Disclaimer: Don't own, unfortunately.


Chapter 2: When Leaves Flutter

Shikaku sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he cursed his developing allergies. Especially since he and Inoichi normally hung out at his flower shop when it was his turn to mind it. The Nara eyed the offending bloom gloomily. Pollen is troublesome.

His friend laughed at him. "Maybe you should stop coming around the shop, Shikaku."

Shikaku grunted. "Maybe. Especially since it seems to be a lot busier than usual."

Inoichi shrugged. "At least it brings in a lot of good gossip."

The black-haired, recently graduated genin gave him a bland look. "I didn't peg you for an old lady, Inoichi."

"Hey, I have to entertain myself somehow, right? Why shouldn't I get a kick out of women coming here to gossip and dream about guys who might come buy this stuff?" the blonde twirled a stem in his fingers.

"You're extremely nosy for a twelve year-old."

"We're ninja, right?" Inoichi said innocently, "Aren't we supposed to be? Oh here come some girls, now. Just watch, Shikaku – you'll see what I mean."

Shikaku grunted, but eyed the door in the corner of his eye as two girls came in.

"- I mean, I don't get it. He spends more time with her than he does with me, and I'm his teammate."

"Kaho-chan, even before he didn't spend all that much time with you…"

"I know, but that would have changed…eventually! I mean, we're teammates! Every ninja becomes closest with their first genin team! If it weren't for that girl, he would have noticed me, one day. And then we would have gotten closer and then – "

Shikaku and Inoichi shared a look. Girls.

Shikaku quickly tried to pinpoint whose team this girl was on. He didn't recognize her so she wasn't in his year. But there was something familiar…

"I mean it's bad enough that Jiraiya-sensei steals half his time, but now this girl."

Ah. He remembered now. She was on the team that got the prodigy that graduated two years early.

"So what are we here for, exactly?" her friend asked.

"Flowers bring out my eyes. I figured I'd put some in my hair." The black-haired girl, 'Kaho', browsed some of the single stem flowers in the shop.

"But, uh, don't you only see him when you train or, like, do missions? Is a flower really going to stay in your hair? Or make you look smart?" Shikaku liked whoever this girl was, her choice in friends notwithstanding.

"Whatever. It'll be fine, Yoshino. You'll see."

"If you say so…" The girls were at the counter now, purchasing 'Kaho's' flower. Because of their close proximity, Shikaku could hear the other girl, 'Yoshino', mutter, "Maybe he doesn't spend time with you on purpose."

Shikaku suppressed on a chuckle. Okay, maybe Inoichi was right. This was entertaining. Though he would never admit it, he thought as he watched the aforementioned boy waggle his eyebrows at him as the two girls left.

Though not before the 'Kaho' girl said one last thing before the door slammed shut. "Just you wait. I'll get Minato-kun asking me out before summer's out, Uzumaki Kushina or not."

Poor Namikaze. Girls were troublesome. He was extremely glad that this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho's trio was all boys.


It was falling again.

Minato watched, fascinated, as the strand of hair Kushina had just tucked behind her ear started slipping from its place as she focused on the seal in front of her. Slowly, it slid down until it hung in her face…

Kushina huffed and tucked the startling red strands back behind her ear. "Stupid hair."

"I think it's pretty," Minato insisted.

Kushina flushed slightly. "No one else thinks so. You're the minority."

Minato shrugged. "People don't know what to do when they come across something different. That's all."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "And you do?"

He grinned and jerked a thumb at his own hair. "My hair stands out, too."

And it did. It wasn't just blonde, it was blonde. The brightest, yellowest thing she'd ever seen. Didn't help that it refused to lie flat, spiking up in every which way.

She smirked. "Point taken, blondie."

He scowled. "That's not going away, is it?"

"We'll see, blondie."

Minato sighed as she turned her attention back to the seal. They had been at it for a month or so, and were making some progress. Kushina had the great idea of using the summoning seal as their starting point, and they'd been going from there. Now they were trying to mimic the "contract" aspect – basically, figuring out a way to use chakra as a link between two points. He smiled as she muttered to herself, hearing the "dattebane" slip out every now and then. It was…refreshing, spending time with her. She seemed to have endless energy (not to mention a bottomless stomach) and was a very straightforward, genuine person – something one didn't often see in ninja.

The strand slipped again.

She groaned and tucked it back. "I should just cut it. No one likes it anyway."

Minato frowned. "I like it."

She snorted. She had finally gotten used to him complimenting her hair. "You don't count." She sighed, taking an end and twirling it. "All it does is give me grief. At least if I cut it, it would be out of my way."

"But you like your hair," Minato observed.

She scowled at him. "No I don't. You heard me when that sissy tried to get his genin brother to bully me. I hate my hair."

"Then why have you kept it long all this time?" he asked. She averted her eyes and he continued his speculations. "I remember what you said. You said that you're you, hair and all. I think you're secretly proud of your hair, because it's part of what defines you. And if there's one thing I think the whole village agrees on, Kushina, it's that you're not ashamed of yourself."

Kushina scowled at him for a moment, before her shoulders slumped in resignation. "I do hate my hair, in a sense. I hate that people made fun of me for it. I hate that it made my academy days so miserable. I hate that I had to constantly fight because of it. And I'm not proud of my hair. Really. But…I do respect it."

Minato blinked, surprised, but waited for her to continue as she fingered the lines of the seal in front of her. "This red hair – it's sort of characteristic to the Uzumaki clan. Back in Whirlpool, people respected this hair color, because it meant you were from one of the oldest families in the village. My hair is part of what defines me as an Uzumaki." Her voice began to grow stronger, "And I am proud to be one. I'm proud that my name is Uzumaki Kushina. And some day, everyone will respect my name! I'll make sure of it." She smirked. "Wait and see. Eventually, everyone's going to be clamoring for red dye and wigs!"

Minato regarded her for a moment, before he broke into a large grin. "Haha!"

Kushina immediately whipped toward him and bonked him on the head. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!"

"Ow," Minato insisted, still chuckling a little. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing because that's just what I'd expect of you. Or rather, wouldn't expect."

She looked at him as if he were insane. "Did I hit you too hard in the head?"

That sent Minato into another fit of laughter, and even though he could hear Kushina going, "Seriously, you alright? Wait, this isn't your first time being hit on the head, is it? Crap! I broke you, didn't I 'ttbane? Do I take you to hospital? Hey!" he kept laughing. He really did like hanging out with her.

Because just when he thought he had her figured out, she'd find some way to surprise him, but in a way that completely fit what he thought of her in the first place. It would make most people's heads spin, but to Minato, it's what made her fun.

Except, he couldn't help but think, Her kids are going to be nuts.


"Minato-kun!" a girl squealed, running up to him and stopping just a few inches before his face.

Minato blinked and took a step back. "Uh, hi, Kahoko-san."

The black-haired girl pouted. "Minato-kun, I've told you a million times. Call me 'Kaho' or 'Kaho-chan'! We're teammates after all."

"Um, I wouldn't want to seem impolite, Kahoko-san," the blonde took another step backward, his smile nervous.

"But you call that Uzumaki girl by her first name!"

Minato frowned. "That's a very rude way to refer to Kushina, Kahoko-san."

Kahoko growled and opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the arrival of their third teammate.

"What the heck is in your hair, Nazono?" a boy with short, curly, ashen hair landed lightly by the two at the village gates.

Kahoko flushed slightly, fingering the delicate petals of the flower that she had pinned up into her hair, before scowling at the boy. "It's a flower, Borome. Can't you tell? Or is all that squinting actually messing up your vision?"

"I can see that, but it's the stupidest thing you've ever done so I just wanted to make sure! How the hell is it any type of practical to put a flower in your hair? Especially since we're about to go on a mission!"

"Shut up! What would you know about fashion – you're a boy!"

Minato sighed, wishing sensei would hurry and show up. His team was decent, but sometimes their antics could grate on even his never-ending patience. Kahoko more so than Borome. Idly, he wondered how Kushina was with her team. If he remembered correctly, her genin team was composed of clan heirs like herself. An Inuzuka and a Hyuuga. Very unlike his own team, which consisted of first generation academy graduates like himself – the exact reason Jiraiya had picked this team to teach, in fact (apparently he didn't want to risk dealing with 'those snotty clan parents').

Speaking of his sensei, the sannin finally decided to show up for their mission. "Yo! Everyone ready?"

"You haven't told us what the mission is, sensei," Minato reminded him.

"Ah right, right. We're just visiting one of outposts to pick up some reports. Nothing too serious, but a little too valuable to entrust to a messenger bird. A solid C-rank."

"How far is the outpost?" Would they have to camp out tonight? It was already very late. The sun was just about done setting.

"Not too far. Ten kilometers or so. We should be back before dawn. Then you kids can have the day off."

While Borome and Kahoko whooped, Minato stayed silent. They may have the day off, but he had a training session with Jiraiya-sensei that definitely wasn't canceled, and he was meeting Kushina again. He wasn't going miss that, either.

"Well, let's get going then! Sooner we leave, the faster we can come home! There's a…gathering at the bath hous- I mean, the Hokage's office that I absolutely cannot miss in the morning!" Jiraiya's face stretched into a dorky smile, while Borome shook his head sadly and Kahoko clenched her fist, poised to strike.

Minato suppressed another sigh.


"I'm home, 'ttebane," Kushina called tiredly.

"Welcome home," one of the attendants bowed, "Your father is at a meeting, but your mother is in the kitchen."

"Thanks, baa-chan," the girl replied dully. She proceeded to trek to where her mother was. It was past dinner time, but maybe she'd be able to beg some food off of her.

She found her mother, wrapped in a warm shawl, enjoying a cup of tea. The room was dark, however, with gloomy shadows cast into the corners. For one of the best sealers in the clan, Uzumaki Yuuhiko looked awfully frail and…little in the dim light. Kushina sighed.

"Hi, kaa-chan."

Her mother smiled. "Oh, welcome back, Kushina. You're home late."

"We had a mission today – babysitting one of the council member's children while he and his wife went out for their anniversary," Kushina explained as she grabbed a rice ball and sat with her mother.

Yuuhiko's smile became strained. "Oh? How nice."

Kushina restrained another sigh. "Kaa-chan…"

"So, Kushina," her mother interrupted, "Tell me about this boy you've been spending time with."

Immediately, her cheeks flushed red. "W-who told you about that?"

Yuuhiko chuckled. "Oh, it's all over town, honey. Apparently this boy has quite the following."

The younger girl groaned, letting her forehead fall onto the table.

Her mother's smile grew mischievous. "From what I hear, he's a very exceptional boy. You should bring him home to visit."

Kushina lifted her head, mortified. "Kaa-chan! It's not like that!"

Yuuhiko arched a brow. "Would you like it to be?"

"N-No!"

"I think that after eleven years I can tell if my daughter was lying."

The girl groaned and covered her face with her palms. "Just drop it, kaa-chan. It's not like that and that's all there is to it."

Yuuhiko giggled. "Alright. But really. You should invite him over – we should thank him for rescuing you that time."

"It's fine, kaa-chan. I already did. I paid for his ramen."

"Oh? So you two are sharing meals together, too?"

"Argh!" Kushina stood, her chair making a loud scraping sound against the floor. "I'm going to bed. Good night, kaa-chan."

"Good night, Kushina!" her mother called, still chuckling. The older woman turned back to her tea, watching the ripples in the green-tinted water. Her fingers slid around the cup, and she flicked her eyes at the shadowed room around her, before her shoulders slumped, and she sighed.

"Be careful, my little Kushina…"


Minato stopped short and held his hand out, causing his teammates, Jiraiya in the back, to cease their run as well.

His sensei grinned. Very good, brat.

The blonde's hand flicked out, sending a kunai into a nearby brush. A thwack could be heard, and three figures shot out of the forest, bearing Iwa hitai-ate's.

"Good instincts, for a kid," one remarked.

Jiraiya sighed, stepping forward. "Damn. And here I was hoping to get back by dawn. Right – you all know the drill." His team nodded, crouching into ready positions, waiting for his signal.

The enemy launched forward. "Now," Jiraiya called. Minato and his teammates shot out, Borome and Kahoko aiming for the one on the left, Minato engaging the one on the right, leaving the man in the middle, the leader, to Jiraiya.

The sannin caught his attacker's weapon with a kunai of his own. "Ho, ho. Now what brings you folk so deep into the Fire country, tailing my team, hm?"

The Iwa-nin sneered. "Who knows?"

"Well, it'd be a shame if no one did. That would be a waste of a lot of energy on your part," Jiraiya remarked mildly, before putting a little more strength into the kunai, causing the enemy to spring back.

"Instead of worrying about that, you should be worrying about your little genin. We're all chuunin you see, and we—" He was cut short by a blade held to his throat.

"Blabber too much, apparently," the sannin remarked. "Though, Minato, you're supposed to help your teammates, not your sensei, first."

The blonde shifted his grip on the kunai so that he could deliver a swift blow to the Iwa-nin's neck, knocking him out. "They need the experience. You don't."

"Hm, I suppose. You should be careful though – keep knocking out chuunin like this and eventually it's going to get out that you're the one actually taking them out."

Minato knelt to tie the attacker up. "It's not that big of a deal. These were barely chuunin level."

"By how quick he was to brag about the fact, I'd say so. Still, I thought it was your dream to become hokage, kid, not take the fast track to the bingo books."

The blonde shrugged. "Anyway, sensei, why were these ninja sent after us? This mission wasn't one that involved any other parties or countries." He turned his piercing blue eyes to the toad sage. "Are you sure these reports we're bringing back don't hold sensitive information?"

Jiraiya snorted, "Unless you consider budgeting 'sensitive', which I guess some folk would. We'll find out, Minato, don't worry about it. We'll take these three back in one of my toads."

Minato nodded, before going to help Kahoko and Borome tie up their own assailant, whom they had just defeated.

Jiraiya stepped over to where Minato just left, peering at the Rock ninja's face from above. He was already pretty certain why this squad was trailing them. There was only one logical reason to give a mission to collect reconnaissance on a team of genin.

Feeling out future Konoha chuunin already, eh Oonoki? You paranoid old geezer. Jiraiya sighed. He was going to actually have to make a stop at the Hokage's office in the morning after all. It looked like word had gotten out that Konoha would be having their next chuunin exams soon. Which means…we have a leak. Great. More work for me.


"Uzumaki Kushina."

Startled, Kushina shot up from her futon, kunai in hand. "Who's there?"

An ANBU appeared from the shadows. "Pardon the disturbance, Uzumaki-san. But Sandaime-sama requests your presence."

"Now?" she asked incredulously. It was barely dawn.

"Hai. I will wait outside." With that, the bear-faced ANBU faded away.

Kushina frowned. What could be so important that the hokage would want to meet with her so early? It couldn't be some important mission – she was just a genin, and had only just started getting basic C-rank missions.

As she mulled, she quickly threw on her clothes and grabbed her weapons pouch, before meeting the ANBU at the gates of her family's compound. Silently, they took off for the hokage's tower.

When they arrived at his office, two other elders were in the room as well. "Thank you, Cat. Dismissed."

The ANBU bowed and left.

"Kushina-chan. Good morning," Hiruzen said kindly.

The confused red-head returned the greeting hesitantly. "Good morning. Um, am I in trouble?" She couldn't figure out how – she hadn't pulled a prank in some time – but what other reason could there be? Although, that didn't explain why the two elders were there, or why they looked so grim. Then again, Kushina was pretty sure they always looked like that.

"No, nothing of the sort. How are you, though? I haven't had the chance the check up with you after the Kumo incident."

Kushina blinked slowly. The hokage was known as a nice, caring man, but he'd never paid any particular attention to her. This was very strange. "I'm fine."

"Enough stalling, Sarutobi," the old woman behind him asserted, "Hurry and inform her."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. "Inform me of what?"

Hiruzen sighed, his gaze flicking over his shoulder at the old woman, before returning to the girl. "Kushina, have you ever wondered why you were brought to this village?"

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "My parents were sent to help strengthen Uzushio's and Konoha's relationship."

The hokage shook his head. "Not quite. You were brought here specifically."

A nervous sensation started to bubble up in Kushina's stomach. "Wh-what do you mean, 'ttebane?"

"Kushina, did you know that you have very special chakra?"

"Well, yeah." She lifted a hand and a chakra chain dropped from it. "Others can't do this."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, you're chakra is very potent – potent enough to have a solid physical manifestation."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"When you're parents and your village's leader found this out, they immediately contacted us. They knew we were looking for someone like you."

"Why?"

At this, Hiruzen paused, before twining his fingers together in front of his face. "What do you know about Uzumaki Mito, Kushina?"

Kushina scrunched up her face, trying to remember what she had learned. She didn't pay all that much attention to history classes in the academy, but she did remember this lesson for the most part, since it had to do with one of her own clansmen. "She was the Shodai Hokage's wife, and very good at sealing."

"And?"

Kushina thought more. She had learned some other things about her distant relative from her family, though it was a bit difficult remember. But she recalled bed time stories about the battle between the first hokage and Uchiha Madara, and how Mito-sama had aided her husband during the fight…

Kushina's eyes widened.

No.

"N-no," she stuttered, taking a step back. "Y-you don't, y-you can't."

"Kushina, I know this is distressing, but it can only be you."

She took another step back. "You brought me here, t-to make me a monster?"

"Child," the older woman from before frowned, "Compose yourself. You should be honored –"

"Honored?" Kushina squeaked, face pale and distraught, "You want to seal the Kyuubi into me!"

This time, the male elder spoke up, "You're chakra is best suited for this, girl."

She turned her wide, frightened gaze at him, "That's it? That's enough reason to make me more of a freak? More different? I was finally starting to make my place here, and now you want to make my life here miserable? Well, you can't. I won't do it! I won't! Y-you can't make me!" She was close to tears, and couldn't hold back the dry heaves ripping their way from her chest.

"We most certainly can," the old lady snapped.

"Koharu," the hokage reprimanded, "Enough." He stood from his desk and approached the girl, who shrank away from him.

"N-no!" she shrieked, hysteria beginning to leak from her voice, "St-stay away from me! St-stay away!"

"Kushina," he rumbled, "Calm down." He placed a hand on her shoulder, ignoring her flinch. She felt a coolness emanate from his touch, forcing her body to relax. Once her panic subsided, he said, "Now, listen to me."

She stared at the floor. "Pl-please don't make me," she all but whimpered.

Sarutobi looked at her sympathetically, but asked, "Kushina, do you consider this place your home?"

She glanced up at him. "H-huh?"

"Do you consider this place your home?" he repeated.

"Y-yeah." By this time, she'd lived most of her life here, and although the kids were immature and prejudiced, she liked this village. The adults were nice, the air was peaceful but full of energy, and…

A boy with blue eyes and blonde hair smiled at her.

"If you consider Konoha your home, then the Will of Fire has been lit inside you." He pointed to her heart. "That Will is what protects this village."

"Y-you mean this is how I can protect this village."

He nodded. "Yes. So long as you have something to protect in this place you call home, this Will will burn in you. It can be a heavy burden sometimes, but it will never go out. Now, do you have something in this village you wish to protect, Kushina?"

"I don't ever want to be not fast enough again."

"I want to be a great hokage that everyone in the village will respect."

"You're very clever."

"Thanks, Kushina-san."

"I was laughing because that's just what I'd expect of you. Or rather, wouldn't expect."

"You're hair is beautiful, so I noticed right away."

Kushina closed her eyes, and tears finally began to stream down her cheeks.

"Yes…"


A/N: There. Minimal plot progression, but new characters being introduced! I based Minato's team off of the single picture out there of it. I extrapolated on their characters, obviously, but hey, it's fanfiction. I'm allowed to.

Have I mentioned how annoying it is that Kishimoto does not like sticking to or stating a specific timeline? I did a lot of research and I still can't figure out when some things have happened and others haven't. In any case, I'm making this take place a little after the Second Shinobi World War. Forgive me if this conflicts with the timeline you have in your head but I feel like Naruto leaves a lot of chronology up in the air. But please, let me know if you see any glaring contradictions to canon timeline. I'm trying to stick as close to it as possible.

Reviews are very appreciated!