Chapter 9: Fire Shadow

Minato wandered aimlessly through the village streets. The sun had set a while ago and he had no idea what time it was. He was too stunned to do more than put one foot in front of the other and avoid walking into solid objects.

Earlier, the Sandaime Hokage had pulled him aside after giving his latest mission report. Minato had been worried, at first. The war with Iwa was finally winding down. The Tsuchikage was finally in talks with Konoha to put a formal end to the major hostilities. A period of peace looked to be on the horizon. But if the Hokage was taking him—Konoha's fabled Yellow Flash—aside…

It hadn't been bad news. It had in fact been very, very good news. So good, so amazing, that he was having trouble fully believing it. It was like a dream.

"Yo, Sunshine! What kind of shinobi do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I want to be the best, of course," Minato huffed as he ran through a complete series of kicks and punches. "One day I will be Hokage."

There was a burst of raucous laughter. "Hokage?! Sure you're hot stuff now Namikaze, but Hokage?"

Minato paused between sets and glared in annoyance at the strange red-headed boy from Uzu sitting on a nearby training post. "I'll be Hokage one day," he repeated firmly. "It'll take years and I probably won't be the Yondaime, but I have a shot at Godaime. I will be Hokage."

"Yeah, sure," the scruffy, dirty, ragamuffin boy snorted. "Whatever you say, Sunshine."

Shaking his head, Minato set about returning to practicing the sets that his sensei had shown him the day before.

"Hey!" the red-head called out just as Minato reached the most complicated point of the exercise. "The day that you make Hokage is the day that I pledge my undying love to you!"

Minato tripped over his own feet and ate dirt.

His feet stilled at a street corner and he smiled faintly at the memory. Back then he'd been absolutely horrified at that declaration. He'd thought that Kushina was a boy, and he didn't want another boy declaring love to him.

Kushina! He perked up, glanced around to orient himself, and took off running. I've got to tell her about this!

The world around him blurred as he built up speed. Even without his Hiraishin he was fast. Speed and precision had always been part of his personal fighting style. He'd always been fast.

A ridiculously short time later he was at her apartment door and knocking. She didn't immediately answer and he worried that she might be out of the village on a mission. He was considering slipping outside and scrambling up the wall to peek into her window to check, when the door finally did open to reveal a disheveled Kushina, glaring daggers, and dressed for bed.

"Namikaze Minato, it is almost two in the morning; this had better be a life-and-death emergency."

Her grumpy attitude did nothing to dampen his soaring spirits. "No, no emergency." He leaned in slightly. "Guess what."

She stared at him for a long moment. "I'm going back to bed. I'll guess in the morning."

The door started to close and Minato wedged his foot into the door jamb to keep from getting locked out. "Wait, wait, wait! Come on, just one guess, please!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?" she scowled. She leaned in and sniffed at him suspiciously. "No booze, no funny smoke…"

"I'm fine!" Minato laughed. "I'm sorry it's so late, but I was thinking and lost track of time."

Kushina squinted at him for a little while longer before sighing and opening the door wide for him. "Come in you dork, you look like a crazy person standing out in the hall this late."

"Okay," he replied happily and followed her inside. "So are you going to guess?"

"Fine," she groaned and hopped onto her little kitchenette counter. "What would have you up this late thinking?" She swung her legs back and forth thoughtfully. "And it has to be something good—you're like a little kid on a sugar rush." Her fingers combed through her long red hair and she chewed her lip thoughtfully. "The only thing that I can think of is…" She froze and stared at him open-mouthed. "No way!"

Minato was grinning like a fool and he did not care. "Sandaime-sama kept me after my mission debriefing today to talk about it."

"When do you start?" she asked in a breathless whisper.

"In one week I'll officially start my apprenticeship under Sandaime-sama, and in about a year he'll retire, and then…"

"And then you become Hokage," she finished for him, awed.

"And then I become Hokage," Minato confirmed.

There was dead silence for a good minute or two, and then she launched herself at him from her countertop seat with an excited whoop. He caught her against his chest and spun her around a few times as they laughed. It was almost like being drunk, he was so giddy. Her laugh was loud, but not obnoxious, and her hair smelled sweet, and she was warm against him—

He kissed her. Her hands were in his hair. It felt like they were falling, and it felt good—

She abruptly froze in his arms. An icy leaden weight settled in his stomach and he slowly pulled back to look at her. There was a flicker of fear in her wide, expressive eyes and his heart twisted.

"I—" Oh god, what do I say? That I liked it? That it was a mistake?

Her eyes dropped to the floor and she started to tremble.

"Kushina?" What's wrong? Why isn't she saying anything? Why won't she look at me? Did she not like it? Did I do it wrong? Does she…does she hate me now?

She slipped out of his arms with the ease of a practiced kunoichi and she huddled by her window, her back to him. "It's late and I'm tired." Her voice was soft, strained, and subdued. "Go home."

"Kushi—"

"Go home," she repeated firmly.

He hesitated, thought about protesting, but slunk away in the end with his tail between his legs. She said no, and that was it. And so he went home like a good little boy.

He sighed and curled up into a miserable ball on his bed. I'm so, so stupid…


It was around noon when Minato's solitude was interrupted. His beloved teacher bounced in through the window with a loud laugh and a bright smile. Apparently Sandaime-sama had shared the good news with him.

"There's my future Hokage!" Jiraiya crowed. Then he frowned. "What the hell are you doing still in bed?"

"I didn't feel like getting up," Minato groaned, turning into his pillow.

"Why?" Jiraiya wondered. "Come on! Get up, we need to celebrate!"

"Go celebrate for the both of us."

The bed sank as the Sannin made himself comfortable. "What's wrong?"

"I'm an idiot," Minato mumbled.

"Details, boy. Throw me a bone here."

"I went to see Kushina late last night," he hesitantly admitted. "And I…"

"You what?"

Minato cringed and burrowed deeper under his blankets.

"You're an adult, Minato!" Jiraiya scolded. "Get out of there and talk to me like a man."

Very reluctantly Minato sat up and partly wormed his way out of the cocoon of blankets. "I…I kissed her—"

"Yes!"

"—and she freaked out and sent me away."

"…Damn." Jiraiya patted his shoulder. "No wonder you didn't want to get up."

"Gee thanks," Minato grumbled, slumping his shoulders.

The white-haired man shook his head. "Damn! I could've sworn that she had a thing for you, too."

"Yeah," Minato sighed. "I thought that she might like me, too; but then she froze up…"

"Wait, did she kiss you back at all?"

"Yes," Minato nodded. "But then it was like her mind caught up with what she was doing and…" He looked down at his rumpled sheets and felt ill. "And she looked scared."

Jiraiya frowned deeply. "Did she give you a reason when she sent you away? She doesn't like you like that, she has a boyfriend, she likes someone else…?"

"She just said that she was tired and sent me home."

"Huh." The Sannin tapped his fingers in an odd pattern on his knee. "Without a reason, I can only speculate that your sudden and dramatic revelation of your feelings for her caught her off-guard and she panicked. Or that kiss brought up some bad memories."

"Bad memories?" Minato scowled. "Like someone did something to her—"

He was stilled by an upraised hand. "Ask her and find out."

"Today?" Minato shivered.

"It doesn't have to be today, but soon."

"Alright." Minato slumped wearily. "I…I suppose I'll track her down tomorrow."

"That's the spirit!" His old sensei gave him a hearty slap on the back. "You gotta fight for this! She's worth it, right?"

The memory of the kiss drifted back to the forefront of his mind and he felt warm. "Yes, yes she is."