Chapter XXI: One Night Star
"It's about time you caught up, chibi." Was the first greeting that Minato and Kushina received upon regrouping with the rest of the Konoha platoons. Hizashi was only staring at the two silently before he turned his head to look up slightly at the blond kunoichi when she shifted besides him.
"How much further 'til we reach Kusa's borders?" Tsunade questioned as she folded her arms.
"Only an hour of traveling... It's a bit out of my range, but I can see some chakra within Kusa's boundaries... The fight is being held there." Hizashi reported.
Tsunade nodded at this, turning her honey-colored gaze back to the rest of them. "Alright. We're going to rest for a bit to heal up the rest of the wounds and get some bites to eat. Then we're going to go into the Kusa no Kuni and sneak a night attack on Iwa."
Several sighs of relief floated up into the air, making Tsunade scowl slightly. A lot of the supplies were dropped onto the floor, the Konoha ninja following to the ground shortly to rest themselves. Tsunade sighed and shook her head.
"A couple of you guys keep watch... Who ever's fit enough to do that, go on ahead. People who are still whinin' about their injuries, come over here." Tsunade ordered. "Eat, drink, sleep.. get yourselves ready 'cuz we're leavin' a bit before midnight."
Minato's shoulders dropped and he sighed inaudibly. It was good that they were stopping to rest. Right now he couldn't exactly concentrateon anything other than the kiss that he shared with Kushina. He swallowed the lump in his throat and his face turned red seconds after. His blue eyes snapped up when he felt someone tugging at the canteens on his forearms, his gaze meeting white-gray ones.
"I'll hand the water out, Namikaze-san..." Hizashi murmured.
"Uhh.." Minato nodded slightly. For a few seconds he turned his head to search for Kushina, soon finding her standing besides Daylian. The older nin was slouching slightly due to the pain in his back, violet eyes examining the scroll that Minato had drawn up earlier. Minato caught a few words in their conversation, but shook his head and returned his gaze back to the Hyuuga. "I'll help."
Hizashi tilted his head forward at this. But his shoulders rose and fell in a simple shrug as he nodded, relieving Minato of a few canteens. "Alright..."
Minato glanced over at Kushina a second time, before he hurriedly followed Hizashi when he fell behind a few paces. The Hyuuga only calmly handed the canteens back to the ones that had asked for them to be refilled, making Minato wonder how Hizashi even remembered their faces. Minato sighed a bit and shook his head, only handing Hizashi more canteens since the blond himself didn't bother to remember which canteens belonged to whom.
After a while Hizashi took the last canteen from Minato and returned it to its rightful owner. White-gray eyes flickered upwards and at the darkened sky that was obscured slightly by the trees. A lot of the ninja were settling down by now, having made several small fires and being careful not to let the smoke wisp above the treetops. A few of them were already asleep close by the fires, being covered by simple blankets that the backup had brought along with the provisions.
"Here you go, Namikaze-san.." Hizashi murmured, snapping the blond out of his trance. Minato blinked and looked up, dazedly taking the apple that was handed to him.
"Ah... Arigatou..." Minato murmured as he sat down, a few paces away from the closest fire.
"... I didn't know that you were dating someone."
"Eh?!" Minato was instantly snapped out of his thoughts again, blue eyes shooting to the Hyuuga. Hizashi tilted his head forward in a curious manner as he sat down across from Minato, as if deciding to keep him coming while interrogating him.
"No... Well, yes, but..." Minato groaned softly and hung his head to hide his reddening face. "How did you find..?"
"Namikaze-san."
Minato looked up the call, and Hizashi tapped the corner of his eye lightly a couple of times. The Hyuuga gave a small, rare smirk, making Minato's eyes widened.
"You mean you saw..?!" Minato quickly dropped the volume of his voice. Hizashi chuckled softly under his breath at this and lowered his arm back down to his side.
"I didn't mean to intrude... but Tsunade-sama was asking what was taking you guys so long..." Hizashi explained in defense of himself.
"W-wait, does that mean Tsunade-san...?!"
"No, she doesn't, Namikaze-san..." Hizashi chuckled a few more times with a light smile to go with it. "I covered for the both of you... so who is she?"
Minato grumbled softly at this and rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He sighed but shook his head and decided that Hizashi probably didn't get many opportunities to leave the Hyuuga's Estate, so he would just have to fill the Hyuuga in.
"Her name is Uzumaki Kushina..." Minato murmured, pausing to take a bite of the apple that Hizashi had given him earlier. Once he swallowed the mouthful he realized how hungry he was, so he took another couple of bites.
"Uzumaki-san... ka..." Hizashi repeated softly to himself and allowed the blond to eat a little more. Though Hizashi fell silent all together, his thoughts having branched off to another topic while he stared wordlessly at the ground in front of him.
"..." Minato glanced over at his Hyuuga friend when he finished the apple. He flicked his wrist and the core was easily sent flying into the bushes. The rustling of the foliage made several of the shinobi tense for a second before they slowly calmed down and returned to eating their food rations or talking amongst themselves.
Minato himself decided to lie down, not minding the fact that they were camped on barren dirt. Well it was better than sleeping on top of snow. The blond stifled a yawn and folded his arms beneath his head while his blue eyes stared up at the navy-black sky visible through the trees. There weren't really many stars visible, so Minato could only guess that there were still some clouds up in the sky. He sighed and closed his eyes for the time being, trying to remember what the date was.
"... Do you need a blanket, Namikaze-san?"
Minato opened his eyes at this and raised his head slightly from his makeshift pillow. Hizashi was on his feet by this point while his hands brushed the dust off his clothing. The blond's mouth twitched as he paused before he shook his head no.
"I'm fine... I can live off the fire for now."
"Alright..." Hizashi's eyes rolled over the Konoha camp. "... I should probably go get a blanket for Uzumaki-san, hmm?" He smiled teasingly at the blond when he saw that Minato sat up to look for the mentioned kunoichi. Hizashi raised his hand and pointed a couple of fires away.
Kushina was sleeping on her back with the ends of her scarf spread out on either side of her, her arms folded across her stomach while her knees were bent and up in the air in another way of curling up. She was clearly out cold, sleeping with her mouth opened slightly. Daylian was curled up a foot away from her, hogging the warmth of the fire.
"Ah.. uhm..." Minato looked up at Hizashi and instantly lowered his gaze when he saw the smug look.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Namikaze-san..." Hizashi murmured as he turned around. "I'll be seeing if anyone else requires any food or water..."
"..." The blond looked down before he shifted and got up to his feet. He casted wary glances around at the divided groups in the camp and then awkwardly trailed over to Kushina. Minato sat down besides her, cheeks red as he stared down at her. After a while he smiled softly and shifted to lie down on his back, using one arm as a makeshift pillow. He turned his head to look over at her when the kunoichi stirred, then stifled a yawn and closed his eyes.
-
Minato opened his eyes drowsily when he felt something prodding his chest. He lay there for several seconds with his eyes half-open, trying to adjust to the lighting of the night. After a while he saw a pair of violet orbs staring down at him and shifted to sit up.
"Daylian-san...?" Minato asked sleepily. He stretched the arm that he was using as a pillow, wincing when his shoulder and elbow popped.
The black wolf took a few steps back at this, ears cocked forward. "We gotta guard the camp for a little bit..."
"What about Kushina...?" Minato asked as he rubbed his eye and stifled a yawn. He turned his head and looked downwards, finding Kushina curled up in a ball closely besides him. She was still sound asleep with her head resting on her forearm, her side moving up and down slightly with her even breathing.
"Leave her behind... she needs her rest..." Daylian murmured, tossing his head in one direction before padding towards it.
Minato's eyes barely managed to follow the black wolf against the night, then realized that only a couple of fires were still barely lit.
"Ah.. wait, Daylian-san..." Minato murmured as he got to his feet and stumbled after the wolf.
"Shh..." Daylian hissed. The wolf paused and allowed the blond to catch up, before beginning to trot forward again to circle around the camp.
Minato followed him slowly and followed the sound of Daylian's paw steps while he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He sighed a bit when he could only see the silhouettes of most things, but figured that he could adapt. It was pretty easy to follow Daylian anyway, since he was moving along in front of him. And he could just barely hear the wolf sniffing the ground and whatever bush they passed by.
Frankly enough, Minato didn't think there would be any attack on them tonight. After all his sensei pushed them back into Kusa country... so they wouldn't try and chance sending a platoon or two in Konoha's direction.
The blond raised his arms and stretched a bit, then dropped his limbs back down to his sides. The cold, smooth metal ring of a kunai brushed against his fingers as he did, making the Jounin look downwards and draw the weapon from the holster on his thigh.
The corner of his mouth twitched and cocked slightly in a half-frown as he let the weapon rest on his palm. Minato exhaled a deep sigh and curled his fingers around the handle of the kunai and lowered his hand back down to his side.
"... Whatcha doin'?"
Minato's blue gaze shifted down what he can see of the wolf, whose violet eyes were glowing faintly against the dark.
"Nothing... just thinking that the kunai is too light..."
"Well that isn't really anything, but okay then." Daylian shrugged a bit and padded forward. He nosed Minato's hand for a second and then used his fangs to bite down on the ring of the kunai. Minato only blinked at this and let go of the weapon so that the wolf could hold it.
"It doffint fee tha heafy..." Daylian commented through his teeth while purple eyes stared up at the blond. The wolf growled softly and lowered his head to place the knife onto the ground, running his tongue over his fangs to get the metallic taste out of his mouth. "It feels like any old kunai if you ask me..."
"Well that's because you haven't been practicing with a weighted sword..." Minato murmured softly, casting a glance over his shoulder in the direction of the camp.
The flames were still alight and casting small orange hues on the surrounding ground and nearby bushes. The ninja were getting as much rest as they could, with a couple of them awake and thinking about either the approaching battle or the villagers back home.
The battle...
Minato was suddenly a bit tense at the thought, but shook his head and told himself silently that they were going to win this battle and that they'd be back to return home..
"-Heyyy are you listening?"
"Huh?" Minato blinked and looked down at the wolf. Daylian was nudging the blond's hand using his head, violet optics looking up at him.
"I said that I can probably help you out."
"... For what?" Minato asked rather blankly as he blinked, scratching his head. He could see the wolf roll his eyes.
"With the weight... Buuut we'll discuss this after we get back to Konoha." Daylian commented as he turned around to trot around the camp again with his nose at work. Minato blinked and lowered down to pick up his near-weightless kunai, in his opinion, and follow half-blindly after the black wolf.
"Wait, you're gonna-"
"Not now. Actually, wait until Christmas."
"Christmas? But, Daylian-san-"
"Nope... Now just make sure you live through the battle, okay?" Daylian paused to look over his shoulder, white fangs barely visible in the night as he grinned.
"They're just out of my range, Tsunade-sama... I think the Iwa platoons have been pushed back even further..." Hizashi reported as they leapt through the trees in Shunshin bursts. It was still stark-black so they used small glass lanterns to capture the fire for a light source. The lighting wasn't great but they would just have to adapt and use the fire in place of the missing moonlight.
Minato listened to the Hyuuga's report from where he was a couple of branches behind the leading two. He himself carried a small lantern to help guide everyone else through the dark forest, as well as a bag carrying some of the provisions. Kushina was stumbling along besides him, clearly inept as she traveled. Her foot often slipped from miscalculating the size of the branch, and would often get pulled back upright by Minato. This clearly embarrassed her, since she resorted to clutching the sleeve of his Jounin underclothing as an added guide.
"We couldn't wait 'til the morning or anything?" Kushina grumbled softly as she kept her gaze on the small lantern Minato was holding. "I can't see anything, datte'sa..."
"I'm quite fine, actually." Daylian commented with a shrug of his shoulders. He also held a couple of provision and supply bags, landing on one tree branch and shooting off to cover the large gap to the next one.
Kushina scowled as she saw his silhouette disappear forward to fall in pace with Hizashi and Tsunade. She didn't like this one bit. For starters it was freezing, and the branches were slippery from the snow being frozen into thing layers of ice on the half-dead branches. Any regular person could've easily fallen out of the dying trees. Kushina had to keep her weight and footing light just so that she wouldn't be like any other person and break the tree branches.
"It's all about adapting, girly." Shikaku was also carrying a small round lantern, though he used a stick to hold it leisurely above his head with the ring; so that the Konoha platoons behind him could follow more easily.
Kushina scowled at the Nara's orange-hued face but spat and turned her head back to the front with Minato's lantern visible in the corner of her eye. The blond chuckled warily at this.
Honestly, he was still rather distracted with thoughts about the kiss earlier that evening. Or was it already considered yesterday? He couldn't tell the time at the moment and just regarded that minor detail. Feeling Kushina cling onto his sleeve only made the blood pool in his cheeks, inwardly thanking that it was night time.
Unwillingly his gaze trailed over to Kushina, watching her growl as she stared downwards to try and get a glimpse at the branches she was traveling on.
Almost shortly after, Minato felt his right arm jerking downwards when Kushina missed a branch. Instinctively, he flung his arm upwards to haul Kushina up as well, yanking his sleeve from her grip and wrapping his arm around her waist. His other hand grabbed a kunai rather sloppily since he still held onto the lantern. Minato swiftly threw the knife upwards and disappeared with Kushina a moment after.
The kunai was in his hand again and he swiftly jumped from branch to branch to follow the rest of the Konoha platoons.
It took a few seconds for Kushina to completely register what happened just now, since it all happened so quickly. She looked over at the blond's face, which was orange-hued thanks to the lantern, questioningly before she blushed, realizing that his arm was still around her waist and that he was practically carrying her across the weak branches.
Minato returned the kunai to his weapon pouch and held the lantern back upright, then turned his head as if finally sensing her stare. He realized the situation and smiled a bit.
"Heyyyy! Stop lagging behind! We gotta move quickly, y'know?" An older Konoha Jounin called back to them.
"Ah.. Hai..." Minato responded as he nodded. He glanced back at the kunoichi again and couldn't stop himself from smiling at how close they were, before he picked up the pace so that they could fall back in pace with the others. Kushina gave no sign of resistance, only smiling softly to herself as well.
They remained traveling at the constant pace, the forest slowly thinning out as they approached the border of their country. After a while most other foliage vanished as well, fading into barren, snow-covered land that would eventually be covered in grass when spring came. A good number of the Konoha ninja grew nervous, clearly used to being in the cover of the forest instead of being in such vast, open land.
Then Hizashi finally announced that they were in Kusa's borders.
"I can see the battle from here." The Hyuuga also added. "It should be another hour of travelling... Maybe a little less if we're fast enough."
"Really?" Tsunade muttered as she fixated her gaze forward. It was rather pointless, considering she could only see probably a couple of feet ahead of her thanks to the weak fire of the lantern.
Minato was one of the many Konoha nin that slowly grew anxious. His arm unconsciously tightened around Kushina's waist with the corner of his mouth twitching uneasily. His gaze flickered to Kushina, though her eyes were only fixated forward. Either she was quick to adapt to the terrain or she was confident. Probably both, knowing her.
"We're picking up the pace, everyone... We gotta help Jiraiya and the others if they're still fighting out there." Tsunade called over her shoulder. Without another word the blond turned and continued to follow the Hyuuga, both their speed hastening.
They all followed at a pace just below Tsunade and Hizashi's, a few of them casting glances around as they extended their senses to search for any hiding ambush platoons. Most of them tried to ignore the cold, frigid air that the snow only added onto, focusing on running to get their bodies warm and their blood moving.
Kushina squirmed slightly in Minato's arm when it was getting harder to run at the quickened pace. Though Minato's grip was strong from being tense, so Kushina remained at his hip for the time being. She glanced up at him, eyes rolling over his worried features before she looked back at the spots of light and small shadows the lanterns were casting.
"... Minato..."
"Uh? Oh, uh, sorry.." Minato was snapped out of his tense trance and flustered, removed his arm from around her.
Kushina warily grinned, trying to ignore the fact that the cold air was now attacking the area where the blond's arm once was. Though she supposed the air wasn't as cold as it was back in Uzu..
She blinked and then mentally hit herself while shaking her head rapidly from side to side. It's all in the past... Konoha's my home now, 'tebayo... Kushina thought to herself while gritting her teeth in annoyance. She needed to focus.
Focus...Kushina warily repeated to herself. The corner of her mouth twitched when unwanted thoughts of her former country passed through her mind. She hated this feeling. She had to focus on protecting her new home...
Her gaze trailed upwards as if to try and see if she could catch a glimpse of the moon or the stars. There were a few dull stars visible, but the clouds continued to loom overhead and obscure the main lighting source during the night. I can't keep thinking about Uzu... If I think about it for a moment during battle, then...Kushina lowered her gaze slightly, but it was unconsciously drawn to the lantern Minato was holding.
I'll be good as gone, 'te'sa.. And then Minato'll be...Brown-red eyes looked over at the blond running along side of her. Minato's own expression was rather blank and unreadable, eyes staring ahead as if he was trapped in his own thoughts for the time being.
Sad.
Her pupils narrowed unconsciously at the very thought. Her dying was one thing, but Minato being sad was a whole other story. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist, beginning to tremble angrily.
She barely registered the fact that the wind started to blow.
Everyone else in the Konoha platoon tensed at the slight but sudden change in weather, their gazes snapping in the direction the gales were coming from.
"I don't smell anything..." Kuromaru muttered between pants. His yellow pair of eyes glanced around at this, as if searching for the source that gave him an uneasy feeling.
There's chakra in these gales... Hizashi thought tensely to himself with a frown forming. His gaze shot off to their right, and instantly another strong gust of wind attacked the group.
Their flight instantly stopped to make sure they could stand their ground against the vicious gales.
"Ite...!" A Jounin hissed when he felt something sharp slice across his cheek. He raised his hand to inspect it, only to find some blood slowly trickling down from the slit skin.
"It's an attack!!" Hizashi raised his arms to defend himself, eyes widening when he felt metal slicing through the sleeves of his robe. He bit back a hiss of pain and lowered his arm slowly away from his head to pull out the kunai that embedded itself in his forearm. "They're using the wind to increase the speed and power of the weapons!"
"We're sitting ducks..." Kuromaru spat under his breath, squinting his eyes against the gales as he lowered himself slightly, hackles rising. A sharp pain suddenly shot through him, an uncontrollable yelp escaping him as he flung himself backwards, writhing on the ground violently. His paws flailed slightly and his maw was wide open and swinging wildly as if trying to grab the kunai that got shot into his left eye.
"Kuromaru..?!" Tsume hissed, and then her gaze snapped blindly down to the black and gray ninken when she no longer sensed him standing besides her.
"Dammit!" Tsunade growled. She took a rough hold of Hizashi's injured arm, making him flinch and about to demand that she let go. The Hyuuga stopped when he realized that she was healing his wound while shielding her head with a kunai. "Duck and cover! Who ever's got a shielding jutsu, use it!!"
"On it, dattebayo!!" Kushina growled over the wind. She lowered down in front of Minato with her hand swiftly digging at the weapon pouch on her lower back. The red-haired kunoichi pulled out the scroll Minato had drawn up earlier- luckily deflecting a shuriken with it -and unrolled it.
Due to the wind, the opened end instantly flew onto her stomach and stayed there. Kushina placed her hand in a seal and squinted against the wind. Water soon shot out of the kanji and the runes, already riddled with chakra so that it wouldn't get blown away easily. The kunoichi kneeled on her scroll so that it wouldn't fly off, freeing her hands to make a transition of hand signs.
The summoned water squirmed in midair for a second and then shot past the Konoha ninja, slowly expanding into a large wall that Kushina hoped shielded all of the comrades. Weapons slammed violently into the Suiton wall, the momentum managing to make them shoot half way into the wall before slowly clattering uselessly on the other side.
"Everyone put out your lanterns, now!" Tsunade hissed after she extinguished her own, her hand releasing a light amount of chakra to stop the bleeding from Kuromaru's eye. Or rather, the socket. His eye was no longer useful now. Kuromaru was writhing painfully beneath her hand, trying his best not to close the eye that was being healed.
Swiftly the tiny flames were diminished, leaving them in the stark night with the weak glow from the stars shining through thin clouds. They all crouched and huddled around each other to remain in the protection of the Suiton, listening to the wind slamming into the water wall while their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
"If I had to guess, they're Kusa ninja..." Shikaku commented as he half-blindly reached out for one of the various weapons that were piling up besides the wall.
"Why are Kusa nin attacking us?" Kushina growled. She was lowered onto the ground as well, her calves slowly growing sore from the decrease in blood flowing downwards. Her hands were clasped tightly in a seal, making sure to keep the chakra in the wall dense so that the wind and weapons wouldn't shoot through. "Can't they just attack Iwa?!"
"They probably realize the disadvantage they'd have if they took on Iwa and risk being attacked by Konoha as well." Shikaku pointed out. "They're probably just going to lie in wait and pick off whatever reinforcements cross into their borders..."
"We can't just keep sitting here forever... We gotta make them back off." The Uchiha's voice growled from somewhere amongst the lowered Konoha ninja.
"What do you think we're going to do? Just sit here and wait for their chakra to run out?" Tsunade questioned, referring to both Kushina and whoever was casting the vicious Fuuton against them. "Hizashi."
"Hai." The Hyuuga straightened himself when his name was called, his bloodline activated so he could see everyone by their chakra rather than their silhouettes.
"Take the Uchiha and... Chibi with you, since he's fast... Go around this Fuuton and attack whoever's there, got it? Lead the Uchiha and Chibi around the Fuuton, towards the user... Uchiha, Chibi, you two better be listening. Anyway, Uchiha brat'll attack first.. Something that'll provide Chibi a source of light for a second so he can see the guy. Make sure it doesn't last for more than a couple of seconds, alright, Uchiha? We don't want to draw anymore attention to ourselves... Make them back off or whatever, alright?"
"Right..." The Uchiha murmured, rolling his eyes. "And I have an individual name you know... It's Ittetsu."
"Suits you well." Daylian commented, having transformed when the Fuuton first started, raised his wolf lip raised slightly in a type of sneer.
"Quiet, asshole." Ittetsu growled back sharply.
"That's enough. You heard Tsunade-sama's orders..." Hizashi murmured from where he was standing besides the blond medic. "We should leave now, Ittetsu-san, Namikaze-san..."
"Hai." Minato replied with a nod. He slowly got up and ignored the pain of blood flowing back down to his calves, using a good amount of his senses to move around the crouching platoons. As he moved towards Hizashi, Minato could feel his yellow bangs moving from the wisps of wind that managed to move around the Suiton barrier. Ittetsu joined the two shortly after, his own bloodline glowing faintly in the dark.
"Let's go." Hizashi hissed as he darted through the wind currents that were shooting past the Suiton wall. The Uchiha stared at the raging gale, as if calculating something, before he shot through it. Minato didn't even hesitate, only using a Shunshin to quickly move past it.
Kushina frowned slightly, not even bothering to watch them go, seeing that she couldn't. Her eyes took a long time to adjust to darkness, which is why she didn't really like the late hours. For now she only concentrated on keeping the barrier solid and wide enough for all of the Konoha platoons, believing that Minato and the other two would take out the unseen enemy.
Minato had a slightly easier time following the two, dead grass crunching beneath their feet as they ran. Hizashi obviously found the caster of the Fuuton, confidently guiding his fellows through the plains with his body lowered slightly as he ran. Ittetsu was frowning slightly and staring ahead blankly, as if inwardly scrolling through his arsenal and picking out which jutsu to use.
The blond shook his head and molded his chakra the best he could without giving away their positions. Quick and painless. That's what he planned for the attacker.
Hizashi picked up speed suddenly, and Ittetsu was able to fall into the same pace almost instantly. Minato concentrated for a second to find their presence in the darkness and then darted after them whilst keeping his chakra level low.
Ittetsu darted forward suddenly with his hands already flickering in a set of seals.
Sensing the sudden chakra flare from the Uchiha, Minato prepared himself to find the location of the Fuuton user. He drew a couple of kunais and narrowed his eyes to concentrate, hoping the movement would force his eyes to adjust a bit more quickly.
Ittetsu clasped his hands on the final seal and spat out a small fireball. It was probably no bigger than a fist, but it was fast moving and illuminated the night with an orange-yellow hue. It shot past a shinobi crouching besides a small hill, the panic visible in his eyes before the flame suddenly extinguished.
Minato was already darting for the man when he caught the look in the Kusa ninja's eyes. He gripped the kunai tightly in his hand and lunged forward in a swift shunshin, memorizing where the nin was and lashed out with the weapon. Minato felt something come in contact with the light blade and heard a gag, but narrowed his eyes when he felt a chakra flare coming up right before him.
The blond was instantly pushed back by the Fuuton, stumbling backwards a bit before being caught by his arm. Minato panicked for a second but recognized Hizashi's chakra signature. Ittetsu's snarl was audible.
"Too shallow! He got away!"
"Killing him was just an option, Ittetsu-san..." Hizashi murmured. "We made him back off. We can continue on from now."
"But he'll go and tell his comrades for sure! What if they're camping out just a little off from here?" Ittetsu demanded while Hizashi helped Minato upright. Hizashi's grey gaze met Ittetsu's red-black ones evenly.
"Then we'll just have to move fast and join the battle before they catch us. Konoha is already going to have enough difficulties just for pushing the battle back into Kusa's territory."
"I'm sorry I can't see in the dark, alright?" Minato growled as he turned away from Ittetsu, concentrating for a few seconds to locate the rest of their comrades. He felt some chakra squirming a few good meters off and recognized it as Kushina's.
"It's a wonder how you became a Jounin if you can't even fight in the dark- much less kill someone when an opening is given to you." Ittetsu spat as he walked past the blond, not even having to pause like Minato did to look for the area the others were in.
Annoyance flickered across Minato's half-visible features, before he growled and refrained himself from snapping back at the Uchiha. Instead he just gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tightly at his side, swiftly using a Shunshin to angrily move past Ittetsu and towards the others. Behind him, Minato could hear Hizashi speak his name in a low volume, but he ignored it.
The blond saw a lantern being lit and saw Kuromaru's figure on the ground beneath the light, quickly changing his direction towards it. Inwardly he fumed at the Uchiha's words, but he was more mad at himself for messing up. Ittetsu did have a point- the Kusa nin was bound to tell his comrades if he was with any. Their positions would be given away, and now they had to move quickly to join the battle and risk another attack from Kusa.
Minato regrouped with the Konoha ninja within a few seconds, trying to calm himself as he stalked back to Tsunade. "He got away." He reported under his breath, making the blond kunoichi look up.
"Then why are you so angry?"
Minato only looked at her, huffing softly to himself and shaking his head. He moved around the resting Konoha group, his eyes having adjusted to the night by this point. He moved away from most of them and had his back turned to them as well. The blond inhaled deeply, feeling his chest swell up from all the air, and then exhaled to calm himself down. He raised one hand to rub the back of his neck, rolling his blue gaze upwards at the sky.
"Are you alright...?" He could hear Kushina question uncertainly, the dead grass crunching audibly beneath her feet as she approached from behind.
"... Just angry that I made a mistake..." Minato murmured in a rather apologetic tone, forcing himself to calm down now.
"That's it? You managed to push the guy off, so it should be all good, right, 'tebayo?"
"I know but... We can't really afford mistakes right now." Minato sighed heavily again and shook his head without turning around to face her.
Kushina rolled her eyes slightly. "So everything's gotta be perfect, right?"
"Well.. No, but..." Minato's mouth twitched slightly. "... But if there's ever a time when..." He paused and swallowed nervously a bit then forced himself to say it, knowing that Kushina would make him finish his sentence. "When I need to protect you... I can't make simple mistakes..."
"... Minato... I don't need to be protected all the time... I'm strong enough..."
"Even so..." Minato bit his lip. "I wantto protect you.. So long as you're safe, I won't really care about my life." The blond shifted a bit when he heard the crunch of more dead grass beneath ninja zori, blinking when he felt something against his back and arms around his stomach.
"That's stupid." Kushina mumbled into his vest-covered back, enjoying the warmth he gave off. "If you want to protect me, then do it and live, dattebayo. Mistakes or not, if we're both alive then we'll both be happy."
Minato stood there with Kushina hugging him from behind, his gaze slowly trailing downwards from the sky. The words started to sink in after a while, and after that Minato realized how calm he was feeling. The corners of his mouth twitched and then slowly stretched into a grin.
"Oh...? Have it your way then. I'll put my life on the line for your sake. Then I'll survive and keep living."
Author(ess)'s notes:
Kilala: I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. :c God, how long did it take to type up? I'm sorry.. X.x I've just been very distracted lately.
Pokémon is mostly to blame. xD;
(Lul, Ittetsu is probably a way to say stubborn, by the way. xD)
And sorry, but it's kinda a filler chapter. u.u' I'll get right to work on the other one.. I promise it won't be a filler... n.n;