The chapter I'm currently writing at is going to be long, probably the longest chapter in this story so far. Though seeing as exams are nearing and I've got to read, writing takes quite some time, so here's another short-story of the past, this time of Kushina's point of view.

- Johan Söderqvist: "Kon-Tiki (End Credits)" (Kon-Tiki)

50. The Friends

At first, it was awkward. Kushina didn't really know what to say, other than 'hello'. She could've said so many things; 'how are you?', 'did you sleep well?', 'oh, by the way, thanks for saving me'. Instead, they stood there for a moment, glancing at each other with pressing uncertainty. It hit her that even though they used to be classmates, Kushina had gone to no depths in trying to get to know him – she hadn't really cared that much, after all – and now, she had agreed to be friends with him. Nothing had prepared her for this. Nothing.

It was a relief when the boy opened his mouth and started talking.

"So, how did you want to train?" he asked, and she noted for a moment that his voice, despite him looking quite uncertain himself, was as stable as it could be.

"I didn't really think like that," Kushina replied. "I just thought we could spar and see how it goes."

"Uh, okay."

For once, Minato seemed slightly uncomfortable. Kushina had many guesses why. Maybe the fact that her hits were painfully precise. The thought that really hit her, though, was that he was too good for her.

Not in that way, Kushina thought and shook the forbidden thoughts out of her head.

He was their generation's, maybe the decade's, best genin. By the time they graduated, he had already been on several missions. He had sparred with the best, and won. And there she stood, six months genin. Weapon of choice: her fist.

And this didn't trouble her in particular, it troubled him. Not because he knew he was better than her and knew he would win either way - he was too modest to admit that - but because his conscience allowed him to be nicer than most and not brag about his natural ingenuity. He was afraid her feelings would be hurt by losing to him.

It annoyed her. Without sharing the information with him, she decided to make this spar her task of shaping him up a little. Not hold back, and make him see that she was taking this seriously, and so should he.

She drew a kunai, and could see how his eyes focused immediately and his body prepared. It was the trait of a shinobi with good reflexes.

"Are you sure about this?" Minato asked, and Kushina could feel a nerve snap in her face.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, and waited to see if he would give her the right answer.

"Well, you only just got out of the hospital yesterday -"

"Wrong answer," Kushina interrupted, and before he could say anything else, she shot forwards and attacked.

His reflexes were good. He was quicker than her, and had blocked and counter-attacked faster than she had expected. She made distance again, but decided it was better to keep attacking; she shot forwards again with a new strategy in mind.

As her fist neared his face and he realised she was actually going to let it hit, he seemed to decide to take it more seriously. Within a few seconds, he had ducked and pointed a kunai dangerously close to her throat.

For one second, Kushina realised that she was millimetres away from being killed. The next second, she realised that he had such good control that he could make the move and prevent it from killing her any way.

She didn't stop at that.

"I thought I already killed you?" Minato said as he blocked and kicked her out of his way.

"Don't want the fight to be over so quickly, do you?" Kushina asked and made a stance again.

She was surprised to see that the reaction was a smile. Not a kind or reassuring one, as he usually smiled, but one that showed newly discovered eagerness, one that couldn't suppress suspense. Maybe it thrilled him that he had met an opponent who didn't back down at the first loss.

"Even if you kill me again, I'll keep hitting, you know that?" she said, and she thought she saw something mischievous glint in the ten-year-old's azure eyes. She had never seen such an expression on him before.

"You know you're gonna die a few times, right?" he replied. Usually, a threat like this would make Kushina go on a rampage, but she couldn't help but grin.

Now we're talking.

Kushina was nevertheless surprised at how quickly he could make a potentially fatal blow on her. She would often find his kunai pointed at her throat or heart, but tried not to let it get to her; she was quite good herself and won several times against her team-mates, but she couldn't see how she could win this. Even so, she figured the only way to win was to get used to his pattern.

She was killed several times in a row due to her slowness when she began focusing on reading his moves rather than countering them, and Minato frowned at her after an especially obvious blow she easily could have blocked better than she did. But she was beginning to grasp it now, and maybe he just thought she was getting tired, so as he charged again, she found her opportunity.

So far, she had blocked the same ways. This time, she didn't block at all. As he came close enough, she prepared for the blow and did a number of quick seals.

Naturally, he was quick enough to avoid any serious damage. Nevertheless, as she reached for him and he tried to shift directions, she managed to get to his arm.

He jumped backwards, but stopped as he noticed that his arm was no longer functioning. Kushina found the opening quite in her favour and ran at him, and for the first time during the hour they had spent sparring, she managed to hit him.

Kushina was already bruised and had fallen to the ground more times than she could count, but there was something about Minato being sent several feet through the air that seemed strange. It was possibly his first time.

He landed on his non-functional arm, sat up a little befuddled and looked down at it.

"What was that?" he asked as she came walking up to him.

"A paralysing seal," Kushina replied.

"You can do seals?"

The fact that the genin of the decade looked impressed at her was probably the first time as well. Kushina mumbled something hurriedly about clan heritages and realised how it really was to feel modest against someone who had given her a genuine compliment. He hadn't even said anything, but the look he gave her was enough.

"Uh, can you undo it?" Minato asked a little more concerned.

"Sure, no worries," Kushina replied, crouched and did a number of seals to undo the paralysis. As his arm was functioning again, he moved it carefully and glanced at it with curiosity.

"Can you teach me?" he asked, and Kushina could have gaped in surprise. She, their generation's outcast, teach him, the complete opposite? She faintly remembered telling him during class one day that she'd never bother training a baby like him, and thought she could see the memory flash before his eyes as well, but decided to ignore it.

That was the past, they were friends now. They had agreed to that.