Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the show would be driven out of business because I couldn't meet deadlines XD
Now, what did I tell you? This is a reward for *cough*patiently*cough* awaiting that boring chapter. Some with more patience than others... YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! You all asked for some more MinaKushi, and so here you go! Oh, and by the way, to all of you who are reading this and are recruits, thank you very VERY much. I know this chapter is a little short, and the chapter title isn't catchy at all, but I'm doing my best. The titles are going to be the different things that would effect your destiny. Teamwork, training, protection, crushes... They'll effect you! So I'll do my best with that, even if it's not catchy... This story was actually supposed to be really sweet and fluffy, and I was actually planning on writing it as a poem the first chapter for a bit, but I rethought that because, you know what, I'm horrid at writing poems. In my opinion at least. Please enjoy!
Edit: Okay, maybe I did have Kushina's verbal ticks. I'll just keep writing them as is, and next time, I'll make sure to read the entire story while I'm writing xD I apologize that I didn't lengthen this chapter as much. Don't worry, once everything is rewritten, each chapter will start to be longer, I promise! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
"Let's have a girls' night out!" Kushina looked up in surprise at the exclamation. "What do you mean, Mikuto -ttebane?,"She asked quizzically. "I mean lets go to the hot springs! We could use a chance to relax! We've been training non-stop!,"Mikuto insisted, eyes wide with desperation and a pout forming on her lips,"And we can go out today, since sensei couldn't make it to training!" Kushina's best friend looked simply ecstatic, her black eyes glowing with hope. "I'd be happy to go!,"Kushina agreed, surprising her friend who cheered, jumping up and down in excitement at the prospect of the hot springs. Though she knew she needed to train, her legs felt like lead, and her arms hurt at the slightest movement. A little relaxation would do her good.
"I don't have anything planned for today, so why don't we go now? When we're done, we can both have a sleepover at my house!,"Mikuto suggested, grinning. "Sure!,"Kushina agreed, following her teammate towards the path that led to the hot springs. They had been lucky enough to have gotten the training grounds closest to their destination, so it had only been a few minutes before the building came into view. "Kushina! Look! There it is!,"Mikuto exclaimed, running ahead. "Hey -ttebane! Wait up!,"Kushina gasped mischievously, speeding up to chase her friend closely, her crimson hair flying out behind her as she overtook the kunoichi.
The two friends skidded to a stop as they reached the entrance, giggling happily together. They entered the building and quickly paid, before heading into the girl's changing room, pushing the curtain away as they entered. Kushina removed her clothing quickly, wrapping and tying a towel around her bare body. Mikuto was already in the hot springs by the time Kushina had came out. It was an open-air hot spring, and tall, wooden fence separating the boys' and girls' hot springs.
Kushina moved forward, hesitating at the edge of the water. When Mikuto glanced at her in confusion, Kushina simply shot a glance at her stomach, where her seal resided. She hated letting people see it - it was hard enough to survive the looks she received from the villagers on a daily basis everywhere else, and as a result she did her best to avoid public bathhouses - a resolve she had forgotten in her moment of excitement. When she say the slightly disappointed look Mikuto shot her, she felt guilt. The only people here were her and Mikuto, but... Despite the fact Mikuto knew of the Kyuubi and had accepted it, Kushina was always terrified that one day, she would turn away from her and begin to hate her, just like everyone else that knew the secret.
It was an irrational fear, sure, but Mikuto had been her first real friend in the village. She had stood up to a bunch of bullies for Kushina, and she had been the one the redhead knew she could turn to no matter what. When Kushina had been failing and falling behind in the Academy, Mikuto had been the one she had turned to, asking for help. In return, she had been given the best tutors in the Uchiha clan - after, of course, Mikuto had flirted with the clan heir a little(Faguka or something, Kushina thought absently). Thanks to that, Kushina had managed to graduate early, together with her best friend. And Minato, Kushina added silently, successfully fighting off a blush at the thought.
When Mikuto sent her a reassuring smile, Kushina finally abandoning her towel and slowly lowered herself into the water with a satisfied sigh, sending Mikuto a thankful glance as she did so. They soaked in silence for a moment, getting used to the hot water. Despite her usually outgoing nature, the silence was fine with Kushina; she was absolutely exhausted, both mentally and physically. She hadn't even noticed that fact until now that she could feel her stiff muscles relaxing one by one. "Mikuto! Kushina! It's you!" Kushina spun around to see Sari walking out of the changing room with a towel wrapped around her. The redhead thanked the lords the hot mist hid her seal as the older kunoichi slid into the hot spring beside them.
"What a coincidence! Me and Kushina were here on a girls' day out! What about you?,"Mikuto asked first, grinning. "Oh! My sensei decided it would be nice to have a day off from training, and payed for our team to come here!,"Saki explained, grinning. "That's cool!,"Kushina agreed, grinning. She stayed like that for a moment, before the full sentence sunk in. She sucked in her breath, her eyes going wide and her face growing bright red.
"Y-You mean, M-Minato's here, -ttebane?,"Kushina stuttered, her face now as bright at her hair. "Kushina, what's wrong?,"Mikuto asked, a mischievous smirk growing across her face, "No way! You like Minato, don't you? Don't try to deny it! Your face is bright red!" Curse her stupid blush. Curse her stupid friend. Curse her stupid crush.
"W-What makes you say that, -ttebane? It could just be the steam!,"Kushina snapped, looking away as she tried to calm her rapid heart, her eyes shooting momentarily to the fence between the two genders' baths. "I had my suspicions before now. Every time you even hear us mention his name, or see him walking in the street, you always get all dreamy-faced!,"Mikuto pointed out, grinning. "No way!,"Saki gasped, her eyes wide. Kushina thought she heard the tiniest thud, and then a gasp from the boys' side of the wall, but before she could process it completely, she was swarmed by the other two girls' questions. Stupid girly things like 'When did you realize it?' or 'Why do you like him?'. Despite that, Kushina felt herself relax, feeling her heart grow light she was interrogated. She closed her eyes, letting the image of handsome blue eyes and messy blond hair take over her thoughts.
Minato POV
Minato slipped into the hot springs first, letting the hot water spread comfortably across his body as he waited for his sensei and Hikaru to join him. His older teammate came out of the changing room soon after, removing his towel and taking a running jump, leaping into the spring and sending hot water cascading on Minato and Jiriaya, who had followed his student out. "Hey!,"Minato complained, shaking his hair and sending droplets of water spraying left and right. He and his master glared at his teammate in annoyance, earning a half-sincere apology, accompanied by multiple chuckles from said teammate.
Jiriaya shrugged, and Minato almost immediately noticed how he was slowly inching closer to the wall between them and the girls. "Oi!,"Minato snapped in annoyance,"Stop that!" Sometimes he seriously wondered which of them was the adult on this team. He didn't really care if any girls that were currently there heard them; a good beating was exactly what his master deserved. Minato doubted his teacher would ever learn his lesson about spying on girls.
"Yeah! Stop that, sensei!,"Much to Minato's surprise, Hikaru backed him up. The blond let out a sigh of exasperation at what his friend said next. "I want to look first!" Should've expected as much. Had he always been surrounded by such pervs? It wasn't honorably to spy on women. Honestly, they would never manage to find permanent girlfriends if they kept this up. Minato face-palmed, leaving a red mark on his forehead. They both began search the fence for a peephole, blushes and perverted grins on their faces. Minato slipped deeper into the water, doing his best to avoid eye contact with the two idiots. If anyone asks, I have nothing to do with them, and have never met them before...
When they couldn't find anything to look through, Jiriaya gave up, sitting back into the water with annoyance. Hikaru pressed his ear to the wall, listening closely with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he let out a muffled gasp, throwing his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. He dropped his hands after a moment, gaping. "Minato! You need to hear this!,"He whispered, signalling rapidly for his friend to join him without glancing away from the wall. Minato hesitantly pressed his ear to the wall, wondering how he was being convinced to do this. Really, their perverted-ness must be contagious.
"Kushina, what's wrong?,"A familiar voice asked playfully. Mikuto and Kushina are here, too? Minato listened intently, his eyes wide. "Oh my god!,"That was Saki,"You like Minato, don't you? Don't try to deny it! Your face is bright red!" Minato yelped quietly in surprise, slipping backwards. Before his mentor could question him, he silently stepped back, and, without a word, slid back into the water, his heart beating rapidly and a barely concealed blush turning his face a light pink. His heart felt like it had grown wings and was soaring into the clouds, lighter now that the depressing thoughts that had clouded his mind all day and night were proven wrong.
"What was that about?,"Jiriaya asked suspiciously at the stupid grin that had spread across his apprentice's face. Minato shot a warning glare at Hikaru, only to realize he had gotten bored before they had said anything and went back to soaking in the water. He looked back at his master. "Nothing. I don't know what Hikaru was so excited over,"Minato lied nervously; if either of them found out about what had been said, he would never hear the end of it.
After a while, Minato stretched, pulling himself out of the hot spring. "I'm going in,"He stated nervously, desperate to get away to a quiet place to sort threw his thoughts. He tied a short towel around his waist, heading into the changing rooms. "I'm coming too. Any longer and I'll become a prune,"Hikaru called, following Minato after tying a towel around his own waist. The blond ninja changed quickly into his usually outfit, pulling on his gray jacket and leaving it unzipped as he usually did, thankful that Hikaru had sensed his flustered emotions and remained quiet. He stepped out into the hall, leaving his older teammate, who always took a lot of time changing.
As Minato finally left the building, a beautiful voice met his ears. "I'm going to wait for you guys out here,"Kushina's voice called, and the curtains to the women's changing room parted to reveal her in her ninja uniform, a towel laid on her shoulders to shield them from her beautiful, wet red hair that draped down them. She let out a gasp as she saw him, her face a vivid red. "Minato -ttebane!,"She covered her mouth as she said that, breaking eye contact to look at ground, fidgeting slightly under his gaze.
Minato laughed lightheartedly. "Good to see you, too!,"Minato replied, trying his best to hide the odd satisfaction of knowing Kushina liked him back. Kushina laughed happily, too. They talked together, smiling, as they waited for everyone else to join them outside the hot spring, laughing comfortably with each other.
One, always pushed away and neglected by all.
One, seen as a young genius and loved by all.
Neither wanting this to end.
Neither wanting this to change.
Who'd've thought?
OMAKE
Kushina grinned as she skipped down the familiar brick path that lead to the Uchiha district, a certain black-haired kunoichi walking beside her. A thought struck her, and she froze mid-skip, eyes wide. Mikuto stopped beside her, looking at her in confusion. The redhead slowly turned her gaze to meet her best friend's, who was beginning to feel worried for her best friend.
"We forgot to invite Kris! He's part of the team too, you know, and he's probably still waiting for us and sensei at the training grounds!,"Kushina gasped, obviously horrified at the thought. Mikuto gasped as well, her expression changing to match her teammate's. "He'll kill us next time he sees us!" They looked into each other's eyes, their lips drawing into straight lines and their eyebrows furrowing.
They nodded, an unspoken agreement passing between them. They raced the rest of the way to the Uchiha District and into Mikuto's home, locking every door on the way to her room, where they would remain until they were absolutely certain it was safe to emerge.
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE cliffhangers? XD I love this couple so much! Someone once told me that this couple was as beautiful as Twilight... You know what I say to that? TWILIGHT SUCKS! ... Wait a second... O.o No Pun Intended... (That was not on purpose, I promise, xD) I'm trying this ten hour challenge that shows the same video over and over again for ten hours straight. I'm doing the challenge legit, so I have to actually watch the video without doing anything else for ten hours straight... I couldn't take it, so I stopped looking at it just long enough for me to edit this chapter and the one before it... I'm at hour 5... This video is a torture item now... O.o If my calculations are correct, I've seen the same video 250 times in a row... O.o Wonder how long it took them to make this! XD
Anyways, if you liked the story, review, favorite, or follow! I enjoy constructive criticism, but I'd appreciate if no one starts flaming me! I'd also appreciate if you became a Sacred Army Recruit! Just favorite or/and follow my profile to join! See you next chapter! Bye, -ttebane!