Disclaimer: The same as usual. Naruto doesn't belong to me.
UPDATED: 8/12/10
Time stopped as Shinzou gazed into her eyes. Faintly in the background he could hear people talking, but he didn't pay much mind to it. He wanted to walk up and hold her, kiss her, and tell her that he loved her, but didn't move.
She didn't move either.
And both were thankful for it.
They weren't the kind of people who expressed themselves well in a crowd. No, he would wait. Wait until all this was over.
Kimiko, or Jennifer, smiled at everyone who was surrounding her. "Hello everyone. Nice to be back."
She had hugged everyone individually and laughed and joked and teased. Everyone except for him. He felt rejected at that, but it was okay. He would wait, till all this was over.
"Kimiko! I am so sorry, but all the guest rooms are taken for the time being, so where would you like to sleep?" Miki asked, twisting her fingers together at this unforgivable flaw she overlooked while hosting her guests.
"She can bunk down with me!" Kushina punched a fist through the air, looking quite adorable as a fourteen year old can get. "Or does Shinzou want to share a room with her instead?" She ended in a sly wink. Ok, he takes that back. She is not adorable, at all.
Miki and Naoki, who had both skipped work that day to witness their son's reaction to his girlfriend smirked inwardly. "You know what? Kushina, that's a wonderful idea. It's not like they're not adults or anything. Do you mind Kimiko-chan?" Miki watched her son through the corner of her eyes as she spoke. He flinched, barely, but it was there. Kimiko had no outward reaction, but that was expected of the girl. She always kept her facial expressions schooled, and kept her emotions in check. At least in public.
Inside she was blushing profusely, and she wanted to refuse, but Kimiko found that Naoki and Miki were both staring at her with wide, persuasive eyes that begged for her to accept, and to be polite (as she was only a guest after all) she smiled and said, "Yes. I would like that. As long as Shinzou agrees."
Shinzou snapped to attention. "Huh? Oh—okay. That's fine..." he trailed off, his mind wandering. He was still standing in the same spot from where he got up from the sofa.
Off to the side, Miki and Naoki both cheered silently after their little success. They knew the two young adults wouldn't do anything. They were far too serious with their relationship to ever mangle it out that way.
"Well, come on then...let's get you settled..." Shinzou turned and walked up the stairs, feeling quite out of his mind. Kimiko, Kimiko, Kimiko... Too surreal, he told himself. Then, finally aware of the fact that Kimiko was trudging after him with her suitcase, he turned and took the heavy thing from her hands, lifting it easily with one arm and continuing easily up to the second floor.
Nine pairs of eyes silently watched them with glee as the couple disappeared through the door.
Once in the room, he didn't turn around until he heard the sound of the door clicking shut softly. Kimiko stood there in front of the door, gazing at him with her silvery Uzumaki eyes, her dark black hair glinting as she basked in the orange-gold hue of the afternoon light that fell on her slender form.
Away from prying eyes, he felt happiness and confidence surging through his veins once again, and a slow smile crept onto his face. A faint dusting of pink colored the girl's cheeks as he carefully walked forward, slid his arm around her slim waist and neck, and kissed her with all the longing, endearment, and affection he contained within since the last time he saw her.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"OH MY GOD, did you see the way he was looking at her?" Kushina and Miki squealed in delight. Naoki just bellowed with laughter. Kakashi rolled his eyes, but Obito and Rin seemed dazzled at the subtle, but definite display of love the Uzumaki heir demonstrated while moving up the stairs. Obito sneaked a peek at Rin, before turning red and choosing to look at Kakashi instead. It didn't escape Minato, however, who grinned wildly at his student's embarrassment.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, felt the sudden urge to whip out a notebook and take notes. Just how had the young man snagged such a beauty and managed to hold onto her for so long? In his entire life, he had never truly found a keeper, no matter how sexy they looked or how much they physically met his tastes. If only he had such luck with Tsunade, then he would have married her by now. But Dan... why did she have to fall for him? It wasn't as if Dan was there while Tsunade was still coping with her brother's loss during the second great war. HE was. He had been there for Tsunade since the first time they met as Genin. It was jealousy, bitterness, envy, love, and sadness pooling all over at once, while still genuinely wishing for his teammate to be happy. Jiraiya sighed. He should let go of her. At least his student hadn't inherited his bad luck with women.
Kushina stopped fantasizing about her brother and hopefully will-be-sister and patted Minato's arm. "Come on. Let's finish homework upstairs instead. Too many people...I'll help with your essay."
Minato nodded. He could definitely use her help. Finals were approaching, and they were always on the corner of his mind, dragging it down into the depth of pessimism and depression. He wasn't so sure how well he would do. His English was still slightly shaky, his essays were barely mediocre- he managing to scrape a B on his essays only thanks to Kushina and Temjin's incessant proof-reading and editing. Speech had helped out on his speaking and fluency a lot, but his critical reading skills could be better.
Math and science was fine, he could keep up with the curriculum well enough. It was just the question of remembering the scientific vocabulary. Things were strangely harder and more difficult to memorize when they were in a different language.
Gathering up their things, the politely excused themselves and made way for the office next to Kushina's room. Getting through finals was top on his list, then training with his team, then spending some time with Kushina (alone), then planning for the party. He felt a little guilty for that one. It was Miki's birthday, and it felt wrong to put other things before her. It was no joke that the gratitude and respect and maybe even familial love that he felt for the older woman was immense. He wanted to do everything possible in his power to make this party the best she'd ever had, then prove her wrong every year.
But actually planning the party would have to wait, until school was over. And that was another four days. Thank goodness the finals didn't come around till winter break was over. That just meant his vacation would be filled with lots of procrastinating. Fun fun!
4 days later...
Bright and early Saturday morning, about 40 Uzumaki teens were gathered in the backyard of Kushina's house. Miki was gently coerced into sleeping late by Naoki, and Jiraiya and the rest of the students came out and spectated.
Shinzou stood in the center and loudly clapped his hands. "Alright! Listen up! We're going to split into three groups! Team Decorations, Team Potluck, and Team Planners and Technicians! About five of you will stick with me, because we're going to be doing errands and check listing. Those skilled in painting and the likes, go with Kushina, cooks, chefs, go with Minato, and techies go with Temjin! Got it? The group split, many going to decorations and potluck. Shinzou peered over at the group and pointed. "You, you, you, and you, come with me. That'll make the groups more even."
Shinzou turned and glared authoritatively at everyone who gathered. "Alright, now that's taken care of...GET MOVING!"
"Team Decorations, come with me to the ballroom. We have lots of painting to do!" Kushina pumped her hand in the air and motioned for everyone to follow.
Minato turned to his team. "Team Potluck, we head for the kitchens in the ballroom. I'm not that great at making conventional food, but I think I'm decent in the pastry section, so lets all help each other out, okay?" He smiled, and everyone in his team smiled and followed him to the kitchens.
Temjin just motioned with his hand. "Come. We need to print out the schedule, the checklist, get the shades and the lights and the special effects ready, and we have to set up the stereo sets. Can you all break up into groups that are good at typing and good with the overhead projector and stuff like that?"
Shinzou nodded, his approval clear in his eyes.
He was normally against waking up at six in the morning while during a freezing winter break. But instead of being cranky, he was literally glowing. He had been extremely content these last few days. Because every time he opened his eyes in bed, her face was right in front of his, and that was all he needed to make his day. It also helped that no one at home made any snide remarks.
He smirked at that. "Okay. We are going to call ourselves the overseers. We are going to team up with Temjin's team first, so we can clear out the schedule and the checklists and all that." Gesturing his team over, he walked inside after Temjin.
From the sidelines, Jiraiya watched, hands crossed across his chest, impressed. The authority and directive present in the crowd and how easily they moved in sync showed how united and trusting they were, and how they accepted the four as their leaders without question. He was once again surprised and delighted to see that Minato's leadership skills were improving. Clearly not all the teenagers were happy to be under his lead. However, Minato had somehow managed to talk them into working with him, smiling and reaching out a hand. It was certainly those kinds of personality traits that would prove to be his most effective asset later as a man.
It was something Jiraiya vindictively lacked, to say the truth. He earned his respect, title, fame and honor through battle. And while success in battle wasn't necessarily a bad thing, given the life of a shinobi, it was imperative that such methods of gaining supporters would only lead to more distress and more war in the world.
And that's why he instinctively knew he would never be a great Hokage. He could become one, sure, and he would be respected. He might even be a good leader. But what was definite was that he would never be a "great" leader. A great leader was someone who distinguished followers and supporters and leaders through simple exchanges alone, and who made excellent use of their individual talents while not neglecting their inner emotions and demons.
A person who thought that glory in battle and glory in the results was all that mattered should never be Hokage. He or she would kill the village. A true leader takes pride in the process of getting to the goal, how everyone's strengths combined into a larger force.
And that's why, Orochimaru should never be Hokage.
...
...
"Can we go see what Kushina-san is doing?" Rin asked, rubbing her hands together. There was just something about the weather here that took the chill straight to the bones. It didn't snow, not much at least, just a patch of white here and there higher up in the mountains. So why was she so cold?
Kakashi surreptitiously glanced at her trembling hands. His father had always told him to not let girls ever get cold...
On the other side of Rin, Obito not so secretly peered over at her hands. He blushed at the mere idea of holding Rin's hand. It didn't seem right anyway...not when she liked Kakashi. "Sure. Let's go. Come on Kakashi."
"I want to watch sensei instead." The silver haired boy mumbled.
Rin shook her head. "But we'll just get in their way. And cooking takes a lot of preparation. They're probably washing things right now. That's no fun to watch. Let's see how Kushina nee-san and the others are going to set up the party room."
"Fine." Kakashi and Obito agreed and followed the disappearing figures of Team Potluck to the ballroom. Not wanting to be alone, Jiraiya began to follow after them, but Naoki, who just came out after successfully putting Miki back to bed called to him.
"Jiraiya-san, will you play a game of go with me? I think I may be able to challenge you." He grinned.
Jiraiya turned towards the smiling man and smirked. "That would be nice. I have a question though. How old are you?"
Naoki furrowed his brows in thought. "Mmm, I am turning 47 in a few months. Why?"
Jiraiya frowned. He was 27, and twenty years younger than the other man. Yet, why did the Uzumaki clan head look so young? "You're awfully young looking."
Naoki laughed at that. "Why thank you. What brought this on? I only asked you to a game of go,"
"I noticed how you don't have any wrinkles. Even when you smile." Jiraiya walked over to the door and kicked his shoes off. "Is there some sort of trick?"
Naoki just laughed harder. "Are you worried about your youth already? I think you don't need to worry for at least another ten years."
Jiraiya shook his head. "It doesn't have to do with me. It has to do with my friend. She would probably kill to know your secret. If there is one."
Naoki ushered him inside, where the air was warm and handed him a cup of tea. "It's not exactly a secret. It's more like a clan trait. What do you know about our customs so far?"
"You use Jinki. You love music. Your family is united and close to each other. More so than many clans I've ever seen."
Naoki nodded, taking a sip of his own tea, and sat down on the kitchen chair, pulling out a go board and the round pieces on the tabletop. "Tell me, what is Jinki?"
"Energy of the world that flows through the ground."
"That's right. Although fundamentally different from natural energy, Jinki comes from nature, the ground beneath our feet. It can also travel up living things, like trees and plants. But of course, the main source is from the ground itself."
"And?" Jiraiya took the black pieces and set them up. He made the first move.
"Think about it. If you continuously run nature's source of energy throughout your body, what sort of effect will it have on you in the long run?" Naoki made the second move.
The toad sennin's eyes widened in shocking revelation. No wonder! If a positive energy like Jinki kept on circulating the bodily system, then since they are not using chakra to live, lifespan will inevitably be lengthened, and will also filter out the bad things in their body!
Naoki just twitched in mirth, as Jiraiya made the third move. He gets it. "That is primarily the reason why the Uzumaki all sport flawless skin, and generally age at a much slower pace than ordinary people. We also live longer too."
"By how much?"
"Well, I'm in my late forties, but I don't have any wrinkles or spots yet. My joints aren't giving me any troubles either. In my own opinion, I think I look a little older than you do, but what do you think?"
Jiraiya bit his tongue. It was true. Naoki really did look like he was Jiraiya's age. Which amazed him and pissed him off. "Does this mean Minato will also have the same benefits?"
"Of course. That, and he's one of the successors to a Jinki technique. He will be even younger looking by the time he's my age. Though, his master still has yet to teach him anything yet."
"But I thought you were a master too! So why would Minato look younger?"
"Certain Jinki techniques are different from others. For one, the Tenzantenken has a special book of forms set aside from the rest of the books because it doesn't focus on the swordsmanship at all. Rather, that book is filled with Jinki regulation techniques, how to channel Jinki so that the wielder's body ages even more slowly. That book is focused on ways to keep the body fit and healthy for a tremendous amount of time, which ties into longer, prevailing youth.
"Similarly, the Rozuzansei and the Zankenmaru styles focus on the fitness of the body and its ability to use Jinki effectively. They too, have some sort of special longevity scroll set aside. However, the Hijutsu and the Ryuumaken have no such special regulation techniques. We still look younger than normal Uzumaki, but we will age before we die. Contrarily the other three masters will probably won't even get wrinkles by the time their life runs out." Naoki made the next move.
Jiraiya paused before making his own move. "So, you're saying that the Uzumaki naturally live longer than normal human lifespan, and the masters live even longer, and all of them will look younger than most people at their age?"
"Yes. Miki looks pretty young, don't you think?" Naoki grinned. "Most masters marry other masters. Otherwise one side of the couple might feel that they are older looking that the other. But Miki and I has never had such controversies. She's five years younger than me by the way."
Jiraiya was intrigued. Part of him was still pissed off, but he was sincerely amazed. This clan was just filled with spectacular aspects. He secretly wondered how Tsunade would react if she ever heard about this. "Approximately how much longer do you live?"
"Regular Uzumaki live about ten to twenty years longer than normal humans," Naoki made a move. "Hijutsu and Ryuumaken masters live about twenty to forty years longer, and the other masters live about thirty to fifty years longer."
Jiraiya nearly choked on his tea. Minato was going to live thirty years longer than the normal lifespan. And he was going to look young. Damn, that kid has some crazy luck, meeting a family like this!
He made his next move, mind spinning with possibilities.
Meanwhile, Rin, Kakashi, and Obito were in awe as they watched the Decorations team unfurl huge pieces of sea-blue paper and connect them together, using ladders and tape rulers to make the giant piece of paper fit the walls and ceiling.
Large pots of acrylic and poster paint was already set out, and the group was brainstorming on things to paint. From the sounds of it, there was going to be sea turtles, coral, octopus, sea stars, and brightly colored fish. They also wanted to put in a mermaid. They each pulled out a fat pencil and began sketching on the papers, spreading out on the paper like human polka dots. Occasionally a redheaded teen would commend the drawing next to theirs, or help them out.
"Uwaahhh!" Rin gasped, utterly bewitched at the scenes that were being drawn out. "How artistic! This is amazing."
"Woah. And they're going to paint all that? That turtle over there looks really real!" Obito commented, flailing his arms about wildly, trying to emphasize his point to his stoic teammate. "Look Kakashi, isn't that really cool? I bet even you can't draw like that."
"Hmph." Kakashi just turned up his nose. "A ninja doesn't need to draw."
"Nu-uh!" Obito shook a finger. "What if you need to draw a map? Or draw a likeness of the enemy? You're an idiot."
"You're the idiot!" Kakashi retorted.
"Oh shush it you two," Rin objected. "Can't you just be quiet and let them focus on their work? Honestly, you two are always fighting."
Then, excited roars erupted from the kitchens.
"What was that?" Obito quirked an eyebrow. The Potluck team kept on wildly exclaiming unintelligible things while one by one, curious Decoration members perked up. "Wuzz going on?"
Then a teenager with lanky legs and short red hair (whose name is omitted due to insignificance) bounded out of the kitchen. "HEY GUYS! Look at this! Minato made this—isn't it great?" He held out his hand, in which sat a mouth-watering gold cupcake iced with a miniature castle on top, full of details.
Kushina got up, as did the rest of her team, and oohed and aahed. "How did he manage to make that 3D?"
"I have no idea. But dude, this is too good to eat."
"Then don't eat it. Go put it back on the tray." A voice ordered playfully behind the crowd. Minato stood, with a bemused expression, one hand on his hip, the other coated in fine white powder.
"Minato did you really make this?" Kushina asked, her eyes bright. "It's perfect!"
Minato laughed, running his clean hand through his hair. "Thanks. I guess I'm really in charge now, huh? You, go back to boiling the noodles."
"Yes sir." the gangly teen mock saluted and turned back to the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Kushina called, as Minato headed out the ballroom doors.
"Oh, to look for more aprons. Wanna come?" He patted the white powder off his other hand.
Kushina quickly put her brush down and followed out the blonde teen. "Wait for me!" She ran to catch up with the blue eyed boy and caught him by his arm. "Gotcha! Running away?"
"Hardly." Minato smiled into her eyes. "You seem happy."
"Bah, I'm excited! It's mom's birthday!" She slapped his shoulder.
"In two days, yeah." Minato bit his tongue as he thought of his birthday present to his foster mother. Would she like it?
"Are you ignoring me now? You've been distant you know, I think I'm feeling hurt." Kushina pouted.
Minato grinned at that. He'd been busy trying to get the violin piece right, studying for the finals, finishing homework, and training his team. "Sorry about that."
"Kiss? I might forgive you."
"Haha, come here," he pulled and cupped her face with his hands, bending over to seal her lips with his.
He pulled back, but was wrenched forward when Kushina grasped his own blonde head in her two hands and growled out, "You called that a kiss? There's a difference between a kiss and a 'peck,' you moron." And she leaned forward and caught his lips in a much more passionate kiss, his mouth curving to a smile before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.
"Will you two stop making out in the middle of the street?" An annoyed voice came from behind. Shinzou stood, eyebrows twitching, his arms crossed and his fingers tapping his arm impatiently. "It's not good manners you know. Plus no one wants to ruin their eyes." The four guys behind him watched them, amused as Kushina and Minato broke their kiss.
Minato tried to step away, a little embarrassed, but Kushina scowled and wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning her head on his chest. "Just because you don't have the guts to kiss Kimiko in the middle of the street doesn't mean you have to crash us doing so."
"Oohh!" the guys in Shinzou's team clapped. "ownage!"
"Shaddap!" Shinzou snapped. "Let's go." He walked past the entwined freshmen and strode angrily toward the ballroom.
"Now, where were we?" Kushina cooed, looking up to his face.
Minato, half baffled, half about to break out in incredulous laughter, grabbed her hand, led her behind a tree and kissed her. "It's not nice to block traffic" he breathed.
The pretty red haired girl in his arms just laughed. "Hurry up and kiss me again, so we can go get your aprons, blondie."
"Yes ma'am," he murmured before kissing her again.
Aprons were the farthest thing on his mind.
I REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO END THINGS THIS WAY... OOH I'M GONNA CRY.
DO YOU GUYS KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO TYPE THAT CHAPTER UP? But at least things are progressing. I know this chapter is four days late. My apologies.
Lately my friend has been bothering me about the state testing results. OH GOODNESS, that thing doesn't even go on our report card! WHY is she worrying about something like that?
People, do me a favor and review. I think there are too many gaps and lack of plot development (which will come by the way, I'm just moving slowly.) so help me out with some constructive criticism!
I wanted to give you guys a bit of Mina/Kushi fluff before ending the chapter. So that you won't be dissappointed :)
THANKS FOR READING!
-Hulk
p.s. The last five chapters of Naruto was heartbreaking. I was literally crying. I also imagined myself as MInato who became a shinigami (bleach) and who came back to the Shinobi world and found Madara and then gleefully sent him to hell as the gates of hell opened and he was screaming while being sent there in front of all the important Naruto characters...
Gruesome, I know. But Madara deserves it. HE is an evil person. I have never hated anything more intensely than I hated Madara.
REVIEW!