freezing. Couldn't I just have a simple moment of peace for once? Just for once I wanted to forget everything and run to a lively and healthy Mito. I didn't want this. But then, I guess it wasn't like I could run now.
"Okay," I numbly said, and vaguely it felt like my mind was switching gears. The emotions that had clouded my thoughts vanished. There wasn't pain, nor was I worried about anything in particular. It was very simple, actually, on what would be happening. Mito would die and I would be the new Jinchuuriki, "Okay." I repeated.
"Right...So, as you may know, Kushina-chan, I am two of your friend's teacher."
"I know." My voice sounded hollow to my ears.
"Did you also know that I was trained by Mito-sama in the art of fuinjutsu?"
I guess that made sense. The Sarutobi clan was on friendly terms with the Senju clan.
"Are you going to be sealing the Kyuubi within me?"
"If that is what you want. It just so happens that we have three eligible seal masters, other than myself, that you could pick from."
"You mean my cousins and that Yuka girl?" I grimaced, "No, you should do it." If I thought about it now, I could see that three of them had probably stayed this long after the delivery of the scroll just for me to pick who would do the sealing.
"Are you certain about this?"
"Yes."
"Then, let's get started."
Attached - 愛着- End
A/N: Thank you for the influx of reviews, wow! I was pleasantly surprised that so many people was a fan of Minato's POV, and there had been a request for Mikoto's. I'm glad that everyone is comfortable with a gathering of point of views because this story will be having more than just those three. I have some surprises in store for you guys in later chapters.
Next chapter will be a long one, about 7-9k, I'm guessing. So it may take awhile for me to update. It doesn't help that I sold myself to a thing called a chorus battle (FCCB, to be exact) and I have a limited amount of time for writing.
