MinaSaku: Bolting Blossom | DISCONTINUED

Chapter Fifteen: Red Hair and Gray Eyes

After she stormed out of his office, he sighed, feeling as though she was acting childish. Of course, she was eighteen, so obviously she would. Done with schooling, applied for colleges too. Something about her made Minato want to avoid her. Her rage was a rage that reminded him of Kushina. Whether he said it out loud or not, he still very much thought it. Just her words, the declaration of being a virgin was just so bold, and to defend herself and Madara's love for her. But Minato knew what kind of person Madara Uchiha was.

A person who didn't believe in love.

Just lust.

But that didn't seem to hit Sakura's head hard enough. She needed to be tormented and pushed to the limits to see how much of a bad man he was. But this was none of Minato's business. He didn't care. He simply couldn't. After fishing out a couple of papers, underneath it all he found a photo. A photo that had been hiding for a very long time. Four years. First, he saw long flowing scarlet red hair. Then, he saw, a beautiful pair of gray eyes. He realized it was his deceased wife.

He stared at it for a moment. The pure depiction of his wife made him want to either rage in anger or rage in sadness. He was just too lost in his own world to even be able to move on from her death. He grumbles as he hears the footsteps of Sakura stepping around and cleaning around and about. Without his son there, she would be mute. She probably didn't want to talk to him. After everything he's done, she probably hated him. But Minato remembered and reminded himself, he shouldn't care. He sighs, feeling as though he's lost.

After Sakura finishes cleaning the room, she slowly walks back upstairs and looks at Minato, who is too deep in his picture of his wife. He stares at it in such a deep thought, that he didn't realize Sakura was there. Her eyes roam toward the picture as she catches a glimpse of the photo. "Kushina..." She blurts out of nowhere as Minato winces, before snapping out of it. His eyes look up at Sakura. "What the hell!" He growls. Sakura steps back a bit. "I-I'm sorry...I just think she's so pretty." Sakura stammers as he sighs softly.

"I never thought she was pretty. I always knew she was." He responds softly. He turns around and grabs a wine bottle before grabbing two wine cups. He pours the sweet red liquid inside as the liquid swims around and Minato takes a sip, he hands the other one to Sakura. "O-Oh, no! I'm underage, Minato!" She gasps. "It's not beer, silly Sakura." He grumbles as she takes the cup and slowly sips it. A bit sour at first, but then it's sweet. She obviously knew, that beer would be foul and sour versus this wine. "But it's alcohol."

"I'm not planning to get you drunk. Just drink it." He mutters before continuing to sip. She nods, taking another sip as Minato finishes his, soon pouring more wine into his cup. "Come here, take a seat with me." Minato pats the chair next to him. She slowly takes a seat as he continues to sip his wine. He exhales as he then hands her Kushina's picture. "When we first met, she was simply a new student. But something about her long red hair drove me crazy...I would always watch her from afar...I was too shy to talk..."

Sakura blinks, a bit shocked as to Minato declaring himself as 'shy', but then again that was him as a child, and Sakura was different than she was as a child. "Sakura?" Minato speaks up. "Ahh?" She takes a look at him. "Yes, Minato?" She responds. "How were you as a kid?" He asks. Sakura blinks. "It's not something I'd like to remember..." She replies as he looks at her, before taking another sip, this time it was more of a rush of wine. "Tell me, I would like to know." He says as she sighs, taking the cup in her hand.

"I was...rowdy...I had a lot of rage, I would beat up any kid that would make fun of my forehead and my pink hair, they'd tell me it looked like a wad of bubblegum clamped onto my hair." She goes on as he listens. Her story sounds so much like Kushina's... He thinks to himself before putting his cup down. "Sounds like...anger and rage made up most of your personality." He says as she nods. "Of course it did...but...at sixteen...that changed..." She declares as his curiosity is peaked. "For the good, right?"

Sakura pushes the pain to the back of her head and nods, forcing a smile. "Yes..." She says as he awkwardly looks away. "So...can you help me pick out a suit, Kushin--" He blinks his imagination of Kushina away and replaces Sakura. Sakura in confusion is taken aback for a second, but then nods, as they dive toward his closet to find a suit.