[6]
"Mm! Stop splashing me!" Natsu huffed at Sting and Rogue.
Who were both swimming around in the pool while Gajeel came back to join them.
"So, is this gonna be our lives from now on? Rich pools, fancy wear and blah blah blah." Natsu said.
The others chuckled.
"I mean it doesn't hurt." Sting said.
"Mm, I agree, but the school..." Rogue added on.
"Exactly." Gajeel said, pointing.
"I can agree that the money that goes with the lifestyle is great, but the kids at our school might make me bust my head in." the fire head said.
"I can see that, you saw the way that those three cousins were at each other's throat." Gajeel said.
"Or that blonde dude going off the handle." Said Sting.
"What about the one with the black hair and creepy eyes." Rogue said.
"This should be greattttt." Natsu joked.
"CANNONBALL!" Wendy came hollering in before jumping into the water.
"Ah!" Sting said backing up.
All four boys all chuckled at her.
Kushina and Minato however were in town, checking on her club. The building looked incredible. With red cushioned seats around the dance floor along the walls, circle booths guarded by red velvet rope. Dining room tables and chairs in polished black and white, in the center of the floor. It was shaped like a theater with a dome on top.
"Oh, my wow, you've done a beautiful job. You should do this more often." Minato said.
Kushina grinned, "Thank you." She grinned as he leaned over kissing her cheek sweetly.
They both walked down the thirteen stair case to the dance floor.
"So, is this a club or a speakeasy?" he questioned.
"Mm some of both. Club keeps everyone busy; a speakeasy is perfect cover for sneaky ones." She explained.
"Mmm devious." He said.
She giggled and kissed him passionately.
"There is a private section." She said.
"Oh?" he asked with a slight smile.
"Nice place." Someone said behind them.
They both turned around to Mard standing there with two body guards behind him.
"Just brought some back up, I thought we'd all have a chat. Nice club, should we just take a seat?" Mard questioned.
"You- "Minato started to say.
"Mm." Kushina stopped him, "You may not. You and your entourage can kindly exit this establishment."
"Hey I just wanted to check it out, see the décor. See what kind of money you all have before I take it all." Mard said sarcastically.
Kushina walked closer to him, "That is not happening. We're not dim-witted rich folk who just throw money around for no reason. When we took those kids from you, it was to make a better life for them. They deserve better than what you did to them. And I plan to love those kids and show them a brighter world. Which would be better if you weren't in it." She barked.
"I won't go away that easily." Mard snapped.
"You will when we're done with you." She snarked.
"Is that the same mentality you had when you couldn't protect your own children. What a shame." He snapped back.
Kushina stiffened, with a stiff upper lip. Minato walked up ready to punch Mard dead in the face.
"Hey!" shouted someone from the second-floor balcony.
They all looked up to the balcony where Jiraiya was standing. He jumped over the balcony landing on his feet. He straightened up his posture and walked up to Mard.
"Jiraiya, what are you-?" Kushina started to question.
"If you don't know anything about what happened, or saw it, or controlled it. Then I'd advise you to be quiet and take your party back out that door." The white-haired man hissed.
Mard licked his lips and nodded, "Have the dragon slayers ready for me. I'll be stopping by." He said.
Mard left with his bodyguards leaving Jiraiya with Kushina and Minato.
"So, when do I get to meet my new nephews and nieces?" Jiraiya asked.
The two smiled.
The next day at school for the slayers, Natsu and Gajeel took a seat outside of the school's cafeteria area. Natsu shoved a few French fries in his mouth while Gajeel put his straw back in his mouth for the third time.
Sting and Rogue made their way over to the boys and sat down with them.
"Mm, French fries." Sting said reaching for Natsu's plate.
"Touch my food, and I'll bite your fingers off." Natsu warned.
The boys laughed together.
"Mm, did anyone else hear Minato snoring last night?" Rogue asked.
"He was out like a light." Gajeel laughed.
"I wonder why." Natsu grinned.
"Ahhhh, don't talk about that again." Rogue said.
They all laughed again.
"Oh uh, Kushina said she wanted to show us the new club." Natsu said.
Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel all looked shocked.
"Why? Why us?" Sting asked.
"Like it or not, I think they really see us as kids. Their kids." Natsu said.
"I'm actually starting to come around to that idea, but that nagging little irritation is still in the back of my head about Mard." Sting said.
Rogue reached into his black Leather Messenger Bag and pulled out his cellphone.
MINATO: BE TEENS, HAVE FUN AT SCHOOL. DON'T TRACK MUD AGAIN!
He chuckled at the message.
"I wanna believe them when they say they want us to be their kids. Be teenagers and such. I don't wanna let down my full guard yet, but I'm getting comfortable. Safe." Rogue said.
"I feel the same." Gajeel said.
Natsu and Sting turned to each other.
"I wanna help them." Natsu added, "The situation with their kids' deaths is still uneasy. It's weird and complicated. I think there's more to the story and I wanna figure out what it is. What really happened to their blood children. It'll give them some comfort, and maybe if those kids are still alive...they'll have them again...and maybe...just maybe... keep us too."
"I'd like to believe that, but if they actually get their kids back. There's no promise that they'd keep us." Gajeel said.
"Stop talking like that Gajeel, damn." Rogue hissed, he moved away to throw away his trash.
"Rogue." Natsu tried.
Sting held up his hand for them to stop, while Gajeel leaned back in his chair.
"Uh here comes the privilege." He said.
When Rogue came back to the table, they looked up to see Lucy Heartfilia approaching them with Cana Alberona and Erza Scarlet.
"Hi." She said.
Sting and Rogue turned to her as Gajeel and Natsu looked up at her.
"Hey, um Laxus is throwing a party tonight at his beach house on the hill. We would love for you guys to come. Have some fun? Welcome you all the 'party' style way?" Lucy explained.
Sting and Rogue looked back at their brothers. Natsu cleared his throat as Gajeel coughed.
"Um, uh we'll think about it." Natsu answered.
Lucy nodded, "I hope you come." She said in a low voice straight to him.
Erza and Cana both turned up their faces at Lucy. The blonde nodded and walked off with her friends.
"Was that real?" Sting asked.
"Yep." Natsu said.
"They said we should be teenagers." Rogue said.
"Not that teenage, I don't wanna do the party." Gajeel whined.
The other three laughed nudging him playfully.
Wendy sat in the music room of the school, and shook out her blue hair. The door opened with Romeo Conbolt and Chelia Blendy, coming in. Romeo was holding drum sticks and Chelia was behind him with a bow in her hands.
Wendy looked up at them both.
"Hi." She said.
"Hey, hi um you're one of the new kids, here right?" Chelia asked.
"Yeah." Wendy said.
"Don't you have four other brothers?" Romeo asked.
"Yeah, big brothers." Wendy answered.
Awkward silence.
"Do you play an instrument?" Chelia asked.
"Um no, but I wanted to know how to play the...piano here." Wendy said.
Chelia smiled, "I can show you."
Wendy grinned, "You don't have to."
"I don't mind, and Romeo here plays the drums." Chelia said.
He rolled his eyes and walked around Wendy.
"You ready to play or not?" he asked.
Chelia rolled her eyes as Wendy turned around.
"Um, thank you again for saving me." Wendy said to Romeo.
He looked down at her and gave a single nod.
Sting and Natsu walked down the hallway towards their lockers, they turned to the right noticing Sasuke's pristine group. They stared at them, making Sting and Natsu not turn away. Sting caught eyes with a certain dark eyed cutie with red hair and control over the beach's yellow minerals; sand.
The boy slightly blushed and looked away from Sting.
Sting turned back to Natsu as they turned the corner. They then heard the sound of music playing from a room. Piano keys. With the sound of someone's voice following behind it. They moved closer to the door to listen in, peeking through the door's window. They saw a teenage boy with brown hiar and blue eyes. He was a good-looking boy, as he played the keys of a piano beautifully.
He stopped, sighed, and started again. This time, he started to sing. His voice was soulful and raspy. Kind of sexy.
Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Natsu and Sting listened and looked at each other in shock at his voice.
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Natsu and Sting backed up from the door.
"Wow, he can sing." Natsu said.
"Yeah, a voice like that my god." Sting said.
The door then opened making the two boys back up a bit more letting the musical genius come out.
"Oh uh." The boy paused.
The two slayers backed up and cleared their throats.
"Sorry, uh were you guys gonna use the room?" the boy asked.
"Uh no, no. We just...heard you singing." Sting answered.
The boy gulped and he looked terrified.
"You're really good." Natsu said.
The boy's face softened and he cracked a small smile.
"You've been singing all your life?" Natsu asked.
The boy nodded, "Yeah, a secret hobby." He answered.
"How come?" Natsu asked.
The boy shook his head, "Not really up to me. Can't be myself in this place." He said looking around.
"Uh, what's your name?" Sting asked.
"...Konohamaru." the boy answered.
"Nice to meet you Konohamaru." Natsu said.
Konohamaru smiled, "Nice to meet nice dragon slayers for once." He said.
Sting and Natsu gave a slight smile.
"Come on Minato, do we really?" Gajeel asked.
Minato went around the couch and put his hands on Gajeel's shoulders.
"Didn't we say for you guys to blend in and have fun as teenagers. That includes parties." Minato said.
Gajeel groaned in irritation.
"What do you even do at a party?" Natsu asked.
Kushina walked over and pulled the magazine outta Natsu's hands.
"You dance, you make friends, maybe drink, sex." She answered.
Natsu's eyes rose in shock as Sting and Rogue all awkwardly chuckled.
"But if you do the last two, you all better be safe! Or I'll skin you all." She warned.
"Thanks for the threat." Natsu joked.
Minato and Kushina both chuckled.
"Okay, okay go gets ready and go have fun at the party. Staying in the house and going out on occasion isn't always fun." Minato said.
The slayers finally relented and decided to go. What a mistake it will be.
Laxus's beach house on the hill was huge, rich, and luxurious. The inside was a mixture of purple, green, and white strobe lights flashing all over the place. Teenagers dancing on tables. Alcohol being distributed. And of course, making out that leads to a hot and heavy panting session in the sheets.
"I don't know about this." Natsu said, standing outside with Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue.
"Let's just get this over with. Who knows we could actually have some fun?" Sting said.
"I'd be more interested in the sex part." Gajeel said.
They all laughed at the comment and walked up the steps. Natsu walked in first with his brothers behind him.
"God it's bright." Natsu said.
"Smells familiar." Gajeel said.
"...the orphanage." Sting answered.
Their moods instantly shifted down until a familiar blockhead came jogging up to greet them. Laxus.
"Welcome to my house, drinks are everywhere. All of the rooms are for everyone except the main room, that's for me and me only. Got that?" Laxus questioned.
They all nodded to him just so he would go away.
"You've gotta be kidding me." The blonde snapped, making the slayers turn around to see Sasuke and his friends coming in. Sting noticed the red head cutie again, Gaara. Rogue caught eyes with two guys; Sai and Haku. Natsu and Gajeel shifted a bit as Sasuke stared at them.
"Laxus, thanks for inviting us." Sasuke said.
"I didn't. The last time you all were here, Sai puked in my sink." Laxus snapped.
"You made the drinks too strong." Sai concurred.
Laxus rolled his eyes, "I just-"
"Laxus, easy. Just be nice." Yukino said, walking up.
She was in a green Summer Dress Vintage Rockabilly Jurken 60s 50s Retro Classic Dots Print Women Pin up Party Dress. She had her light blue hair pulled back to one side of her neck. She turned and smiled at Sting.
"Hi Sting." She said.
He turned to her and smiled at her.
"Hi Yukino."
"Can I get you a drink?" she asked.
Sting turned to his brothers who gave him wide looks to 'go for it'.
"Sure, I'd love a drink." He said.
Yukino smiled as he offered his arm to her. They made their way to the kitchen to grab a drink. Natsu and Rogue smiled at each other for their brother. Natsu looked over his shoulder to the stairs where a smooth shiny leg appeared with a strappy red Shoespie Golden Strappy Lace Up Sandal. Followed by a golden Sexy Spaghetti Strap Embroided Backless Cocktail Bodycon Dress with a matching wrap. Lucy. She looked amazing and beautiful. She stopped when she saw Natsu, and she stared at him.
Natsu licked his lips staring back at her until he saw Loke coming from the side of the room.
"Ease up." Gajeel whispered.
Lucy snapped outta her trance and greeted her boyfriend a hug. Gajeel looked around the room to see two girls staring at him; Levy and Minerva.
"Why do you get two?" Rogue questioned.
Gajeel laughed a bit, "I'm not the only one getting looks little brother." He said.
Gajeel pointed out Haku slowly, who was staring at Rogue.
"Mmm." Rogue nodded as he and Gajeel walked off to the kitchen area.
"Are you enjoying the party?" Yukino asked Sting in the kitchen.
"Mmm, besides the loud music and strobe lights yeah it's pretty...interesting." he said.
"How so?" Yukino asked.
"Well there's meeting you." He answered.
Yukino blushed and smiled, she pushed back her hair and leaned closer to him to continue talking. Gajeel and Rogue were by the couches watching girls do shots off each other.
Minerva wore a black and white COLOR BLOCK LACE UP DRESS while off on the side with her friends, which included Levy in a black and silver EMBELLISHED STRAPPY DRESS. They were both checking out Gajeel.
"He's so hot." Ultear said.
"He's dreamy." Levy said.
"I will totally snag that tonight." Minerva said, just as Gajeel looked up at them.
"What if someone else wants him too?" Levy asked.
"You? Please. He's a powerhouse hottie, he needs some equal. Not small." Minerva snapped back at her.
Levy backed off, clearly offended. Ultear watched Levy's mood shift.
"Don't you think you're being a little mean Minerva?" Erza questioned.
"Of course not. Gajeel is a hottie, and he's mine tonight." She said, walking over to Gajeel.
Levy watched in envy as Minerva placed her hand on Gajeel's chest, speaking to him. Minerva then pointed to the table. Gajeel slightly chuckled for a second as Rogue moved away. Levy walked away, clearly upset.
"Come on Gajeel! Let loose!" Kiba shouted, somewhat tipsy.
Gajeel relucted and laid down on the table, on his back. Minerva then got on top straddling him. She grabbed a shot from someone and performed a tequila shot on his body. He chuckled a bit at the tongue on his neck. Minerva licked up the alcohol and then sucked the lime from his lips.
"Mm." Gajeel groaned.
Minerva smiled leaning closer pressing her bare lips on his. He didn't back off either. Why not have some fun? He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck as the crowd cheered.
Haku was already a bit drunk, he flopped down on a wide bed looking up at the ceiling. The room was spinning. Until he heard the door open. He lifted his head up to the door.
"You're drunk already?" Rogue asked.
Haku blushed, seeing him.
"Um, needed a drink. Or maybe two." Haku explained.
"Rough night?" Rogue asked, walking closer.
Haku sat up straight so Rogue was standing right in front of him.
"You're the new guy, so I don't think I should unleash pent up energy on you." Haku said.
"It's okay to rant." Rogue said.
"I don't mean to be mean, but what would you know?" Haku asked.
"I know a thing or two about pain. More than I should." Rogue answered.
Haku's face softened.
"I don't mean to pry, but you and your brothers were in an orphanage. Now Minato and Kushina are suing the owner. Was something going on?" Haku asked.
"A lot was going on. Not at liberty to say." Rogue answered.
Haku nodded, gulped, and then hiccupped.
"Um, can I ask you something?" Rogue asked.
"Sure."
"Do you know anything about Minato and Kushina's blood children? How they died?" Rogue asked.
Haku steadied himself.
"Yeah, uh yeah. Their middle child, Naruto, had the nine tails power in him. He shared bits of it with his siblings. I always thought it was kind of weird. They were extremely powerful; they wouldn't go out like that. It's weird." Haku said.
"How do you know he was so powerful?" Rogue asked.
"Cause there's a guy downstairs with red hair and dark eyes, Gaara, he has the one tails in his system. He's powerful so if he has one, and Naruto has nine. Quite dangerous." Haku said.
Rogue nodded just as Haku hiccupped again.
"You really are drunk." Rogue chuckled, holding Haku steady.
"Mm, I'm Haku by the way." He said.
"Rogue."
Haku nodded, "We haven't had any new students in a while, especially not...hot ones." He muttered.
"Hot? What was that?" Rogue questioned.
"Uhhhh." Haku muttered.
"I can see you're a sloppy drunk, so best not to mess with you." Rogue said.
"What if I want to be messed with?" Haku questioned.
"Mmm, not like that." Rogue shook his head.
"Not what I meant." Haku concurred.
He looked into Rogue's eyes and scooted closer to the edge of the bed. Rogue didn't move, and let Haku open his legs up a bit. Rogue reached up and traced his fingers around Haku's jawline. The touch sent shivers down Haku's spine.
"You're nervous." Rogue said in a whisper.
"You're intimidating." Haku said in a raspy tone.
Rogue leaned closer to Haku's ear, his hot breath making the smaller boy shiver more. Haku reached up with his hands to Rogue's waistline. He licked his lips and sighed to Rogue holding his neck gently with one hand and using his other hand to cup his cheek.
Natsu was near the back of the house, overlooking the backyard towards the sea. A beautiful night views.
"Hey Natsu." Someone said behind him.
He turned around to see Sasuke walking up to him.
"Hey, what's up? Sasuke right?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah. Uh, mind if I pick your brain?" Sasuke asked.
"Mmm, I guess you Uchihas are quite picky and sneaky." Natsu said.
"Sorry." Sasuke said.
"What is it?" Natsu asked.
"I don't wanna pry, but...do you remember how you were born?" he asked.
"Why do you wanna know that?" Natsu questioned.
"You remind me Naruto." Sasuke stated.
"You knew him?" Natsu asked.
"They were quiet, but Naruto had an allure about him. Bright, kind, and light. Determined. You have that same allure." Sasuke said.
"And here I thought I was dark." Natsu said.
"I can tell you're the leader of your brothers, and you seem to keep them all together." Sasuke said.
Natsu nodded, "... I don't remember much about my birth. I remember something with wings and very hot breathe. Someone named Igneel." He said.
"You're a dragon slayer. Was it a dragon?" Sasuke asked.
Natsu shrugged, "Could have been." He stated.
Sasuke licked his lips.
"For the first time, maybe because it's not Laxus, dragon slayers seem a bit more dangerous than tailed beasts." He said.
"Tailed..." Natsu's voice trailed off when he saw something ahead of him.
Someone entering the house.
Konohanmaru.
Sasuke turned around, "What's he doing here?" he questioned.
Natsu looked at Sasuke and then back to Konohamaru. They walked up towards the front of the house where Konohamaru was trying to stay in the dark.
"Kono!" shouted Laxus.
The boy stopped and paused, he held onto the strap of his backpack. He turned to Laxus and gulped.
"Welcome, to my party, to my house, to my rules." The blonde hissed.
The music stopped, the lights came on to brighten the room and everyone got quiet. All staring at Konohamaru. The boy looked scared and like he was ready to bolt back out the door.
"So, you're some musical genius right. Always in the music room, never talks to anyone. Prime target." Laxus said.
"Laxus I-" Konohamaru started to say until Bickslow came up behind him yanking off his backpack.
"Uh!" Konohamaru grunted.
"Ohhh, what's in here?" he taunted.
"Can I have that back?" Konohamaru pleaded, "Please."
Natsu and Sasuke came into view along with Sting and Yukino from the kitchen. And Rogue and Haku from upstairs.
"Ohhhhh, looky what I found." Bickslow pulled out a bow from a violin, out of Konohamaru's bag.
"Can I please have that back!" Konohamaru begged.
"Laxus come on, this is silly." Lucy tried.
"Just give it back." Sasuke added.
The slayers weren't amused by this at all.
"Let me see it." Laxus said as Bickslow tossed the bow to him.
"Please!" Konohamaru begged trying to reach for his bow but Bickslow and Freed stopped him by grabbing him.
"Oh, is this precious? Blah blah blah." Laxus taunted.
He twirled the bow in his fingers, as others started to chuckle.
"Laxus!" Konohamaru shouted.
Sakura Haruno turned to Ino who was growing uneasy.
"Oh well. No use to me." Laxus stated.
He used his lightning magic to shatter the bow into large pieces. Lucy gasped and some of the others clearly looked away nervously.
Konohamaru dropped to the floor, breathing heavily. Tears came to his eyes.
"What a loser." Laxus taunted.
Konohamaru stood up, shaking off Freed and Bickslow, bolting out of the house.
"Was that really necessary?" Sasuke questioned.
"What? Did his mommy give it to him?" Laxus defended.
Others chuckled.
"That's a bit messed up; you saw his reaction. Obviously, the bow meant something." Gajeel said.
"He can get a new one." Minerva said.
Rogue knelt and picked up a piece of the bow that had the engraving 'Love Mom'. He gulped, standing up straight.
"This was from his mother." Rogue clarified.
"She can just buy him another one, what's he getting upset for?" Freed questioned.
"You can be such a dick sometimes Laxus." Sakura said.
"Well then what kind of idiot brings something like that to a party anyways. If it's so important?" Ultear added.
The slayers started to grow mean glares. They weren't liking this.
"Why did you invite him anyway?" Sasuke asked.
"The loser was going to be entertaining, didn't think he was gonna bring something that was gonna make him cry. And if that's the case, he was begging for it to be broken." Laxus barked.
Natsu turned up his face, shaking his head.
"That's how you operate? Being an ass to someone. What did he ever do to you?" Natsu asked.
"The idiot that he was 'good enough' to be in this party to begin with. I was joking when I said he could come." Laxus said back.
"I kind of have to agree, we don't hang out with him so why would he come here." Kiba added.
"That doesn't mean embarrass the guy. What are you a child?" Sting barked.
"If he thinks that's embarrassing, he's got another thing coming." Laxus said, slapping hands with his friends.
Neji shook his head, "You don't get it do you?" he questioned Laxus.
"What do you mean?"
"That bow is from his mother, right?" Neji asked Rogue.
"Yeah? Your point?" Bickslow questioned.
Neji exhaled, "...his mother is dead. She died two years ago."
The slayers were now very angry and shaking their heads in disbelief. While the others were looking at each other in confusion.
"You're joking right?" Minerva asked.
"No, I'm not." Neji barked.
"Great job, you just destroyed the last thing he probably had of his mother. Good job." Natsu snapped.
Laxus gulped, "It's not my fault, he... he shouldn't have brought it here. He's an idiot."
"And you shouldn't be such an ass." Rogue snapped.
Laxus closed his mouth.
"You should know better." Sakura added, "He takes that bow with him everywhere. Now you know why."
"Well it's gonna get broken sooner or later." Minerva chimed in.
"Shut up Minerva!" Lucy barked.
Rogue then turned to Haku, "Did you know about this? Did you know they were gonna do this to him?"
"What? No, I was upstairs the whole time. I didn't even know he was invited. Konohamaru is so quiet, no one barely talks to him." Haku defended.
"I can see why. If all of you act like this, I wouldn't wanna talk to you either." Rogue snapped.
"Uh." Haku grunted.
"Are you really gonna get mad at us just because his bow is destroyed. It can easily be put back together; I didn't destroy it beyond repair." Laxus said.
"No," Natsu made his way towards the door, "I'm mad because you think it's funny. How would you feel if someone took something precious from you? From a family member that you can never see again. And destroy it. Wouldn't you be mad too?" he questioned.
Everyone fell quiet.
"There's a whole world out there beyond all of your privileges and it won't be kind to any of you. So you picking on a boy whose quiet and not mean to any of you?" Sting added, "Yeah I don't think I wanna be part of that. I didn't sign up to be a bully. Which is exactly what you are."
"You don't know me!" Laxus barked.
"From what I just saw; he was scared of you, he's closed off, he was probably trying to get out of his comfort zone by coming. He begged you to just give the bow back. All classic signs of someone is bullying him." Sting barked.
"You know what I'll settle this now. You know what happens to bullies at the end of the day? They end up with their throat slit, gushing blood, in a ditch. But, no one stops to help them. They'll let you bleed out and die. Cause the world doesn't need more bullies." Gajeel said.
They all stayed quiet as the slayers left the house.
Lucy walked over and picked up the pieces of the bow.
"Lucy..." Levy said.
"I'm not a bully, this was cruel," she shook her head, "He didn't deserve this."
"Konohamaru!" Natsu shouted.
The young teenager stopped in his tracks, shaking. He turned around, but sighed when he saw the slayers.
"Hey. Hey are you okay?" Natsu asked.
He sniffed, "Not really. That was my mom's bow."
"We heard." Gajeel said.
"I'm so sorry they did that to you." Sting said.
"It's how they are...always have been... always will." He sniffed.
"That's not fair to you." Rogue said.
Konohamaru shook his head and shrugged.
"There's nothing I can do." He sniffed.
The slayers turned to each other.
"Maybe there is." Sting said.
"Come on you can't do that! That's not how you play!" Wendy said playfully to Minato and Kushina.
"Yeah Minato stop cheating." Kushina joked.
"Ahh, okay fine fine. Deal it again." Minato said.
The front door opened with the slayers coming in.
"Hey, how was the party?" Kushina asked.
"Crude and cruel." Gajeel answered.
"Ooooook, not what I was expecting." Minato said, standing up.
"Um, Minato can we have a friend spend the night? His night turned... really ugly." Natsu asked.
Minato turned to Kushina.
"Yeah. Yeah yeah sure." She said.
"What friend?" Minato asked.
The slayers moved aside to show Konohamaru.
"Konohamaru." Kushina said.
"Hi Minato, Kushina." Konohamaru said.
Minato smiled, "You can stay as long as you need to son."
Konohamaru nodded with a smile.
"Okay since you're staying the night. I'm totally gonna kick your ass in video games." Gajeel joked.
"You're not getting the good controller." Natsu joked, diving for it.
"Hey! Hey!" Gajeel shouted.
Konohamaru, Sting, and Rogue chuckled as they sat down to join them.
"Alright, that's our cue. Night ya rugrats. Come on Wendy time for bed." Minato said.
"Mm carry me." She whined.
Minato raised his eyebrow, "You are so lucky you're adorable." He joked.