Chapter 8: Jealousy

Rin smiled cheerfully as she trailed after her sensei. He was taking her out to lunch—just him and her this time. In the beginning, it was a little tradition for all of Team 7 – herself, Kakashi, Obito, and Minato-sensei – to eat out together at least once a week, and always after a successful big mission. Then Uzumaki Kushina had appeared and would occasionally join them—on purpose or on accident.

But things were different now. The war raged, and Minato-sensei was busy a lot. Obito was dead. Kakashi was accepted into the ANBU training program and was even more busy than Minato-sensei. And Kushina had become increasingly scarce for a few months now—ever since she got back on active duty.

"Where would you like to eat, Rin?" her sensei asked with a kind smile.

"I haven't been to Ichiraku's in a while," she grinned shyly. "Could we go there?"

His smile stiffened a little. "Sure, ramen sounds nice."

"Great!"

Rin's motivation for visiting the noodle stand went beyond just lunch. It was a fact that Kushina favored Ichiraku's over all other eating establishments in Konoha. And with any luck the red-headed kunoichi would be there already or show up when they were eating.

She never thought that she would, but she missed the surprise appearances of the fiery kunoichi. The woman was loud, bold, borderline vulgar at times, and yet somehow strangely admirable. Kushina was strong and brave…and she was kind.

Rin remembered how the older kunoichi had taken care of everyone after the trauma of Obito's death. She didn't know the details of what she'd done for Kakashi and Minato-sensei, but she had done something. Some of the tension and hints of grief that she'd seen in her jounin mentor had vanished after returning to the village, and she'd run into Kushina paying for Kakashi's lunch not long after.

The red-haired woman had then turned her focus to Rin. The rough-edged kunoichi had bluntly offered to go shopping with her, paint fingernails, play with hair, or do whatever "girly thing" Rin wanted to do for the day without complaint. Rin didn't want to force the older woman to participate in something she found unpleasant, so they found a compromise. They rented a couple movies and watched them at Kushina's apartment.

Kushina cheerfully gave her own running commentary for the movies, even startling a few laughs out of Rin. She'd felt awful about laughing with Obito being dead. After the little double-feature, the woman had worked to help her through that guilt. With a little prodding, she got Rin to start talking about it and she listened attentively, inserting her own thoughts and comments where necessary.

In the end, Rin felt somewhat better about the whole mess and ready to get on with things.

And not long after that little girl-bonding thing, Rin caught on to something. Kushina seemed to have a "thing" for her sensei. More interesting still, Minato-sensei seemed to have a "thing" for Kushina as well. And neither appeared to realize what the other felt.

When Rin realized this, she inwardly squealed. It was just like something right out of a romance tale. For a while she even considered playing match-maker for them…because they obviously needed it.

But unfortunately she had to discard that idea. She lacked skill with relationships and there was no way that she was going to screw this up. And there was a war going on—there just wasn't enough time.

Still, if there was a chance to get her sensei together with Kushina, she would do it. They made each other happy and it was fun to watch them. And if Kushina wasn't at Ichiraku's, the food was still good.

Rin was almost jumping with anticipation as the quaint little ramen stand came into view. Her sensei seemed tense and his pace seemed to slow as they drew nearer. She shrugged aside the odd hesitation and scampered ahead—

Kushina was there…and she was in the company of a strange man.

He was a few inches shorter than Minato-sensei, with short dark hair, a neatly trimmed black goatee, and a two-inch-long diagonal scar on his left cheek. The stranger sat next to Kushina munching on ramen with her and chuckling at the punch-line of some joke. Kushina was grinning at him and didn't notice Rin skid into the small stand.

Who…is that? She wondered worriedly.

"So, Rin, what would you…"

Rin turned to find Minato-sensei just past the flaps of the stand, staring blankly at Kushina and the stranger.

Uh-oh…

Kushina heard the aborted question and turned on her stool, blinking in surprise. "Hey, Namikaze! Rin! Come here for lunch?"

"Yes," Minato nodded.

"Excellent choice!" she laughed. "You remember Daichi, right?" she asked, gesturing at the stranger.

Rin's sensei frowned in concentration for a minute. "Yes, he's from Uzu, right?"

"Yep," the stranger – Daichi – nodded and waved. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Fine," Minato shrugged.

Daichi glanced down at Rin and grinned. "Hey there, cutie! Your name's Rin?"

"Yes," she gulped nervously.

"Come, sit down!" He waved cheerily at the nearby empty stools. "Have some noodles and swap some stories!"

"Yeah, yeah, sit down!" Kushina agreed.

Rin timidly shuffled over to sit beside Daichi, and Minato-sensei sat next to her. They placed their orders with the cook and mostly listened as Kushina and Daichi continued their conversation. And when their ramen was ready, Daichi regaled them with embarrassing tales of Kushina's childhood, much to said kunoichi's annoyance.

Even though there was a stranger present, Rin found the lunch to be a lot of fun. Daichi was nice and had a lot of good stories. Apparently he and Kushina had been on the same initial team as genin.

But as the meal progressed, Rin couldn't help but notice how her sensei reacted. He said very little and seemed to keep his distance from them all, even though he didn't move from his seat. And he gripped his chopsticks so tightly that he ended up snapping several pairs throughout the course of lunch.

He's jealous, Rin thought as Minato paid for their two meals. And upset. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea…


Kakashi readjusted the cloth of his hitae-ate over Obito's eye as he respectfully followed his sensei to the training fields on the fringes of the village. With both of their busy schedules it was rare for them to have free time at the same time to train together. Today was one of those rare days.

Although training to be an ANBU took up most of his time, Kakashi didn't mind. Obito had always dreamed of getting into the ANBU. At least his eye would get to be, now. It was the least that Kakashi could do for his friend.

Minato-sensei understood. Kakashi felt that Rin understood, too. Neither had tried to talk him out of it when he told them of his acceptance into ANBU training.

He and his sensei navigated the different training fields, looking for an open one to train on. Most of the ones that they favored were already in use. And then they came to the second-to-last one on their list…

Kushina-san? Kakashi frowned behind his mask as he peered through the dense foliage at a red-haired kunoichi training down in a clearing with…someone. Who is that?

Her training partner was a man that Kakashi was unfamiliar with. He was dark-haired, with dark eyes, and a small beard. Freeing up Obito's eye, he could tell that the woman was Kushina with the Sharingan's superior vision. And she was having a lot of fun, too.

Then another man darted out of the trees to the left of the pair and joined in. This man had reddish-brown hair, was a little stockier, and wielded a pair of short swords with great precision. Kakashi watched the second man's swordsmanship for a little while, imprinting it with Obito's eye for further use later.

"Who said you could play, Hachiro?" Kushina laughed.

"I did!" the dark-haired man announced.

"Surprise!" Hachiro cackled and made a charge with his blades. "Hee-yah!"

Kushina deftly spun aside, blocking one of his stubby swords with a kunai. "Daichi, you sneak!"

The dark-haired one – Daichi – only chuckled and took a swipe at her legs.

As the three-way spar continued, Kakashi turned towards his sensei to see if he was ready to leave for the next training field. However, Minato-sensei seemed transfixed by the match going on below. His blue eyes followed every movement and his hands clutched at a branch like he was trying to strangle it.

With Obito's Sharingan, he could see every minute detail of his sensei's reaction. Kakashi couldn't help but note every narrowing of the eyes, muscle twitch, tiny frown, grind of the teeth, clenching of the fist…everything. And Kakashi was intrigued.

Why is sensei so upset? he wondered as he covered Obito's eye as it began to throb from slight overuse. It just looks like they're training down there. Nothing special, nothing dangerous…

Below, the spar abruptly ceased as Daichi managed to pin Kushina on the ground. "Hah, I win!"

"Damn it!" Kushina panted. "Let me up!"

"Nope," he grinned.

"Daichi!" she growled warningly.

"Maybe if you kiss me…"

Even without using the Sharingan, Kakashi could read his sensei's reaction quite clearly. Every muscle in his sensei's body tensed and a feeling of killing intent began to leak off him. It was clear that he'd been keeping his emotions in check, but Daichi's request was obviously the last straw.

Minato-sensei…is jealous?!

"No way!" Kushina snarled. "Get off me before I make you cry!"

Minato-sensei…likes her?!

"Oh don't say things like that, Uzumaki-chan," Daichi pleaded. "It's just one little kiss."

…Why?

"Hachiro!" Kushina roared. "Get him off me before I neuter him!"

Why is he so worked up? Kushina-san is clearly not into this Daichi person.

"Get off my many-times-removed cousin," Hachiro chuckled. "One little kiss is not worth your balls."

…Kushina-san is crazy.

"What would you know, Hachiro?" Daichi sniffed, but finally did release Kushina from the ground. "You wouldn't know a pretty girl if you saw one; you're too busy drooling over other boys!"

…So Hachiro isn't into her either.

"Your ass is mine!" Kushina declared and the fight was back on, but this time Hachiro sat on the sidelines and cheerfully heckled both combatants.

Kakashi turned and eyed his still tense sensei. "Are we done spying on your girlfriend yet?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Minato hissed furiously and again Kakashi didn't need the Sharingan to see that his sensei wasn't being entirely truthful.

Kakashi's one visible eye crinkled with the smile hidden by his mask. "Whatever you say…"


Spring was the season of new love, Jiraiya believed. It was a time of renewal and fresh starts. Now if only his beloved student would take advantage of the time of the year and hook up with the object of his affection…

"What a wonderful evening for a drink!" Jiraiya laughed as he settled down at a small round table in his favorite tavern. "Don't you think so, Minato?"

His favorite student and apprentice glowered at him from across the small table. "Not really."

"What's with that gloomy face," Jiraiya snorted and poured them both glasses of sake. "Still drifting down that river of denial?"

"Did you have any particular reason for calling me here?" Minato grumbled.

"Can't I just catch up with my favorite student?" the Sannin asked with a pout. "We've both been so busy lately that we've barely seen each other, let alone talked."

"Fine," Minato shrugged and sipped at his drink. "Talk."

Jiraiya arched a white eyebrow. "What's got you so tense?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little tired."

The Sannin frowned thoughtfully. Minato usually managed to keep up a happy face unless something truly terrible had happened. And if that was the case, his student would've come to him for help, or he would've heard something about it. But as far as he knew, there was no reason for this sullen Minato.

"You need to get laid," Jiraiya decided. "If Kushina turns you down, I could set you up with a few very nice ladies that I know."

The blonde's face reddened. "I don't want anything to do with your hooker friends, sensei!"

"But Kushina's okay, eh?"

"No, I don't like her like that," Minato denied.

Jiraiya didn't believe him for a second. He glanced around the crowded, smoky establishment, eyeing the female denizens very appreciatively. He was about to point out a busty brunette to his lonely student when a splash of red caught his eye. Uzumaki Kushina of Uzu, his dear student's love interest, sat at a table near the bar…with three other young men.

One fit the mold of tall-dark-and-handsome rather well with a scar on is cheek and a black goatee on his chin. The second had red-brown hair, freckles, and a pair of short swords strapped to his back. And the third had scraggly dirty blonde hair and a black bar tattooed across his cheeks and over the bridge of his nose. All three were seasoned shinobi and all three seemed to know Kushina well.

"Huh," Jiraiya snorted. "I never thought she'd go for a foursome. Or could that be classified as a small orgy?"

"What?" Minato muttered. "Who are you—"

Jiraiya turned back to his student and found him tensed up and staring right at Kushina. And he claimed that he wouldn't be jealous, the Sannin chuckled. "Don't they look cozy over there," he drawled.

Minato started and stubbornly looked away from her. "Those are her friends from Uzu. I met them once."

"Ah," Jiraiya nodded, enlightened. "Her friends."

"Back when I met them, they thought that she was a lesbian," Minato shrugged and nursed his sake.

"They certainly don't think that now," Jiraiya observed with a lecherous grin. "Tattoo Face can't seem to keep his hand off her leg."

Minato stiffened before refilling his glass. "I don't care."

"And it looks like Scar Face just whispered something naughty into her ear."

"I don't care."

"Swords really likes hanging on her shoulders…that's an excellent position for groping, you know."

"I'm not listening to you."

"She really looks like she's enjoying herself…"

"Good for her." Another full glass of sake.

"Ooh! She just kissed Swords on the cheek!"

"So what?"

"Hah! Tattoo Face's hand wandered too far and she smacked him good!"

Minato only growled.

"I wonder which one she'll take home with her."

No response.

"Swords would probably be a good one for foreplay—good with his hands I bet!"

Another glass of sake.

"Scar Face would be the all-around passionate lover."

Another growl.

"And Tattoo Face…he's all for hot, kinky, animal sex—"

"Shut up!" Minato snarled and jumped up, knocking back his chair and drawing a lot of startled stares.

Jiraiya calmly sipped at his drink. "What's wrong? I was only making speculations. And I thought you didn't care."

"I'm leaving," Minato growled and stormed out, weaving very slightly.

The Sannin knew his student very well and knew that it took a lot to get him to lose his temper that way. He felt rather guilty about provoking Minato so badly and was about to follow him when he noticed something interesting. Kushina's attention had been grabbed by Minato's flare of temper and she scampered after him before Jiraiya could even get up.

Never mind, Jiraiya grinned and focused on his rice wine. Spring is in the air, my dear student. Please take advantage of it!


Minato stumbled and stubbed his toe as he angrily marched towards his apartment. As he clutched his throbbing foot and braced his back against a building to keep from falling over he cursed his sensei and the sake that he'd consumed. Usually when he was talked into drinking he nursed a few glasses over an hour or two. He'd just downed double his usual number of glasses in under a half an hour.

"Oi, Namikaze!"

He froze and looked up to see Kushina jogging up to him.

"What was that all about back there?" she asked with a concerned look. "Was the old perv talking dirty to you?"

Minato blinked stupidly at her. The sake and her sudden appearance conspired to scramble his brains. She had to repeat her question before he snapped out of his daze.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I…I'm s'rry if I bothered you leavin' like that."

"You're slurring a little bit there," she observed.

"I'm going home," he informed her and pushed off the wall, eager to escape her presence. He was buzzed enough from the alcohol to not trust himself around her.

"Stub your toe?" she asked, noting his slight limp as she followed him.

"Yeah," he sighed.

When he stumbled again, she caught his arm and held on to it for the rest of the walk. Minato guiltily luxuriated in the physical contact. It had been weeks since she'd last touched him.

Ever since she'd recovered from her injuries, it seemed like she'd been drifting away from him. It didn't help that he'd perfected his Hiraishin and been sent on a lot of missions to slaughter enemies with it. But then he'd started seeing her hanging out with other people, old friends.

It was stupid, but it bothered him. He'd see her eating with someone, training with someone, hanging out with someone, and he wanted it to be him and not them. And it didn't help that a lot of her Uzu pals liked to get very touchy-feely with her…

"Here we are!"

Minato blinked in surprise to find that he had arrived at his own door. "Yeah," he muttered and groped around in his pockets for his key.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked.

He nodded and fumbled a bit as he unlocked the door.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been hanging with you much lately," she apologized, making him pause. "But it's been a while since I've really spent time with them and they've been free a lot lately."

Minato managed a smile for her. "It's alright. I understand."

"Thanks," she grinned and patted his shoulder. "And just so you know, you're my favorite." And then she was gone.

He stood there for several minutes afterwards with a dazed smile on his face. I'm her favorite? …Yeah.