Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Naruto or its world. I don't own any media or pop culture referred to or mentioned in the story.
AN/ I'm not good at writing fight scenes. I may write the scene between the last scenes and this one. Let me know what you think if you want!
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Minato wasn't expecting this when his girlfriend came home.
"I'm… I'm back!" Kushina gave a half-smile.
Instead of the usual welcome home, Minato asked, "What happened?" In a quiet voice. His eyes glinted dangerously as he took in Kushina's appearance.
Kushina looked exhausted like she fought someone extensively. The fact that she held no visible injuries didn't relieve him. She always recovered quickly due to her Uzumaki heritage, and the Kyuubi gave her added boosts.
He stepped closer to her.
Kushina frowned a bit. "Minato?"
She had obvious signs of fatigue and chakra exhaustion that comes from a prolonged fight with an opponent. And she wasn't in her mission clothes. She… wasn't on duty. That meant someone attacked her HERE in the village.
He felt rage flood his system. "Who did this?" His tone promised a painful end for them. Or not, depending if she handled them.
She tensed, feeling his KI. She turned her body. "Minato. I need you to calm down. I'm alright now."
Now? What does she mean NOW?
But before his mind went too far, Minato realized that Kushina was shielding something.
Those were eyes.
Kushina held one hand out to him, slowly lowering her hand in a placating motion. "Please."
Minato reeled in his intent, now confused and a bit worried. "Kushina what's going on? Where were you?"
She was supposed to be home today before going back on duty tomorrow. But she never came back this evening.
Hours earlier, dread filled Minato's stomach when the time for dinner came and there was no sign of her, but he didn't want to panic.
So, Minato ate dinner and waited. But Kushina never came.
Finally, hours after sundown, right when he was about to go look for her, she comes back with the aftermath of a fight, asking him to CALM DOWN?
Kushina must've read his expression, because she grimaced apologetically. "I'm sorry. I know you are worried but… something suddenly came up and… She needed me."
Minato didn't understand. But he looked closer and finally noticed what—who, Kushina was carrying.
It was a little girl.
In his shock, Minato's first impressions were: small, fluffy, red, and silver. Silver, doe eyes that carried so much depth, he could drown in them.
And right now, those eyes showed fear. Towards him.
The child seemed to blend in with Kushina's long hair, the shade of her own hair not too far off from his girlfriend's. It was like the little one was trying to appear as small, and insignificant as possible.
Minato winced. Maybe he got carried away. "Is she okay?"
Nodding at him, Kushina whispered to her, coaxing her to relax. "It's okay." Her voice was tender, gentle. "You're safe. He won't hurt you."
Minato could only watch in muted shock as the little one slowly let go of Kushina's neck, slowly unballing herself. Kushina set her down. "See?"
When the girl stood on her own, her head just reached Kushina's hips. One hand held onto Kushina's clothes, shielding her body behind the jinchuuriki's. All the while, she watched Minato with guarded eyes.
Did Minato mention how small she was? How old was she, 5? 6?
Kushina, unsure of what his silence meant, rested her hand on the child's fluffy hair. "This is… Tsunami." Her voice was soft, fragile and quiet. The little one looked up at her. "And I… She is my family." Kushina looked at him now, several vulnerable emotions clear on her face.
Minato covered his mouth in thought. His mind raced through the implications: a fight, potentially a clash, over the child. The fight must've happened near, or in, the village.
But it wasn't a large-scale conflict, or more alerts would've sounded. Perhaps the enemy was familiar with patrol procedures? Alarming, need to investigate.
Onto the next variable: the child seemed unharmed as well, so she was either incapacitated during the exchange or the fight wasn't as large as Minato first thought. But that raised the question: What sort of opponents made Kushina use so much power to be exhausted, but didn't cause large amounts of damage?
Most likely a small team specialized in acquiring a target. Kushina likely caught them unawares and a fight ensued.
His mind quickly narrowed down the list: Anbu or another recon team.
The target was obviously the little girl.
Speaking of… This is the same child Kushina fretted about over the last year. Now she stood in their home, and Kushina called her family?
It only took seconds for Minato's mind to fill in the blanks.
"So she's staying." He said in reply. Because it wasn't a question. They had a little girl now.
You see, over the last few months, Kushina carried a tension that only grew with time. At first, Minato thought nothing of it—lingering survivor's guilt from the Uzushio catastrophe. It wasn't the first time Kushina felt depressed from what happened.
But as the months went on, Kushina didn't sleep as well. There were times, late in the night, he was awakened by her throwing up in the bathroom after an intense nightmare.
Once, when he asked her about it, Kushina was still partially asleep. Alarmingly, Kyuubi chakra flowed through her that night. Her usually-violet eyes were an intense blood red that glowed in the dim light. When she answered him, still caught in the vestiges of her nightmare, her voice was gruff, gravelly as she spoke.
"They're screaming. They won't stop screaming…" Her voice was so heartbreaking and haunted. After that, she seemed to exhaust herself. She fainted back into unconsciousness in his arms.
Minato checked her seal himself, and asked her the next day. Both were fine when she woke up the next day. She never remembered the interaction. Minato never reported it to the Hokage, but he did put his foot down.
"Either you get help, or I'll have to bring your condition up to Lord Hokage." Minato hated doing it, but it was necessary.
"Help" consisted of going to her designated psychotherapist. Mrs. Madoka was a retired kunoichi who specialized in T&I. After marrying her husband, Morino-san, and having two sons, she retired from active duty, dedicating her life to helping make sure the soldiers of Konoha could function.
Kushina stopped seeing the woman years ago after Lady Mito's death. She wasn't thrilled to go back.
But Minato stayed firm.
At first, Morino-sensei denied her outright, citing her rude and disrespectful leave before. "Your actions AND words spoke for you, Kushina. Now leave me, girl."
It took Minato coming with Kushina a second and third time, asking the therapist to accept Kushina again. She finally accepted, but not on an official basis. "You come to me, and it'll be on my schedule. And no rehashing our old work. We will only focus on now. Understand?"
In the end they accepted. Between mission work, Kushina started weekly drop-ins, under the guise of grabbing a cup of tea at a shop the woman frequented.
Minato thought she was making progress. Then, a few days ago, things changed again. After her conversation with Lord Hokage, she seemed on edge again.
And then, today.
Something happened. Something that pushed Kushina to fight. Something that pushed her to make a choice.
And she did.
Kushina decided to take care of the girl.
So it looks like THEY had a little girl now.
Hearing his easy acceptance, without the need to hash out questions or fight for her justification, Kushina could only gape at her partner.
"You're not... mad?" Because Kushina knows if HE brought home a random kid, she'd be waaaay less understanding.
Minato sighed, giving a half smile. The remaining tension left his body. "Of course I am." Kushina flinched at the easy way he said that with a serene look. "Someone hurt you and that pisses me off. I want to know who dared hurt you in our village, where we're meant to be safe."
He stepped up to Kushina, tenderly brushing her hair behind her ear. Her long bangs weren't clipped back. She blushed a bit, looking at him up close. "But no, I'm not mad at you. Either of you."
At this he looked down at the girl.
Her grip on Kushina's leg tightened as she met his eyes.
Kneeling slowly and projecting his body language, Minato lowered himself to her eye level. The whole time, the girl tracked his movements.
What has she gone through to develop these habits?
"Hello Tsunami. It's nice to meet you." He gave a soft smile, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible, especially after his earlier display of anger. "I'm excited for you to be part of our small family."
For a moment, the girl's eyes widened. She mouthed the word, 'family' to herself then looked up at Kushina.
Kushina, eyes soft, nodded. "It's true. You're home now… If you want."
The little girl said the word out loud this time, "Home…?" Her voice was raspy, as if unused, and accented, surprising Minato.
Kushina nodded, kneeling next to her, looking her in the eyes. "Yes," She then hesitantly spoke in a language she hasn't used in more than a decade. "Home." She said in Uzek.
For a moment, Minato was struck by the familiarity behind their features. It wasn't just the obviousness of their red hair. It was in the vibrancy of their eye colors, the curve of their noses. They weren't traits seen in the Land of Fire, and it was beautiful to see. They really were daughters of Uzushio…
The girl—Tsunami, Minato reminded himself—stared at Kushina in wonder. "You…" He recognized they were speaking Uzushio's dialect, but the bits he heard were ones he didn't recognize.
"You know it too?" Her voice was so sad, a desperate plea, that broke Minato's heart.
What has this girl gone through?
Kushina sniffled, nodding. She caressed Nami's hair. "I'm your jiejie." Kushina used the familial Uzek term for 'older sister.' That feeling of rightness shined within her.
Nami sniffled. "Jiejie?"
Kushina nodded with confidence, happy tears shining in her eyes. "Yes. That means you're not alone anymore. " Then she said it again in Common. "We're your family now."
Minato nodded, understanding the context. "We'll protect you." Because after seeing the connection between the two Uzumaki, Minato wasn't going to let ANYTHING separate them.
Little Tsunami looked at him now. Once again, he was struck by those silver eyes. They were more open, still fearful, but now shining with a spark of hope so faint he almost missed it.
To say he was instantly smitten was an understatement.
"Welcome home, Nami-chan…"
Elsewhere: Unknown Location, Under Konoha
"The target was intercepted before we could capture her."
Silence.
The faceless Anbu operative did not show any outward sign of nervousness despite giving a negative report.
"It's a shame you failed." An older man's voice replied. He tapped his cane on the ground. "The child would've been useful under the right care." His voice carried a tinge of disappointment.
The operative bowed further. "I won't fail again. The target's position remains stationary in a residential area. I can—"
Their next words were cut off, silenced by the slam of the cane. Their leader used wind chakra to emphasize the sound, making the tap echo like a boom throughout the cavernous space.
"Leave the child. If you tried to take her from where she is now, you would only end up threatening the Foundation." He looked off to the side. "You can't compete with the masters that protect her now." Even Danzo had to acknowledge the combined might of Namikaze and Uzumaki.
The operative stayed silent, unable to retort.
Their leader looked back at them. "You won't fail again."
The operative stood, saluting their leader. "Yes, Lord Danzo." With that, they disappeared from sight.
Danzo stood in place for a moment. "Hm." His hand twitched. Three shadows darted off in the direction the operative just went.
Satisfied that the loose end will be tied, Danzo walked out of the winding labyrinth that made up one of the Foundation bases throughout Konoha.
"I'll just turn my eyes elsewhere."
It's not the last time the girl will be in his reach. And what better environment to cultivate a future fuuinjutsu master for Konoha than with the Last Uzumaki Sealing Master and a Once-in-a-Generation Genius like Namikaze?
Besides, there were other children he had his eyes on for Root.
(It's a shame Nonō thought she could outwit him. He'll have to visit and remind her who's really in control.)
A/N Thanks for reading this longer chapter!