Enchantress
Chapter 7 – The Fair-Haired Goddess Descends!
A/N: All of you readers out there, please thank sendoh11 and D. Akisira R.T.M.S. for being review numbers 19 and 20 respectively. Basically all of December didn't present me with a single review so I kind of forgot about this story.
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After a comfortable night's rest since her return back to the village, and donning another new outfit (1) as her old one was damaged beyond repair, Minako decided to start off her post-extended mission flex day by dropping off a little package at the Hokage Manor, strictly intended for Tsunade's eyes only. To her immense surprise, upon opening the door which lead into the Hokage's study was none other Tsunade herself; calmly reading over the contents of some patient's medical folder. Just before Minako was about to ask the elder blond as to why she was even awake at such an early hour, Tsunade had spoke up first.
"Have a seat…" she politely said without even redirecting her gaze from the folder in her hands.
Minako obediently did as she was told for the foreign-sounding professionalism in Tsunade's vocal tone was effectively intimidating; if not somewhat disturbing. After Tsunade finished cross-examining her most recent patient's medical charts, she gently placed the closed folder aside and laced her fingers together on top of her desk, looking intently at the young girl seated before her.
"So…am I correct to infer that you're here…because you needed something?"
All Minako could do was quietly nod her head back in approval. Even though she had promised Sasuke that she would accompany him in the delivery of their mission report to the elder blond later this morning (specifically in about one hour's time), Minako's current solo meeting with Tsunade was for an entirely different purpose. Upon sight of the sealed green-colored scroll that the younger blond had placed on her desk, Tsunade immediately knew what Minako's true intentions really were.
After picking up the scroll and holding it in her hands for a few moments, Tsunade spoke up, "Is everything you have mentioned to anyone else located in here?"
"Yes…"
"So if I open this, memorize its contents and use them in the proper context, nothing will seem out of place?"
"I should hope so…"
"Well then…" Tsunade placed the scroll inside one of her drawers and decided to read it some other time. "It seems as though you're faring quite well to your new 'adaptation'…Mi-na-ko-chan"
Minako's eye twitched in frustration at the amused tone of Tsunade's voice. Although she admitted that she had slowly grown used to her new body, it didn't help if Tsunade still found her predicament funny. Tsunade noticed this and continued to smirk.
"You're still enjoying yourself at my expense aren't you?"
"More than ever. I must say, if this was one of your signature pranks, assuming that you still haven't grown up in the last 5 years, this would be your crowning moment. What makes this even better is that you can't revert back to your normal self." Minako slammed a fist on Tsunade's desk, slightly making a few of her papers and pens bounce up.
"THIS. IS. NOT. FUNNY!"
Even though a normal person who dared to stand up against her this way would have been in the hospital by now, Tsunade made an exception since Minako was simply just an estrogen-laden Naruto. Since the opportunity of undermining Naruto's ego was a once in a lifetime opportunity, the boy's sporadic gender-switch a few weeks ago was nothing short of a godsend. Tsunade now realized that gaining the upper hand against the usually cocky blond was something that she just couldn't afford to pass up. She was going to milk up every last second that made Naruto groan in humiliation; and she was LOVING IT.
"You can say that as many times as you want and it wouldn't change a thing. I'm practically beaming." Tsunade wasn't laughing, but that cocky smirk of hers indicated that she was hysterical.
"ARGH! You're not making this any easier! FEH! I'm going home!"
Tsunade continued to call out to the girl's retreating form. "You don't have another mission for a little while so make sure you spend all that free time keeping yourself clean!"
As Minako slammed the door shut, Tsunade really hoped that the girl would have understood what she meant.
——†——
It was around noontime and Minako had found herself aimlessly wandering around Konoha's streets mainly to vent out her feelings of frustration resulted from her first meeting with Tsunade early this morning. Even after following up her mission report with Sasuke a few hours back, Tsunade still kept making subtle glances towards Minako with that mischevious look in her earthy-brown eyes which practically screamed 'the tables are now in MY favor brat!'. The lingering mental image of the Hokage's annoying gaze continued to drive Minako up the wall. Even at this very second, and hours later, the young blond continued to feel both embarassed and pink-faced.
"Of all the NERVE! If she thinks that she could just laugh while I suffer…w-well…well…t-then…then…I-I'll SHOW HER!"
Minako forcefully kicked a small plum-sized rock out of aggravation, letting it rise up and soar through the air, not even caring as to where its target trajectory could be. Unfortunately, she should have because instead of hitting an inanimate object or landing back on the ground, it made direct contact with the back of some innocent bystander's head.
"OW!"
Eep…
"Alright! WHO'S THE IDIOT?!"
"I'M SO SORRY KIBA I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"
Minako ran up to the scruffy haired brunette and knelt down next to his sitting form on the ground. The boy was furiously rubbing a hand on the throbbing spot with his eyes shut tightly. The large white dog nearby was quietly lying down in front of his master, with his eyes directed at the scene before him. Although he was concerned he showed signs of amusement.
"You know…you're gonna pay for-"
Kiba's sentence was cut short when he opened up his eyes. Instead of seeing some brat or a miserable unmarried person, he saw the face of an angel. It was the girl who nearly bested Uchiha's uptight ass a few days ago when he was spying on them with Shikamaru, Ino and Sakura. All traces of anger from his pain and interrupting his meditation session with Akamaru were washed away at the sight of the beautiful girl. Her concerned blue eyes and the halo of golden hair made Kiba's face become a faint pink. It took Kiba quite sometime to snap out of it, but eventually he did, only to realize something.
"Um..how did you know my name?"
Minako tried to think of an excuse but she couldn't find one. "Uh, um…well I um." She hastily looked around for anything to give her a clue or inspiration for a random reason. Thankfully luck was on her side at the moment since she found the PERFECT answer. Minako cutely smiled and gestured to the small brown pouch next to Kiba's knee with his name on it.
"Oh…hehehe" Kiba shared a laugh (albeit an embarrassing one) with the girl.
"Are you still in pain?" Kiba rubbed the back of his head a little bit more but the throbbing soreness was still there.
"I think I should be okay so long as I don't move my head around too much."
Minako gently sighed and helped the brown haired boy up to his feet. "Come on. Even if the pain is dying down now, it will still need some ice." Kiba grinned at the girl (showing his trademark canines that many others found irresistible A/N: I know I do!) and quietly followed her.
"Let's go Akamaru!" The huge dog got up and followed his master and his companion.
——†——
Although the Hokage mansion wasn't too far away, there was a bathhouse even closer. Akamaru patiently waited outside the complex, mainly because of the 'No Pets Allowed' sign in addition to his obvious size problem. Kiba gently sat down on a nearby cushion in the lobby area and within a few minutes, Minako came back with an ice pack.
"Here you go."
"Thanks" As Minako sat down in the cushion across from Kiba, the scruffy-haired brunette decided to strike up a conversation while the delicious cooling sensation from the ice was ebbing his heated head injury away.
"So! Um…well…now that you know who I am, sort of…would I be so forward as to ask who you are?" Kiba's face pinked a bit as he realised that his proper speaking skills were failing him. Truly THE way to make a good first impression on a pretty girl.
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm Honda Minako, but you can just call me Mina."
"Minako huh? That's a pretty name." (2)
Minako mentally cursed herself after realising what she'd just done. Did I just give Kiba a nickname to call me by?! The look of surprise was still on her face but when she looked at Kiba, it lessened down a bit. Has…Kiba...always been that cute? The dog-like grin of his was definitely tweaking something inside of her. Upon deeper reflection on when she was Naruto, Kiba was one of his first friends as they knew each other when they were only toddlers. Sure he was a little rowdy but he always had this energetic flare around him. As they grew up, Kiba – although he still picked on Naruto – had become better friends with the blond.
She also thought about the time when she spent a good 2½ years away from Konoha to train with the perverted Hermit; resulted from the desire to return the now ex-traitor Sasuke back to the village. When she had first returned back to Konoha, she was amazed at just how much everyone had changed and grown up during her absence…well Naruto's absence. In Kiba's case, Akamaru of course had become as big as a horse and Kiba himself had gotten….attractive? Naruto did admit that dog-boy had definitely gained more muscle which was evident through his slightly more form-fitting jacket and his scruffy brown locks were no longer covered up by a hood. (3)
Minako cursed herself again. What is WRONG WITH ME?! First Sasuke and now Kiba! No, this is probably just a side effect to this body. Stupid hormones! Yeah that's it! Blame it on the hormones! If I ever find the jackass responsible for this I'm going to crush every single bone and muscle in his body into a thick and chunky pulp, set it on fire and send the ashes to his family…if he has one. HE IS GOING TO PAY!
Meanwhile, Kiba was getting a little nervous as not only was there an odd silence between them but Minako had suddenly gone from helpful and nice to silently angry. She wasn't physically expressing her anger; but the mean look in her eyes were certainly saying 'someone is going to die'.
"Um…M-minako-chan? A-are you okay?"
Minako quickly diverted her eyes to Kiba, making the brunette briefly think he was going to get mashed into a fine paste. After she saw the nervousness in the boy's eyes and the visible gulp, she softened up and realized that she was scaring him.
"Ohh…OH! Oh, my goodness. Sorry Kiba…I was um…deep in thought that's all."
Kiba sighed. "A vendetta?"
"Like no other..." Kiba shared another laugh with the girl and took off the ice pack from his head: the majority of the frozen solid inside of it had become quite slushy, not quite completely melted into a liquid.
"Feel better?"
"Well calmer at least. That ice was pretty relaxing."
"Think you need another pack?"
"Nah…I'm strong. I can live. Besides, the bump's no longer throbbing so there's really no need for another one."
Minako sighed and smiled. "That's good. Um, wait right here, I'll be right back. The owner kind of wants this returned to him. Once again, I'm so sorry for all of this."
"Don't sweat! It's not everyday I get an opportunity like this!"
Minako raised an eyebrow. "Sitting in a bathhouse with an ice pack on your head after a rock-related injury?"
"Nope. Meeting someone like you." grin
"Okay, easy there hot-shot. Flattery will get you no where."
"I know. But hey at least it gets you talking right?"
"Hmm…so it does."
As Minako left to return the ice pack, apparently it was a frozen gel pack to be precise, Kiba was thinking of a way to get to know this girl a little better. Come to think of it, she looked as though she was more or less his own age. That little fact got him thinking quite a bit as the only prominent blue-eyed blonds that he knew that were more or less his age (as natural blond hair was quite rare) were Ino and Naruto.
Although Minako did look a little bit like Ino, her hair and eye color were similar shades to Naruto. With that in mind, he came to a (stupid) conclusion: Minako is the hybrid clone of both Ino and Naruto! It was impossible for her to be their love child as Naruto and Ino would have had to have done it right when they themselves were newborns. Kiba shivered at the nasty thought.
Going back to Minako's hair and eyes, they were pretty much the intermediate shade of blond and blue between both of the two specimens. Minako's hair wasn't a bright sun blond like Naruto, nor was she a light platinum-blond like Ino. Naruto's eyes were a deep vivid shade of blue (like the sky) where as Ino's eyes were a much lighter shade of blue (like ice). What more proof could he have? He never recalled seeing Minako at the academy or even at all when he was younger. Then again, she could've moved to Konoha from another village. Either way, that whole clone reasoning was a pretty good guess.
Speaking of the loudmouth, I wonder where he is. I haven't seen him for the last couple of days. He was supposed to go on that mission with Sasuke but Minako-chan went with him instead. It's not like him to pull out of a mission with the Uchiha at the last minute. …Strange…
As Minako stepped back into the room, slightly complaining about the service fee she needed to pay to the owner for using one of his ice packs, Kiba snapped out of his thoughts and went back to his first plan of wanting to get to know the new girl a bit better. What was his plan of action? Food!
"Say Minako-chan er…Mina-chan. I don't really know which one you prefer to be addressed by, but if you're not doing anything this afternoon, why don't you come over for lunch with me back at my place? Think of it as a 'thank you' for all you've done for me?"
Minako was surprised at the sudden request and lightly blushed, but she was more surprised than nervous.
"Well…to clarify the first part of that sentence, you can call me by whichever name you feel comfortable with, it doesn't matter to me. Secondly, all I've really done for you was ice up the injury that I caused. I hardly call that anything worth as much as a thank you meal. And besides, we hardly even know each other."
"And there's where you caught reason number 2!" Kiba made his trademark grin. "We don't know each other all that well. In fact, this is actually the first time that I've seen you in this village…well…second."
Minako froze. How could he have seen me before? Minako was quickly searching through her thoughts. Kiba wasn't one of the spies dispatched to Iwagakure before the mission. I went straight to the Old Bat after I woke up like this. The only people who I know of that have seen me like this were the Old Hag, Shizune-neechan, Sasuke, Neji and the four other spies.
"H-how?" Minako intended to voice that mentally but it accidentally came out of her mouth along with a slight quiver.
Kiba looked bashful as he scratched the back of his head. "I uh…oops hehe. Guess I shouldn't have said that. But since I did, I uh…well, a few of my friends and I were kind of um, spying on you."
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
Kiba quickly raised up his hands in front of him. "Wait! It's not what you think! Two of them were girls and-"
"THERE WERE GIRLS INVOLVED TOO?!" Kiba sincerely wished that he was blessed with proper speech skills. It was much too late to shut up and so he was only presented with one option: and that was to get to the point and FAST. Otherwise he would suffer at the hands of an angry girl.
"W-we were just spying on you fi-fightting against Uchiha a few days ago! Please don't kill me!" Kiba closed his eyes.
Oh thank god! "Oh." Whew! At least he still doesn't know who I am.
"Y-yeah. That's all. B-but can I say that you're one tough girl?"
"Yeah. I can take that." Minako felt her ego boost as she remembered the fight too.
"You really are! Really! I mean NO ONE in the right mind would even dare to think about fighting against Konoha's youngest Scrooge"
Minako had to raise an eyebrow at that one. Out of all of the nicknames that everyone had for Sasuke's somewhat anti-social behaviour, having him being called a scrooge was definitely a first. She had to admit, Sasuke did act like a grumpy old man from time to time but he had definitely opened up a lot more to others ever since he came back. Kiba may be cocky, but he DEFINITELY needed work when it came to taking people down a few notches.
"A scrooge huh? Did you write that one yourself?"
"I er…well, on the spot yeah. I couldn't really think of a snappy zinger in the span of 5 seconds. I just thought that since so many have been made about him, what's the harm in thinking of a new one?"
"Well for starters, it was weak." Kiba felt a pang in his chest.
"Okay, okay so I don't have the sharpest tongue. But I do however make up for it in the dental area." Pushing all embarrassment aside, Kiba once again made that grin of his and showed off his trademark canines. And just like before, Minako couldn't help but feel a little bit shy when it came to the boy's smiles.
"Now, how about that lunch?"
He's still persistent as always. "Well…I am a little hungry. And I came back from a mission late last night so yeah, I think I could use a little bit more relaxation. Plus, it saves having to spend money or cook tonight."
"You cook your own food?"
"Er…yeah! Well as long as I'm fed there's no harm in that right? I'd rather eat at home than go out and spend money on food that I could possibly even make myself at half of the price and even less on the money used to make it, counting electricity and kitchenware."
"You live by yourself?"
Minako had to take a little bit to remember what she wrote on the scroll of her 'Life Story' before she gave it to the Old Hag. After a nice dramatic pause she continued. She didn't want to get into the details immediately so she started it off with a good hook.
"It can get hard at times but I actually find a lot more freedom when you live under your own rules."
Kiba had a feeling that it was probably a sensitive topic to the girl and decided to talk about it when she was comfortable around him. Talking about personal things to someone you've met only a few times is a definite detractor and just plain weird. So, Kiba did the one thing that he knew he was good at: changing the subject.
"Why don't we go fish around the market place for a bit? We can pick up some ingredients for lunch on the way home. I don't mean to brag or anything but I hope you're a meat lover, because once you've tasted some of my barbeque…you'll be crawling back for more!"
Minako was just about to ease into her life story but thankfully Kiba thought otherwise. This was a blessing to Minako as even though the facts and the history were recorded, that didn't quite mean they were memorized. In reality, she would have spent a lot more time trying to remember what she had written down, perforating the conversation with awkward pauses that would be considered questionable.
But, she just so happened to catch the dog-lover's proclamation at some kind of barbeque dish. She had tried some of Kiba's cooking when she was Naruto and the tastes of the mouth-watering meat and sauces came flooding back.
"Really?! THANK YOU THANK YOU KIBA! I LOVE YOUR BARBEQUE!"
Minako flung her arms around Kiba's neck and hung around them for a bit. She accidentally took a whiff of Kiba's natural scent and found it quite pleasant. Kiba on the other hand was as red as his face paint but he had a thought.
"Um…what are you talking about Minako-chan?"
"I..uh…I mean I KNOW I'm going to love your barbeque! Yeah that's it. You asked if I was a meat lover right? Well, you're lookin' at one and barbeque in particular is one of my favorites. So um…LET'S GO!"
Minako forcefully yanked Kiba's arm and ran out with him out of the bath house and towards the market place. Akamaru who woke up from a short nap from the commotion got up and slowly followed his master and his light haired friend. Kiba had ordered him countless times to never run in the streets because of his size, and being the good dog that he was, he walked. Kiba on the other had was not only trying to comprehend just how bubbly yet crazy the girl was but he was also biting his lip from the pain that she was causing him. He could have sworn that his arm could've been ripped right off if it wasn't for his hard earned muscles. This girl had a tight vice-grip on his left arm and was pulling it with the force of a speeding train.
——†——
Minako eventually calmed down in which resulted in Kiba finally getting his arm back. As the two were enjoying a nice quiet shopping trip around the market place, picking up ingredients such as spices, vegetables and snacks (Kiba already had a hefty supply of meat back at home), the brunette couldn't help but overhear some of the small talk that was going on around him. Thanks to his heightened sense of hearing, he discovered that the majority of the whispers were about them.
Isn't that the Inuzuka boy?
Who is that lovely young lady he's with?
They look like such an adorable couple.
Mommy I want to play with the big doggy!
Is she related to the Yamanaka girl? They look awfully similar.
He's grown up to be such a handsome young man.
Are pets allowed here?
Well, he is one of my frequent customers and his dog is well trained so I don't mind.
He must be lucky to finally find love.
WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?! Kiba's right eye twitched when he heard that last whisper coming from an old woman talking to her other elderly friends. Don't these people have anything better to do than gossip? Kiba made an aggravated sigh which didn't go unnoticed from Minako.
"You okay?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, yeah I'm alright. It's just these people."
"What do you mean?"
Kiba clarified his point by tapping his right ear. "If I want to, I can hear a pin drop from 10 miles away. Nothing can get past these ears."
"Oh. I see."
At the same time, Minako was still very surprised at just how much her new body had drastically changed her appearance. Just like Tsunade, Sasuke, Kiba and the others, none of the other villagers recognized that it was really Naruto. It actually made a painful jolt in her chest as she realized that none of the other villagers really cared that Naruto was missing without any notice. On selective nights, Naruto would often gaze up at the moon and simply wonder what would the village be like if he just simply vanished without a trace?
Sasuke tried that but it became a state of emergency once the gossip had spread. Every other villager went into a heated panic attack when they found out that the youngest Uchiha had abandoned his village and sided with Konoha's most wanted S-ranked criminal Orochimaru in order to gain power. When Naruto dragged him back, Sasuke was presented with looks of betrayal but overall he was welcomed back with open arms complete with a party, a statue erected in his honour and an even larger congregation of worshippers to kiss the very ground he walks on (sarcastic).
Although his peers, old classmates and close friends have congratulated him returning home safely after successfully retrieving Sasuke, the villagers never acknowledged the heroics of a monster – if monsters ever had any. Minako let out a sad sigh but this time it was Kiba's turn to comfort her. The boy placed a hand on her shoulder when he noticed the girl's downtrodden look.
"Deep in thought again?"
Minako returned a small smile, noticing that Kiba remembered the excuse that she used on him an hour ago at the bath house when she first zoned out.
"In a way…"
Kiba and Minako were already out of the marketplace and were making quietly making their way back to Kiba's home; with Akamaru just behind them. Kiba made a bold move and moved around to stand directly in front of her and held her gaze with his own.
"This…may sound kind of weird but…if you need anyone to talk to, just know that I'll be there to listen."
"Kiba…"
Kiba smiled at the girl, this time only showing a little bit of teeth.
"I may not be the best insulter, but I am a good listener. I have these don't I?"
Kiba made another cocky grin but this time he wiggled his ears a little bit, definitely showing off his canine side. Minako could help but smile back as she yanked one of his ears.
"Ow, ow o-ow ow ow"
"Silly dog…"
Minako turned her head back and smiled at Akamaru. "And I don't mean you." She gently stroked the side along the large dog's snout in which she was given a happy 'arf!' in return. Akamaru also nuzzled the girl's hand, not just because it was pleasant but also because gently massaging his snout was one of the ways to get him to sleep (4). Kiba couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. After all, all dogs are excellent judges of character when it comes to strangers. Kiba was just about to lead the rest of the way back to his place but a faint shouting noise made the three of them look around.
"DAI...MIKU….ORIIII!!"
And out of nowhere, Kiba was hit causing him to fly towards a nearby pile of crates, crashing into them upon impact. The one leg that comically stuck out from the crates was periodically twitching. The bags of groceries that were once in the boy's hands fell to the ground but luckily nothing spilled out of them.
"Oh my god KIBA! LISTEN HERE PAL JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU-"
Minako's sentence was cut short as she looked down at Kiba's attacker who was kneeling down on the ground. Her body became completely cold as she saw the very shiny mop of black hair along with a spandex green body suit. The stranger stood up and looked straight into Minako's eyes with his own hard gaze.
"Are…?"
F-F-F-Fu-Fuz-F-F Minako was petrified in fear as an odd silence was left hanging between them. And then out of no where, the strange boy began to speak in a loud voice.
"OH BEAUTIFUL AND MYSTERIOUS FLOWER THAT HAS GRACED THE VILLAGE KONOHA! YOU MUST TELL ME! SUCH AN ENCHANTING MAIDEN LIKE YOU MUST HAVE A NAME TO BE KNOWN TO THE WORLD!"
Although Lee had never approached Naruto this way, Minako now had a feeling as to why Sakura was so uncomfortable around Lee when they first encountered him during their first Chuunin Exam.
"Uh…I…uh.."
"DAMMIT LEE!" Kiba forcefully got up and pushed off the crates (or pieces of them) that were on top of him. He glared at the bowl-cut teen with an anger like no other. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU ATTACK ME!" The addressed teen looked back at his shouter.
"Because Kiba-kun…all beautiful damsels require the presence of a strong and confident man!"
"Are you calling me a coward?!" Kiba's face became a little red.
"Not as such no! You are a very worthy opponent with strength on your own ground that I will one day hope to master myself! And also…"
Lee turned his head towards Minako, while still holding a serious face. What he did next made the girl experience a truly uncomfortable shiver: Lee blushed (5).
"AHHHHHH FUZZY EYEBROWS!"
Lee's once confident world came to a complete halt and crumbled into dust when he heard the beautiful girl's scream of terror along with that nickname that Naruto kept addressing him by. While Minako was beyond disturbed by Lee's behaviour, Kiba's anger quickly went away as he made a small chuckle. Too hear Minako insult Lee only a few seconds after meeting him definitely made that little kicking entry of his ancient history.
Lee was silently crying on the inside from the girl's harsh words whereas Minako had one final thought
I really don't think I'll be having that lunch anytime soon…
TBC
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A/N: I'm so sorry for making all of you wait three agonizing months for this chapter! Although I'm only partially sorry as I did promise in chapter 6 that I wouldn't have this chapter up until I had at least 20 reviews. Hope you guys had a few good chuckles! And I also hoped that all of you enjoyed the nice change in content after reading like 4 chapters of a mission involving suspense and action. I made this chapter EXTRA long for you guys. It's the longest one out of all of my existing chapters for this story! Excluding the Authors Notes! O.O
Although I didn't get 20 reviews for chapter 6 specifically, I still got 20 reviews overall from the few other chapters that got reviewed.
I will still keep to my promise of updating after at least 20 reviews before chapter 8! Just be sure to make it worth the wait: THE FASTER I GET 20 (or more) REVIEWS, THE FASTER CHAPTER 8 WILL BE POSTED.
I will make a deal with all of you: If I get 20 or more reviews before my birthday, I will promise to post chapter 8 on my birthday which is on March 31st – MARK IT DOWN ON YOUR CALENDARS. Aren't you guys lucky?! So be sure to Review! Review! Review! The next couple of chapters will essentially remain happy, peaceful and comical until I decide to ease in to the next major action sequence. Alas, if I don't get at least 20 reviews before my birthday, then you will all have to succumb to an ordinary waiting period for chapter 8. And none of you want that right?
(1) Minako's New Outfit: A sleveless, dark-yellow, zip-up hooded vest with two angled gold zipper pockets (in the usual place) but with the lower half of the posterior of the vest completely black, extending down to a flap-like garment that just reaches the hem of her matching mid-thigh length dark-yellow shorts - which were held up by a simple black belt. A black shuriken holster is strapped around her right thigh (as Naruto is right-handed) on top of a cuff of white bandage wrapping. A pair skin-tight black ninja boots (much like the ones that Sakura and - for the sake my story - Ino wears) adorns her feet. In addition, Minako is also wairing a pair of black-colored cloth elbow cuffs and a pair of fingerless gloves - in contrast with Sakura and Ino's full-fingered gloves. In case you haven't noticed, I find the color-combo of yellow and black pretty cool!
(2) "Minako huh? That's a pretty name." This line is sort of a pun as the 'Mi' in 'Minako' when written with its respective Kanji character actually means 'pretty'.
(3) As you can tell from this chapter alone, I am a HUGE Kiba fan and an even HUGER supporter for the KibaNaru pairing. Kiba is SOO SCHMEXY!! The moment I saw a certain fan art of him which is after the time-skip with his nails like claws (reminded me of Inuyasha) and his jacket opened up revealing his torso, I not only nearly died of a nosebleed but I also wanted to dedicate this chapter to that pairing…sort of. I know I made Kiba all hetero and what not in this chapter but do you think I would be too evil if I made Kiba fall in love with Minako only to have his heart crushed later on when he uncovers the truth? ANGST! Share your thoughts.
(4) This is also one of the ways that I get my dog to go to sleep. SOOO CUTE! I love my puppy.
(5) Yup. The same thing that happened to Lee when he first met Sakura during the Chuunin exams.