Chapter 22

Kushina was standing underneath the Hokage monument waiting under the pleasant shade of the mountain as the three o'clock sun peered over the edge of the rock sculpture. In the sun, her red hair became a magnificently carved ruby adorned upon her head. Her dark eyes, like smooth graphite with an onyx center, flickered with fire when she looked down at the bold, orange watch she wore on her slender wrist.

Three twenty-two.

"I've been waiting for twenty minutes already." Kushina's shoulders sank. As she sulked, she began cursing her nerves and talking to herself. "Ooh! Shoot, why did I have to be so early? I should've known he would be on time. He just always has to be so perfect that it's like showing up earlier is just as bad as showing up late!" Kushina's cheeks bulged slightly as she huffed, annoyed. She crossed her arms as she looked at the watch again.

Three twenty-four.

She sighed. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths and listened to the wind as it passed. "Alright… cool down, Kushina-chan. The only reason why you were so nervous was because he asked you out on your first real date together... it's your own fault for getting here so early. You already know him and should've known that he-

"Kushina!" She jumped at the sound of his voice. Biting her lip, Kushina tilted her wrist to look at the bright orange watch and check the time.

Three thirty.

"Minato," she said. "How are you?"

The blond smiled fondly at the rosette. "Wonderful. I was looking forward to our date all day." Her eyes caught a glimpse of his pearly whites when he walked up to her. "I'm happy to see you."

She blushed as their eyes met. "So am I."

"You look amazing."

She waved her arm at him frantically, shushing him, "Jeez! Not so loud! It's embarrassing!"

Chuckling, he shook his head. "No, I mean it, Kushina. You really do."

Kushina's heart thumped loudly in her chest and her eyelashes fluttered at the praise. She yelled at herself in her head to try and keep her nerves under control, but it only seemed to worsen the situation. She muttered a soft thank you as he took a step forwards.

He wasn't lying when he said it; she really was stunning. Her hair was done up in traditional Uzumaki fashion: bangs clipped three times at the front and the body of her hair twirled into a beautiful spiral bun on the back of her head held in place thanks to several needles and dexterous fingers.

A special strip of "paper" made out of animal hide parchment hung from the back of her head like a pony-tail attached to her hair; on the two sides of the parchment were words scribed in kanji: the first side said, "little fish," while the other said "big river". The parchment is a special tradition for young women in the Uzumaki clan.

Her earrings were a dusty red, shaped like kunai, and her lipstick was an even darker shade of red that seemed to be black at an angle. Amongst it all, it was Kushina's white, thigh-length dress and cherry red heeled sandals that made Minato's stomach flip in his gut.

The beautiful red sash around her waist held it all together so delicately and exquisitely that Minato had a hard time focusing on Kushina's eyes. The dress was sleeveless, but she wore a semi-see-through white poncho on top made of thinner material than the dress and pressed with subtle creases that accentuated her body but did not take away from the style of the dress nor cover the natural beauty of the wearer. To him, this dress perfectly accentuated Kushina. He silently hoped that he'd be seeing her in it more often. He looked at her wrists and saw that she still had the orange watch that he bought for her a few years ago. She always wore it, it seemed.

Minato looked her over from head to toe and silently asked himself why he decided to wait for so many years after their incident together outside of Konoha to finally go up to her and ask her out on a date. They had been friends ever since, and had even shared a kiss once in a while, but they had never gone out up until now. Perhaps it had to do with them being so young, and he somehow felt like he wasn't ready for a relationship. He looked back on it as a mistake, but one that he would now work his damndest to rectify.

He linked his arm with hers and looked down into her eyes. He always had eyes full of purpose, making her feel subconscious about herself. She still didn't feel very confident about her conviction; the words that she said when she was a young academy student about becoming Hokage didn't seem to hold water. In fact, the thought of becoming the Hokage had dissolved quite easily once she gained a friend in Minato. Everything she did up until the point where he saved her from her abductors a few years ago was a cry for attention. She wanted all of the attention in the classroom, in the village, because felt she had so little among her peers, and so she aspired to be the best and most revered in order to receive that attention and praise that she lacked and so desperately wanted.

"Are you ready, Kushina?"

"Uh…" she murmured, not quite catching his question. Guessing intuitively, she asked, "Are we gonna go somewhere nice?"

He grinned, "Yeah! We have all day, so I thought we could start with a snack at your favorite restaura-

"Oh! Ichiraku? Yes, please!" she pleaded, interrupting him in her excitement.

Minato laughed, "I knew you would like that… anyways, afterwards we'll go see that new play from the North, the one about the lord who falls in love with a peasant who betrays him."

Kushina frowned, "A play? Why can't we go see a movie instead? Oh! There's that new movie, what's it called? The Seven Ninja!"

With a smile, Minato calmly said, "It would mean a lot to me if you'd go see this play with me. I've seen it once before and, honestly, it touched me; I have been waiting to share it with you ever since we agreed to going out on a date and it just happens to be showing this month."

Kushina looked at him for a second and smiled demurely, looking off to the side as he gazed down into her eyes. "You've been waiting that long? … Is it really good?"

"It's a must-see."

Her fingers intertwined with his and she leaned into his shoulder, nodding. "Fine, but next time, you're taking me to watch The Seven Ninja and You Don't Know Shi-Nobi-San. Ok?"

"It's a deal!" He said, smiling brightly as he led her toward Ichiraku's. She fell in step with him and grasped his arm securely while they walked.

"And after that?"

"The Kanto festival is later on tonight, so we can go there after dinner."

Kushina brightened up, "Kanto Matsuri? Oh, I haven't been to that one yet. It's the one with the bamboo poles and the paper lanterns, right?"

"That's the one," he said.

"The dancing lights?" she asked eagerly.

He grinned, and it was the only answer she needed from him.

After eating a bowl of Ichiraku's ramen and speaking with the owner, Teuchi-san, they left to catch the play which Minato had already purchased the tickets for. When they stepped through the threshold of the theatre, Minato and Kushina were bombarded with greetings by the staff and even the owner of the established arena. It was purchased by an Uzu wealthy merchant many years ago when Kushina first arrived in the village after her home was destroyed in the war.

Minato spoke with the owner, who explained his excitement at seeing one of their most loyal customers finally bring a date with him on one of his many visits, better yet that it was an Uzumaki of all sorts. Kushina listened quietly, her cheeks burning slightly in embarrassment in the fact that she had not found out about his interest in theatre. After thanking the owner she vaguely knew as an uncle of one of her friends within the clan, the two of them made their way to the theatre to turn in their tickets. Minato took out a small wallet shaped like a frog named "Gama-chan"; Kushina grinned happily when she saw it and pinched Minato's cheek, squealing kawaii when he pulled the tickets out of the small frog's mouth. After turning in their tickets, however, Kushina tried to step past the man standing by the small ticket counter booth only to be stopped right away.

"Not down there, miss, your tickets are quite special. Tonight you will be seated at the balcony." He smiled at the girl who quickly turned around to look up at Minato who smiled awkwardly at the prying look she was giving him. "Right this way please."

"Were these expensive?" she demanded, her grip on his arm tightening as she gave him a stern look.

Minato chuckled and shrugged, slipping his arm out from her grasp to wrap it around her waist as they walked, feeling the soft material of the red sash that she wore so magnificently around her waist. "I normally just sit in the back when I watch because of the way the ticket prices are here. That way, if I really get into a play or a certain group of performers then I'll know it'll be ten times better when I do decide to pay a little extra to sit up front. I've never sat on the balcony before though. Luckily for me, the owner really likes me, so I talked him down a bit in price."

Kushina blinked. "Wow. That is so unlike you…" she said, looking at him curiously. As she watched him she noticed he was starting to get a little nervous after she said that, to which she responded, "I like that."

He smiled, noticeably relaxing as they walked up the steps to their seats.

After leading his lady to her seat, he took his next to her and smiled softly at her, mouthing a silent thank you as the music began. She blushed and tried to focus on the play as the curtains drew, but her eyes darted back and forth as the introduction began.

"Love brought them together; betrayal cast them asunder, drowning them within the nauseous belly of fire that is greed. Their love for one another knew no bounds, but even the unbreakable decays, and the infallible is often based on lies.

"As the spider spins its web, so too does destiny spin the webs that ensnare us; our lives, a mere moment in time, are rarely paid to us in full. Is it destiny that drove these two lovers apart? Or spite, anger, lust, jealousy, greed? Or was it love…

"… and so, as our story begins, so too does the butterfly flap its wings, unwittingly flying into the trap set by the spider, long before its journey has even begun."

Naruto looked down into the fiery hell below. As he weighed his options, he felt the unbearable heat gushing up at him in waves as the molten rock tumbled and churned about within the cauldron before him.

"So Namikaze, what will it be?"

"I'm thinking."

"You're hesitating."

"I don't hesitate. Just wait."

No one else stood on the peak of the volcano with Naruto. He stood there on his own, talking into empty space as he tried to decide whether or not to jump.

"Inotsuyoi, you made me out to be a fool. A wretched fool: just when I thought this lie of yours would finally… finally came to an end… you do this to me. My heart aches, Inotsuyoi; it aches, it screams, it cries, it dies for you, most of all, and not out of love, yet despair… Oh! Despair! Despair, such a familiar face to those who seek a chance in love and find that it is nothing more than a treacherous, leering mistress! The likes of which even luck, the worst of them all, could hardly fathom! One which takes your honesty and turns it into falsehood, that which makes your joys insufferable, and your passions… bleak.

"Inotsuyoi, you denied me your heart, which you have covered with this glass. Why? Why so many mirrors? Why reflect without reflecting? Why is it that you want to see what you look like on the outside when looking inwards to see your true self only requires that you close your eyes?"

The tall, beautiful Yamanaka played by an up and coming young actress looked on at the man claiming that she had forsaken him, her eyes gazing on heatedly as the very tension in the room was easily apparent. She wore a tailed dress with long heels and her hair pulled back into an intricately braided tail. All around the room were mirrors, covering the walls and the ceilings, and even the stage floor was so well cleaned and polished that one could even see the reflection of the actors as they moved about.

At this point, Inotsuyoi's lover, a wealthy fire lord, just caught Inotsuyoi with another man; worse yet, it was a common rogue, a man which she could have easily fended off and yet she hadn't. Instead, she welcomed the man over and over again to the fire lord's home and made love to him on their bed.

It wasn't the first time he caught her; no, this was the third. He had already forgiven her twice, and still she continued to be unfaithful.

Biting her lip, Kushina gripped Minato's hand firmly as Inotsuyoi began to speak. "You forget that the reason why I am famous is because of these mirrors; without them I would be just another Yamanaka." She took a step forwards, "You ask me why I reflect without reflecting? Why do I worry about my outer appearance rather than my inner appearance? You wouldn't love me the same if I was unattractive. If I ceased to care about my looks for even a moment, you would have one of the many other ready and willing succubi to pick from; those women are like fungus and mold, growing on the garbage left out on the very street which your politics have you tread."

"There never was, there is and there never will be anything between me and any of the servants. I have been completely faithful to you: only you."

Inotsuyoi walked up to him and slapped him on the face before shoving several letters into his arms. Obvious guilt and some anger at getting caught reached his face. "Where did you get these?"

"So you do not deny that these were written to you? I read all of them."

He looked up at her cautiously after shuffling through some of the letters.

"They all explain in quite vivid detail how each and every tryst was carried out. I couldn't believe it when I first read it… but with all of that time you spend away from home, it became quite obvious to me how likely this was… you really have been seeing other women behind my back, there are no doubts in my mind!"

"I can't believe…" he looked back at the letters and back at her, "… how could you believe these are real? They're so… obviously indiscrete. Do you think, even if I was cheating on you, that I would allow this type of evidence against me to exist? Have you learned nothing from seeing my work?"

"And now you mock my intelligence? You heartless bastard," she said with a snarl as her upper lip curled.

"I don't question your intelligence; I question my own understanding of the situation. It's my understanding that you couldn't have possibly been so vacant in your observations that you did not take with you an idea of my character in my dealings with other countries and the negotiations made therein. If what you're saying is true, and I have been unfaithful, would I not have been much more eloquent in the way which I proceeded to carry out my affair? Could you not at least grant me that much? This… this accusation, it insults me."

"I wondered about that," she said, her eyes narrowing. "But during many of these vacant observations of mine, I've noted quite often that you seem to have an uncontrollable sense of arrogance in your dealings. You have repeatedly gloated during these negotiations with other parties and even countries and you get some kind of thrill from it! Oh! What better thrill than to lie to your own lover and fiancé about an affair! Lying to someone you hardly know is exciting enough, but to deceive someone you love and whom loves no one other than you? Ecstasy, by which other name would you call yourself? "

They both stared each other down, glaring heatedly at one another as the curtains closed.

The scene changed, and Kushina looked at Minato with a pout on her face as she wiped a tear away from her eye. "They loved each other so much in the beginning! What happened?"

Minato, surprised by her loud voice, looked around to a few of the other people on the balcony and smiled awkwardly before saying, "Sh-sh-sh. Not so loud, Kushina." He smirked when she crossed her arms and he leaned in close, whispering, "Was the beginning your favorite part?"

"Yes," she mumbled, frowning as they sat together in the dark.

"The first time they met? Their first night together? The fire lord finding out that the legendary Yamanaka Inotsuyoi was a peasant who could barely afford to find a place to live and care for her dying mother? Which was your favorite?"

Kushina blushed and muttered something. Minato's brow crinkled because he couldn't quite frown.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I said… their first night together. They really loved each other before then, and long after that they were a good couple until the first time he caught her cheating."

"Do you think those letters are real or fake?"

Kushina furrowed her brow, leaning into his shoulder. "What makes a man cheat on a woman? Or, I mean, what makes a person have an affair? Man or woman?"

The look on Minato's face showed he was thinking very carefully before answering her question. He first thought that perhaps it was a question best left unanswered, because of its implications that could be put into their own relationship, but in the end he decided to anyways. "I guess there are a lot of things that could cause someone to stray away from the person they love the most. I don't know anything first or second hand to relate to it, really, but that was actually one of the main reasons why I liked the story so much."

"Because of the affair?"

"No, because of what the affair symbolized between them."

Kushina looked at him for quite some time before pulling back slightly, listening intently for his next words. "What was that?"

"Well, it symbolized their love."

Her jaw dropped. "Minato, an affair can't possibly symbolize love. It's the complete opposite! You have an affair to hurt someone's feelings because you feel they've wronged you or something. You don't do it because you love them!"

Minato chuckled, shaking his head as he simply decided to refrain from asking her to quiet down. The play was in intermission anyways. "I'm not saying that the reasons why they had the affair had anything to do with their love for one another… but, remember that she slept with someone who was trying to break into their home, purposefully. She had just found the letters and was grief stricken. So she decides that, because she loved him so much and he broke that bond of love between them by having a mistress, she was going to do the same thing to try and chip away at his own heart. It was the 'eye for an eye' deal."

"But how does that symbolize their love?"

"Well, what is an affair?"

"When… someone cheats on another person that they love and are in a relationship with?"

"Yes, and it is done in…"

"… secret?"

"Right, normally. And so, is it a lie?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. The person doing the cheating is lying about his love for the person affected by the tryst."

"And so their love, symbolized by an affair, would be…"

"… a lie."

"Now, the only thing to figure out now is, when did it become a lie? Truth can turn into lies, and lies into truth, so then when did their love become a sham? The first day they met? When they first fell in love? When?"

"Does it matter?"

Minato thought about it for a moment before saying, "Isn't it the same for any other kind of betrayal? Wouldn't you rather know whether or not your friend was really your friend before he decided to stick the knife in? Or that since the very beginning he was only manipulating you? Which do you think is worse?"

Kushina sighed, mauling over the question in her head before answering.

Minato looked into her eyes and noticed a blush appearing on her face as he grew nearer.

"You're so close…"

"Am I?" he asked.

"What do you think? Do you think it would've been better to find out that ever since we first met I was just using you? Or do you think you could be content that I truly loved you in the beginning and it was something that you did later on that would cause me to stop loving you?"

"Kushina," he whispered, "I couldn't live with either one… because either way, in the end, I would lose you."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment and were about to kiss when they heard a sharp chuckle coming from behind them in another seat on the balcony.

When they both turned around, a man asked them, with a smirk on his face, "Perhaps he's the one who's been using you from the very beginning."

"Ah, Homura Mitokado-san? Hello, sir." Minato stood up and bowed respectfully. Kushina arched a brow at the council member and waved politely. "I wasn't aware you were interested in theatre."

"Quite. Well, this play is all about an interesting person. She was one of the few people who could contend with an Uchiha back then. She was the Yamanaka equivalent of a Senju."

"And this only covers a small portion of her life; there is so much more, like the Uchiha who tried to force her to marry him when she was younger. Or the story of the glass fan which she made as a tribute to a loved one."

Kushina looked at Minato warily as he spoke, noticing how easily he switched on the politics. He began talking with the council member and their conversation encompassed the entire intermission. Kushina kept quiet and listened as she looked down towards the stage. After several minutes, the curtains opened and another set replaced the home of the Yamanaka and her Fire Lord.

"I can't believe it ended like that. It was so sad."

Minato nodded, "Yeah…"

When the play finally ended, Kushina and Minato stopped by the main road to enjoy the Kanto Matsuri. When they arrived, Minato began padding each of his pockets as he searched for his wallet.

"Uh, hang on a minute Kushina. I think I dropped my wallet somewhere."

Kushina turned back to look at him and arched a brow. He had it when they were at the theatre. He took out the little frog wallet that she bought for him a few weeks ago to retrieve the tickets for the play.

"Do you think you left it on your seat?"

"Probably… I should go back and check for it. I don't want you to have to walk all of the way back over there with me, but you can if you want to?"

"I'll go see if I can spot Mikoto-chan. She told me she would be taking care of one of the booths at the festival."

"Ok!" Minato agreed. The smile that reached his eyes was contagious, and soon Kushina felt herself smiling just as much as he was. "I'll be right back. Don't find another date on the way over there!"

Kushina frowned. He didn't see it. He was too busy running off to grab his wallet.

Does he think that I'll betray him? Kushina shook her head as she tried to ignore a bad feeling she was starting to have about him.

"Jeez. I guess all men are just inherently asses." Her cheeks puffed out slightly as she sighed, grumbling.

Just then, a voice that made her spine crawl forced her to slowly crank her neck and shoulders to one side to look behind her. It wasn't the first time she had heard his voice, but she honestly had hoped the last time had stayed the last. "You're quite right about that, young one. All men are fools, and fools are all men."

Kushina chuckled uneasily, "So what would that make you, Orochimaru-sama?"

His grin widened, as if she stepped right into his trap. "A fool with foolish ideals."

She laughed. "I don't think you and I are too different in that respect, then."

Orochimaru arched a brow, "Oh? So you too wish to understand everything? How interesting, Kushina-chan."

"So what brings you here?"

"Ah, well, besides a nice diversion with this festival, to be able to catch a glimpse of lovely young women such as yourself; you are a master of garnering attention to yourself, Kushina. If I were a few decades younger, I just might fight tooth and nail against Minato-kun for a chance with you. You are quite beautiful."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."

"Please, just Orochimaru would be fine. Now, what was it exactly that caused you to excavate that colorful language earlier? Are you and the blond lightning bolt having a little spat?"

Kushina frowned, not sure she wanted to talk with Orochimaru about her relationship issues. She did ask herself just who she would talk to, because, as much of a friend Mikoto was, she had a terrible sense of how a relationship was supposed to be; just the fact that she was engaged so young to Uchiha Fugaku, a total jerk, cemented Mikoto's status as a terrible choice in men for her.

"Well… not really. We just saw a good play," she said.

His mere smile interrupted her. He knew the play! "The one of Yamanaka Inotsuyoi," he offered.

"Yes, that's the one. How did you know?"

"I've seen it. It was nice enough; a quite creative dramatization of what actually occurred."

Kushina nodded. "I wondered about that… but anyways, Minato kind of told me… not to find another date on the way to the festival… I know it was a joke, but… it's kind of like, he already can't trust me… Nevermind, I'm only being silly."

Orochimaru nodded as he listened to her patiently. Once he was sure she said all that which she had to say, he took a step forward and said, "I understand your concern. I refract upon my previous statement about men. Most men are fools. Obviously, Minato is hardly foolish to be concerned about losing you."

Kushina furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"You are still young, and I remember sensei talking about Minato and your relationship before, and how the two of you getting along together as friends made for two much better individuals. It was as if fate had put the two of you together to ensure that you would both grow to be the gems that you are today. He, a phenomenon in the shinobi world with nearly no equal," he winked then with a bit of a smirk gracing his lips at his implication, "and a powerful kunoichi in her own right, one charged with a heavy, heavy task that makes you one in a million."

Kushina glanced at the legend before her with modesty. She felt humbled by his choice of words and the way he spoke so nicely to her. She had never heard him speak this way before.

"No one else in our generation could keep the Kyubi contained like you could. You are a godsend for a village, and above that, a beautiful young woman who just happens to be slightly insecure about herself due to a rough upbringing… Kushina, do not let what Minato said hurt you, it wasn't simply stated as a joke, but as a spoken wish, not necessarily to you but to perhaps Kami-sama himself that he would not lose you to another. Plays like those can invoke emotions. And it is my assumption that Minato-kun was partial to the play in the first place, which is the reason why he took you, isn't it?"

She nodded with a smile slowly growing on her face. "Yes, yes it was. He told me that he had been waiting for a long time to take me to that play… ever since… well, for a long while."

Orochimaru smiled. "Now, off you go to have fun and enjoy this festival… before I decide I'm not too old to try and incite your doubts, Miss Uzumaki."

Kushina walked up to the older man and hugged him, much to his surprise. Orochimaru watched her leave and smirked, his golden eyes following the young redhead all of the way to the Uchiha woman's booth before he walked along, avoiding the festival altogether.

When Minato came back and saw Kushina talking with Mikoto, he said hello to his date's friend and smiled at the beautiful redhead, beginning to say that he found his wallet only to nearly jump out of his sandals when he saw the look in her eyes when she turned to look back at him. They took each other's hand and the couple spent the rest of the evening watching the talented performers of the festival balance paper lanterns on ten, twenty and thirty meters long bamboo sticks in the middle of the crowded streets.

That night, the two young lovers shared their first times together; friends who had known each other for years and silently, deeply loved one another, but could never confidently express their love until then.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Ino asked, surprised to see Naruto at her door since he said he would go to Mount Krakatoa the day after meeting with young Minato, the fire daimyo's nephew.

"I was thinking and realized that… even though this is important for me to meet head on… it's not nearly as important as you are to me. If I was going to die tomorrow, I'd much rather spend my last day with you than to go off trying to get revenge."

"Naruto… I… that…" Ino was at a loss for words. She looked and saw something in his eyes that was never there before: vulnerability. It made her heart beat rampantly in her chest knowing that he ate up his pride in order to come back to her and admit to her how much he needed her.

"We've never gone out on a date, and I was hoping you would go out with me tomorrow before I leave?"

Ino whispered a shocked yes.

Author's notes, change of name:

Update: 9/5/12

*No real changes, just added one of the line-blocks to help make the chapter easier to read.

I have changed my pen name to Killer Intent, the reason why is because that was my previous account and I liked that name better than Mos Ad Interficio which basically means about the same thing. I hope it's easier to remember for all of you in case that was ever a problem when trying to find my story, and I hope that you can all forgive me for the very long wait. I just moved to my new apartment near the college that I am now attending and I have been getting used to the way things work around here and busy being a bee in this field of flowers. I'm in a larger city, so it's a little different from the small "city" that I used to live in. I love it though and I plan on updating a little more often.

Just to let you know, the scene with Naruto in between the play is a glimpse of what is going to happen. Naruto and Ino are not aware of Minato (his father) and his time spent with Kushina. Naruto barely knows anything about his father. The Minato mentioned at the end was the daimyo's nephew, who I will refer to likely as little Minato or young Minato whenever he is mentioned.

This chapter was just a chance to give the readers insight into what Naruto's father and mother was like and to show how similar or dissimilar Naruto and Ino's lives are with those of his parents. You be the judge.

One last thing, in this story, as a reminder, Naruto is a year older than everyone else, making him in Neji/Tenten/Lee's bracket year rather than Sasuke's year. This means that Mikoto will not become pregnant for another year after this festival, whereas Kushina becomes pregnant on the night of the Kanto Matsuri. It's a real festival, look it up for fun.

Anyways, that's enough explaining. If you fall off the wagon from now on, you'll just have to wait patiently for me to explain previous chapters. There are a lot of loose ends in this story, but eventually they will all come back to one point (or I'll make as many as I possibly can do that).

Thank you guys for your reviews, and what the heck does "Supert History" mean? lmao