Chapter XXXVI: Hello

Minato wasn't sure of what to think anymore. His body was following Daylian through the sleeping village, but his mind was showing him unwanted mental images that numbed his heart. He hadn't seen her for two and a half weeks, and learning that she was sneaking out in the middle of the night... It was rather dizzying. The blond didn't want to assume the worse, but his subconscious kept showing him the possibility, making the blood drain from his face and leave it a pale color. He absolutely didn't want to lose faith in Kushina; but he couldn't help feeling a little scared. He didn't want his heart broken; he loved her too much-

No!

Stop thinking like that! Minato inwardly yelled at himself. In his mind he was facing turmoil, but to the outside world he was just looking blank and occasionally stumbling as they travelled across the rooftops. Kushina would never do something that low!

"Minato!"

Minato was rudely snapped out of his thoughts at the bark, blinking dazedly. Without realizing it, they had stopped on a vast rooftop, the black wolf a couple of paces ahead of him. Daylian had his ears laid flat against his skull, and his violet, glowing eyes were glaring daggers at him. His bared, white fangs were even visible in the dim moonlight.

"I said; go home if you're going to be a mindless idiot." Daylian growled darkly. "It was a waste of my fucking time to go look for you- time I could have used to track Kushina." The wolf turned his back to the blond, and opened his mouth to taste the faded scent. He shifted from paw to paw, and then quickly hurtled himself into a run, clearing the jump to the next rooftop.

"Daylian-san, wait."

Daylian turned his head and found that the blond was suddenly standing behind him, so he offered a frown as much as a wolf could. "What."

"I'm sorry, I'm just..." Minato was massaging the bridge of his nose, trying to seize his grasp of reality. His thoughts were still dizzying, and it took a lot of effort to push away undesirable thoughts, but he was getting feeling back in his numbed senses, if bit by bit. "... Please, try to be empathetic. You don't know how much this is affecting me."

"Then get your shit together." Daylian snapped, his maw wrinkling as he bared his fangs again. He tossed his head back in the direction he was headed for. "Now come on. Her scent is faded, but it's still there. Kushina was never good at completely erasing her tracks, so hopefully we can find her soon."

"Right..." Minato murmured, continuing to follow the older ninja as he tracked the missing kunoichi. He closed his eyes for several seconds as he inhaled and exhaled. Now he really wished he had better control over his emotions. The despicable mental images kept returning no matter how far back he pushed them away, and every time they would come back, his senses would suddenly feel more and more numbed. The only thing that was possibly keeping him sane at the moment was Daylian's threat to leave him behind. If it was any other guy he didn't know, Minato probably would have even gone back to the bar Jiraiya had drank at.

Stop. That. The sane side of him slapped him back into reality. When he opened his blue eyes, he found that Daylian was a couple of yards ahead. Minato quickly shortened the distance so that he was only a couple of feet behind the wolf.

Occasionally, Daylian would slow down and even stop to sniff around, before hastily continuing their trek across the slumbering village.

But the more they travelled, the more Minato felt the blood drain from his face. If they continued along this route...

Surely enough, the two no longer had rooftops to travel along, forcing them to jump from atop the last one and land on the ground. They both straightened in unison, staring out in silence at the large village gates before them.

It took a huge amount of willpower for Minato to keep himself from collapsing down onto his knees, although he did sway a bit.

"Come on." Daylian growled, walking forward a couple of paw steps. "Now we really need to hurry. Who knows what's going on?" He muttered.

Minato had absolutely no idea what was happening. Kushina was sneaking out, but why would she leave the village?

What if she was forced to?

The very thought made something click in his head, making his composure return and his brows furrow. He frowned darkly, and even gritted his teeth at the thought.

"..." Daylian's head was turned so that he could look over his shoulder and up at the blond, observing Minato's expression change. Good. Focus. I can't have you moping around, if there are enemies. The wolf swung his head slowly back to the front. "Let's go, Minato."

The blond's sharpened blue eyes flickered to the wolf, suddenly realizing that he was no longer being called by his nickname. This situation was getting serious.

It was terrible to think, but Minato hoped that there were enemies. He would be able to handle the situation in a second- no, half a second. But if Kushina was willingly sneaking out like this... possibly to meet someone? Minato wasn't sure if he would be able to recover from the amount of heartbreak. Just thinking about it was making his heart crumble, so he pushed the thoughts away, focusing on the possibility of enemies.

As they rounded the gatehouse, to avoid the dozing guard, Minato felt his confidence returning with each step. He was feeling more like himself, and even drew a kunai to further motivate himself.

The duo quickly slipped out the gates and ducked into the shadows of the forest, Minato holding still while Daylian sniffed the ground several times. The wolf finally lifted his head and turned his head slowly as he tracked the scents, before he silently padded in the eastern direction.

"Come on." The wolf whispered, stopping midsentence when Minato placed an index finger to his lips.

'There are still guards that are on alert.' The blond breathed near inaudibly, forcing Daylian to read his lips, and motioned towards the top of the walls, where one of the guard stations was situated. Slowly, the wolf dipped his head forward into a nod to show that he understood.

'This way.'

They travelled in silence the rest of the way, save the light sniffs Daylian would take when the scent would fade momentarily.

Minato started to begin curling and uncurling his fingers around his kunai in an anxious movement. Since they had to travel in slow, silent movements- as to not alert the guards -the time passed since they exited the village must have been at least 20 minutes, and there were still no signs of Kushina.

Another concerning factor was that they were sticking close to the village walls, rather than heading out into the forest and away from the village like Minato thought they would.

What's going on? The blond thought as he gritted his teeth slightly. Most enemies would immediately head away from the village to avoid being outnumbered... Her scent is just leading us in a circle around the village... Minato stopped mid-step and withdrew his foot when he realized Daylian had halted once more. The Jounin only watched the wolf, the corner of his mouth twitching as he continued to process his own thoughts.

If Daylian was confused, he certainly didn't show much of it. The former Uzu ninja slowly lifted his head, frowning as a wolf could, before he flicked his tail in a motion for the blond to follow, raising his paw forward to begin walking.

She definitely stopped and tried to cover up her scent here... But with the window blowing from the East... it's easy to pick up the smell again. The wolf subconsciously started to bare his fangs. But there isn't a single trace of enemy scent mixed with hers. So she must have walked out here on her own. A mind-control technique? ... No, no. It wouldn't make sense; why her? She came out here on her own, but why?

The two continued their trek in prolonged silence.

As they were slowly easing their way past a small bush, a hefty gust of wind challenged them head-on, forcing Daylian to growl a bit and place his foot back on the ground to keep from toppling over. As soon as his movements made the bush rustle, the wolf quickly lifted his paw back up into the air, although the movement proved futile as soon as he no longer felt the earth beneath his paw pads.

Daylian refrained from yelping as he was yanked deeper into the forest, violet eyes widening when he heard the shunk's of knives hitting and sticking to the ground.

Minato had his arm around the wolf's flank from when he yanked Daylian out of harm's way, his other hand occupied with a kunai. The blond was crouching, his head turned so that he could look over his shoulder. Slowly, he released Daylian, allowing the wolf's paws back onto the grass. The former Uzu ninja did his best to keep his breathing steady and muffled, violet eyes wide as he looked at Minato.

Despite the fact that it was the guards that had thrown the weapons, Minato had a hint of bloodlust in his eyes, making Daylian's claws dig into the soil. He was glad that he would never have to face Minato in battle...

If he could focus enough, craning his wolven ear towards the direction of the village wall, he could hear a faint, "It was probably some owl...", followed by a "Geez, it was the wind, idiot. You're too jumpy, newbie."

'... Let's travel a little deeper in the forest.' Minato signaled, his head still turned to watch over his shoulder. Daylian dumbly nodded twice, carefully turning and walking slowly as to not disturb the watch guards.

'... Thanks for saving my hide up there...' Daylian looked up at the blond once his shock subdued. The Jounin certainly wasn't his usual cheery self, but he wasn't looking like he was out for blood, either; Minato just looked focused with a bit of frustration leaking into his expression.

'Let's just hurry up and find her.'

'...' Daylian dipped his muzzle forward into a sort of curt nod; before he swung his head back around and continued forward with his tracking.

The going was easy, with her scent fading occasionally, but the wind would always blow her scent back towards them, making their progression smooth without the disturbances of guards.

'...! She's just up ahea-' The wolf stopped suddenly, his hackles rising along with his tail.

The abrupt motion suddenly made Minato tense. He observed the wolf, despite the dark fur that rivaled the night sky, and he could see that Daylian was slowly starting to tense, leg muscles rippling beneath fur. Minato could practically feel the anger rolling off the wolf, and was about to nudge him to snap him out of his growing rage. Daylian only stood his ground, slowly changing his position as he ignored the light nudge.

Predicting what was about to happen next, Minato quickly grabbed Daylian by the tail with his left hand before the wolf could go charging off. The older ninja whirled his head around, glaring darkly at his restrainer. 'Let me go!'

'You're just going to tip off the enemy.' Minato signaled, though his mind was flying through several different scenarios. Why was Daylian getting so worked up? He should know I can handle a hostage situation. The blond frowned darkly, his grip on the wolf's tail tightening when he felt the former Uzu ninja struggle to charge once more.

'We can't charge recklessly without knowing the full situation. Let's go see first, think things through, and then act.' To emphasize this, Minato yanked the wolf by the tail so that they were standing side by side, sluggishly letting go of him to make sure he wouldn't go charging off.

Daylian seemed to get the message and remained beside Minato, though his fangs were still bared and hackles were raised to show that he was still angry. The corner of Minato's mouth twitch in wariness.

Carefully, he took a step forward, chakra's completely cut off and footsteps silenced. He even made sure to keep his breathing inaudible, and made sure that he didn't release any tense air about him. His right hand was still occupied by the kunai he had drawn earlier, which he carefully raised up to chest level, knuckles pointed upwards and the blade readied.

He couldn't sense Daylian behind him, but it was a good thing he didn't, as it would have meant the potential enemies would have detected the wolf. Unless there was an A-ranked sensor or someone.

There was a small, dim light in a clearing ahead, so Minato made sure to stick to the shadows, carefully pressing his back against a tree.

He heard a hushed murmur, somewhat unclear to his ears. He narrowed his blue eyes. Slowly, he adjusted his grip on his three-pronged kunai, his blood beginning to run cold as he thought on how to go about the assassination. Just as he made up his mind, he slowly started to move his foot.

But when a warm laugh reached his ears, he froze.

That was unmistakably Kushina's laugh.

Something he hadn't heard in what felt like ages.

But why?

Minato slumped back against the tree, his face drained of the dark expression he wore when he was about to kill someone. The kunai bearing arm slowly fell back down to his side, and he could only listen, dumbfounded, as the redhead in the clearing tried to stifle her snickers. In his peripherals, he could see the wolf standing a few feet away, white fangs no longer visible in a vicious expression.

Why?

The laugh didn't sound bitter, something Kushina probably would have done to taunt her enemies, but, rather, it sounded warm. For the briefest of seconds, Minato felt jealous, knowing that Kushina's expressive mirth wasn't for just anyone to hear. He quickly shoved the feeling aside and turned his head, oh so slightly, and peered into the clearing.

The kunoichi was sitting on the ground, a few feet away from the small light source sitting in the middle of the clearing. Her legs were crossed and her forearms were resting on her legs, leaning forward slightly as if trying to listen to what the man sitting across from her was saying.

Obviously, there were no signs of any restraints on her.

Minato's heart started to sink deeper into his chest, making him feel uncomfortable. He could feel the blood draining from his face, leaving a cold sensation, as he turned his head to peer around the other side of the tree. He didn't recognize the man sitting across from Kushina, which only made him feel more... down.

She's been sneaking out to see this man... behind my back... All of his original feelings were starting to rush back at him; it was overwhelming, dizzying, disorienting. He leaned back heavily against the tree trunk to keep himself from staggering forward and possibly make a sound to alert them of his presence.

He might as well have lodged the kunai into his heart.

But he probably wouldn't have even felt that.

His whole body felt numbed as he felt his heart be practically torn into two.

In a movement so agonizingly slow, Minato looked down at the kunai. He stared blankly for several seconds, and then carefully turned it so that he could slice a thin wound into his thumb. As the blood slowly oozed out, stung by the cold night air, the reality of the situation began to settle in.

Everything was real.

No genjutsu, no false reality, no mind-controlling techniques.

Nothing.

Minato's eyelids started to droop in sadness. He knew if he looked at his own reflection, there would be no life in his eyes. He felt... dead.

Heart break on this level hurt.

The blond gradually raised his head, although it seemed to have taken some effort to even do so. He sluggishly raised an arm, using his long sleeve to wipe at his left eye. Without even realizing it, he had already started shedding a couple of tears, and tiredly wiped away at the trails a couple stray droplets left on his cheeks. His arm dropped back down to his side, and he tilted his head back to rest it against the tree.

He wanted to leave, but he felt so drained of energy... He felt as though he could go lie in a ditch for several days and not care, in fact. He could probably go without food for weeks, too; he knew he wasn't going to have an appetite for a long, long time. If he could drag himself back to the village, that is.

'...'

Minato's mind was slowly processing the fact that Daylian was there, and he sluggishly turned his head to look down at the wolf, who had taken a paw step forward in concern. The blond blinked once, twice, thrice, and then, in a movement that made him seem drowsy, pushed himself up off the tree trunk and onto his own two feet.

'Let's... go...' Minato signaled lazily, dropping his hands back down to his sides as he took slow steps back towards the Western direction.

Daylian's eyes widened in surprise, his head slowly turning as he watched the blond start to walk away in disbelief. 'W.. we're leaving?' He quickly turned around- although slowly enough as to not create footsteps -to trot after the blond.

'... I... can't keep her on a leash or anything.' Minato communicated idly with just his left hand, his head beginning to droop forward and hang as he did this. 'If she wanted to meet with him, then... I should just let her...' As he signaled, a sort of grip, metallic cold, clutched at his heart and squeezed it tightly, painfully. He felt like he was suffocating.

Once he was far away enough from the two, he would shunshin back to the village- .. No, they might search around for the source and find them... The blond hung his head. Looks like he would have to trudge the whole way back. How agonizing.

He lifted his free arm to wipe away a couple of gathering tears that threatened to overflow.

Then, out of what appeared to be pure reflex, the blond's right hand, the one bearing the kunai, shot out and caught a man square in the throat. Minato looked up and then turned his head, slowly pulling his left hand away from his eyes as he looked to his right. Surely enough, in the darkness, he could see a man he never saw before writhing, eyes wide as he clawed as his pierced next before holding still.

"What the fuck!" Daylian jumped back as the body slumped to the ground, hackles raised in shock and eyes widened.

Minato's own set of eyes became saucers as he stared down at the lifeless body, pupils narrowing. He spun around and tightened his grip on the kunai, catching another man with the blade. The momentum the enemy was going managed to help lodge the entire Hiraishin kunai into his chest, killing him instantly. By then, Minato's eyes had narrowed as he snapped out of his previous trance, his mind flying through difference scenarios, all in which arrived at the same conclusion.

In the pale moonlight, the metallic plates of their hitai-ate's were visible, the indentation clearly showing an all-too familiar symbol: Iwa.

He deceived her!

Kushina! Minato spun on the balls of his feet and shot back towards the clearing, arriving in less than a couple of seconds. He landed a foot in front of Kushina, standing between her and the man, his bloody kunai held out and pointed directly at the man's throat. His eyes were narrowed on a dangerous level of blood lust, but he remained where he was, daring the Iwa ninja to make a move.

The two in the clearing were already on their feet when Daylian had first yelled out, but as soon as Minato appeared, seemingly out of thin air, the two jumped. Shisu was backing up a couple of steps away from the dim firefly jar, teal eyes wide with fear as he instantly recognized the man before him. Kushina was spooked as well, but not for the same reason as Shisu.

"M.. Minato?" She breathed, her hand covering her chest, as if the motion would ease the rate her heart was pumping at. She could feel her blood and adrenaline flooding throughout her veins, making her tremble, and the fact that Minato had such a dangerous aura rolling off him didn't help her feeling either. "What-" She stopped when Minato suddenly flung his arm out to the side, and Kushina's eyes widened when she saw that there was no longer a kunai in his grip.

Kushina turned her head to the right, and saw a man pinned to the tree by the kunai, although the knife only punctured the sleeve of his clothing. The kunoichi's eyes widened further at the unfamiliar man, and slowly the hand on her chest clutched at her shirt, knuckles turning white and trembling from the strength of her vice grip. Who is that...!

"You bastard!" A familiar voice made Kushina crane her head to the left, where Daylian was stepping through the foliage with his ears folded flat against his skull and canines bared. The wolf was glaring directly at Shisu, and even took a couple of steps closer than Minato, which only made the man promptly back up.

".. 'Lian...?" Shisu breathed, pupils slitting as the wolf's voice slowly brought up memories. He backed up a couple of more steps, but was stopped when he felt a tree against his back.

It was hard to tell from where Kushina was standing, especially with Minato blocking half of her view, but she could clearly sense the fear emanating from Shisu. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation, that is, until Minato spoke.

"How long has this been going on?" The blond had long forgotten about his earlier desolation, now displaced with anger and suspicion. "How long have you been deceiving her?"

What...? Kushina froze at his words; almost literally. It felt as though icy-cold water had somehow found its way into her veins, stinging her innards and practically eating through her heart.

"I..." Shisu seemed to shrink at the questions, wincing when Minato drew another kunai. Shakily, his teal gaze shot over to his pinned fellow, who was only glowering between Shisu and Minato. The former Uzu ninja looked back at Minato, still at a loss for words. "I..."

Shisu flinched when Minato flung the kunai, feeling it graze his cheek with deadly precision and embed itself into the tree trunk behind him. The Iwa ninja could have sworn his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. In his peripherals he could see the ring of the kunai, though his stunned gaze was on the blond.

"Get out of here." Minato muttered as he lowered his arm, casting a suspicious glance over at Shisu's lone comrade. "Before-"

"You bastard!" Kushina's scream nearly caught the blond off guard, and Minato quickly raised his arm to stop the kunoichi from charging recklessly at Shisu. The redhead only fought against Minato's restraint, brown eyes glaring daggers at the former Uzu ninja. "I thought you were different! I thought I could trust you!" Her voice was beginning to grow raspy from the volume of her screams, but she took no heed; fury was mixing with her adrenaline, and if Minato wasn't holding her back, she would have easily killed Shisu.

"K-Kushina, listen-"

"You betrayed me! You..." Kushina's pupils narrowed dangerously. "You swore on Uzu's honor!"

The sheer amount of anger, paired with the high intensity of her voice, was enough to shake Minato to the core.

"That's enough.." Minato spun around, wrapping his arms around her, partially to restrain her, another to comfort her. Even against his own chest, he could feel Kushina's heart ramming into her ribcages, and carefully placed a hand on the back of her head, tilting it so that her face would be buried in his shoulder. He turned his own head subtly as to not disturb her, blue eyes narrowing at the man he previously pinned to the tree.

"Get out of here." Daylian barked, snapping his fangs at the two Iwa ninja. "You're lucky we aren't slaughtering you on the spot."

"'Lian-"

"Shut up!" Daylian swung around when Shisu tried to speak, black pupils slitted as he growled a threat. "Before I fetch the guards to chase you guys across the border, but they might not be as forgiving as we are."

"I'll never forgive you!" Kushina protested, squirming to tilt her head back so that she could yell without her voice getting muffled. Minato quickly tightened his arm around her waist, carefully pushing her face back into his shoulder.

Daylian's ear twitched as a tearing sound broke the short silence, the other ninja appearing beside Shisu and grabbing the stunned man by the collar of his shirt.

"Let's go." He muttered darkly to the Uzu ninja. "We need to report. And Masuhita-taichou won't be happy with your failure."

The words were breathed, but Daylian was able to hear every word before the man yanked Shisu into a shunshin. The wolf closed his eyes, pushing away the genuine look of guilt that he was able to read in Shisu's eyes. He sniffed every few seconds to make sure their faint scents were moving further and further away, before he slowly looked down. His sensitive ears could clearly detect the sniffling that came from Kushina, and the hushing that Minato exhaled, so he carefully moved across the clearing, staring down at the firefly jar as he passed.

"... The guards probably heard almost everything... I'll let them know what's going on..." Daylian murmured, the soft volume was loud in the now-silent forest, minus the light murmuring he could hear coming from curious guards that ran down the village walls.

Minato only gave the slightest dip of his head to show that he acknowledged what Daylian said, his focus now returning to the kunoichi.

There were just too many emotions tonight; it almost gave him a déjà-vu feeling of that night he always kept in his memories. As he slipped out of his dangerous ninja side, he could feel his heart breaking as Kushina started to cry more, and carefully brushed the side of his head against hers.

"Shhh..." Minato hushed, carefully stroking her hair, which felt soft as it slipped between his fingers. He closed his eyes and took in her scent; the once-familiar citrus smell now felt new to him. He felt her squirm a bit, and then eventually felt her arms wrap around his own waist, squeezing tightly as she evidently shivered.

"He... he..." Kushina whimpered, and a second later she shuddered from what Minato knew could have been out of either anger or sadness. The blond leaned back slightly and pulled away the hand that was at the back of her head, carefully using the ends of his sleeve to wipe away the translucent stains the tears left on her cheeks, all while softly hushing for her to calm down.

The kunoichi's face scrunched as she fought her tears back, biting her lower lip to keep her from whimpering and hiccupping while Minato dabbed the salty droplets that would stray from the corners of her eyes, which she squeezed shut after a while. Even more drops trailed from her eyes, making Minato stop.

"I.." Kushina's raspy voice dropped into a whisper, but Minato could easily hear due to their proximity. "Why.. don't you hate me? I was keeping all this from you..." Her hands that were on Minato's back slowly started digging into his flak vest, but Minato could feel her nails and her fingers trembling through the thick material.

"..." The corner of Minato's mouth twitched into a frown. He raised the same hand he used to wipe her cheeks dry, cupping her face gently and using his thumb to wipe the corner of her eye when he saw another tear threatening to slip out. The move slowly ushered Kushina to open her eyes, brows tilted at an angle that only enhanced the worried look in her eyes. Minato just about nearly got lost in them, then quickly remembered what he was going to say, gently stroking her temple with his thumb.

"You should have told me," Minato finally spoke, his voice suppressed into a whisper. "I would have understood... or tried to..." For the briefest of moments, he thought about what he would have done if Kushina had told him.

The kunoichi answered for him.

"But... you would have said no, it's a trap..." Kushina slowly tilted her head forward to look down, shoulders slumping. "... And you would have been right..." She leaned forward, still looking down, and rested her forehead against his shoulder in shame. She honestly regretted her decision, and the feeling was like taking a stab straight to the heart, making her cringe. She sniffed and bit her lower lip, feeling the tears beginning to gather once more; she desperate fought to prevent them from falling, knowing that it would only make her feel worse.

"Kushina..."

The way her name was breathed made Kushina's skin tingle. For a few seconds the will to keep her tears in vanished, letting them drip out; it was only then she realized how much she missed Minato. I must have made him suffer... She pursed her lips then squeezed her eyes shut, feeling more guilty than she had before. She expected him to let go, and nearly felt her heart shatter when he carefully pulled back, removing his shoulder from beneath her head.

But Minato kept his arm tight around her waist, and cupped her jaw line to tenderly tilt her head back so that she could look at him. Kushina's lower lip started to tremble in a motion that showed she was close to bursting into tears again, so Minato offered the softest of smiles.

"Just tell me next time..." He murmured, moving his hand away from her jaw line to catch a tear that she wasn't aware had escaped. "You don't need to shoulder everything by yourself..."

"..." Kushina's lip quivered even more at his words, but somewhere in her heart she felt as though she was still keeping him from being happy; that he was just too nice to really say what he was feeling, that he could have wanted to end this...

"B... but.. why...?" She breathed then adverted her gaze, lip still quivering as she kept her pessimistic thoughts to herself, unable to find the words, much less, the courage, to even form what she was thinking.

"Why?" Minato repeated the last word she said, and then smiled as the answer came to him instantly. He leaned forward, his cheek brushing against hers as he moved in to whisper,

"Because I love you."

Kushina stiffened at his words, then a sad, crooked frown appeared as she choked back a sob, wiping away her tears before they could skirt down her cheeks.

"I.. I love you too, Minato..."

The blond couldn't help but smile broadly, suddenly feeling vivacious, something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. He grinned and believed as though nothing could bring him down after this moment. He raised his hand and tucked a couple strands of her beautiful red hair behind her ear, cupping her face in the same, fluid motion.

"I've been dying to hear that..." Minato breathed as he brought he leaned forward to bring his face close, pressing his forehead against hers, eyes closing as he took in her scent once more. Her skin was starting to feel warm against his hand as she blushed, and he slowly opened his eyes to peer into hers. The emotions in her eyes were so familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Wait... I remember. He thought. That shyness in her eyes... it was just like when they first started going out.

Minato smiled softly then angled his head so that his lips were close to hers, but he stopped a millimeter away; half of it was to prepare himself, and the other half was to see if she would shy away at the motion. He smiled to ignore his frantically beating heart and inaudibly exhaled a sort of sigh, relieved to see that she wasn't recoiling from his close proximity. He even noticed that her eyes were already closed and her breath was being held, making him inwardly chuckle.

Not wanting to keep her waiting, he closed the miniscule gap between their lips.

He felt her stiffen a bit, accompanied by a faint, sharp inhale, as if she were startled. Minato only inclined his head to deepen the kiss, and suddenly everything in his heart felt right again; it was almost as if the whole situation a few minutes ago didn't even happen, that they were in their own little world now...

His eyes opened slightly when he felt Kushina take sudden, soft breaths, as if she almost forgot to breathe. He smiled into the kiss and carefully pulled back, much to his own disappointment; but reality was starting to come back to him. Still, he pecked her gently on the forehead before smiling down at her. Even in the dim lighting the moonlight and fireflies provided, he could see that the coloring of her face rivaled those of her hair.

"You're so cute.." Minato whispered, earning a fidget from the kunoichi before she looked away with a frown-slash-pout. The expression only made him smile brighter. He even chuckled and even pulled her into another hug, nuzzling his head against hers. "Kushina... Let's go home." He leaned back to look down at her.

Kushina stared up at him, unable to keep herself from smiling a bit at Minato's, and then nodded. She looked to her right when Daylian appeared through the foliage, pursing her lips and looking away, all while trying to squirm out of Minato's arms. Even before, she wasn't quite comfortable with public display of affection, and now, being reunited with Minato after what felt like months.. It didn't help that she was even embarrassed, or shy, she wasn't sure, with Minato himself.. and to have her brother-by-law staring at them didn't exactly help.

Though, Daylian just snorted and swung his muzzle around, approaching the small jar of fireflies and closing his jaw around the small wire that was attached. He lifted it off the ground, turning back around and trotting past the couple.

"We can use this," He explained through his teeth, knowing that if he opened his mouth the jar would probably fall. "Come on, you two... I explained to the guards, and they'll let us back in quietly."

"Thanks.." Minato nodded then looked down at Kushina with a smile. The red-haired kunoichi was still looking flustered, but she nodded, moving forward in step with Minato to follow Daylian.

She casted a last look at the clearing, memories of the conversations with Shisu flooding back at her. Kushina closed her eyes and turned her head back, pushing away the unsettling thoughts. She walked in the silence with the two men, and then slid her gaze down to Minato's hand. She sniffed a bit and then looked away, carefully brushing her hand against his. She was about to twine her fingers with his, but Minato quickly caught on and did so for them. When she shifted her line of sight back to him, he was already smiling down at her, and he even bent down a bit to kiss her lightly on the lips.

Kushina's heart swelled and, slowly, she was starting to feel at ease, at home with the man. She shyly smiled and leaned against him as they walked, fingers still intertwined tightly.

Thank you...

Author(ess)'s Notes:
Kiki: And this is clearly part 2 of the special update.

Was it worth the wait? x.x

Ughhh, I'm not sure how I managed to accomplish this. Algebra 2 has just been keeping me so swamped, urgh.

.. But anyways, I'd really appreciate it if you guys dropped some reviews, y'know?
I mean. Come on. xD'
I give you guys two updates. I deserve a bunch, right? -nudgenudge- -winkwink-
(Hell, and don't be afraid to give me some constructive criticism too, guys. Just make it sound polite instead of asshat-ish. ;o)

Oh, but um. Since I treated you guys, there might be a bit of time between this and the next update; but please try to understand that school's just been swamping me. u.u -sad face-