Naruto Shippuden: girl from whirlpools

The First Step

Chapter Nineteen: The First Steps

What Minato had previously thought of as love, in its unrequited form, turned out to be the pale, anemic shadow of the real thing. To love someone was one thing, but to love and be loved in return was like stumbling upon the answer to the meaning of life; a question that staid old philosophers had spent their lives asking and Minato had stumbled upon unintentionally.

Here were all the things that mattered in the world:

Kushina's smile.

Kushina's laugh.

Kushina's hand seeking his.

Minato had been in relationships before and never once felt the charged connection he now felt with Kushina, where every time he looked at her his heart raced and he wondered if he was dreaming and when he would wake up. The journey back from Whirlpool was the easiest Minato had ever made; he barely noticed the distance they travelled or the landmarks they passed, only that Kushina was with him every step of the way like a guiding light. On the one hand it was like nothing between them had changed and she chattered away like a monkey, happier than he'd seen her in weeks; his familiar best friend. But it was different also, in that he could stop and kiss her whenever he felt like it and she didn't seem to mind. In fact she seemed to quite enjoy it, when she wasn't doing the same to him.

The trip to Konoha might have taken a little longer than expected, due to all the frequent pauses, but Minato knew it was a memory he was going to take to the grave as one of the best days in his life. More enlivening than the glory of victory over one of the seven swordsmen. More exhilarating than all his battles combined. It was easy to forget everything and everyone else in the world when Kushina looped her arm through his and grinned at him like she was the happiest girl in the world. Knowing he was the one who'd brought out this amazing smile of hers certainly made him the happiest boy.

But she dimmed a little when they finally began their approach toward the village gates. She must have known from the moment she set out that there would be in a whole pile of trouble when she returned – if she had even originally planned on returning. Her hand clenched his tightly as if she could suck all his support and courage right out through his palm, though as soon as they were within sight of gates she slipped away to a distance that could have been measured in platonic units.

Minato let her go. He had no problem with public displays of affection, but he knew perfectly well that there were other attachments she would have to deal with before she could be seen holding his hand in public. And that attachment's name was Sarutobi Ren.

He should have felt bad about stealing another man's girl away, right from under his nose, but Minato felt remarkably good about the fact. One could argue he was only taking back what Ren had stolen from him originally.

"You found her then," said one of the guards at the gate, speaking of Kushina as if she was nothing more than an errant cat. "That's good. We had a bet on to see who would bring her back first." He gestured to his deflated comrades sulking near the reception office. "They bet Sarutobi-sempai would catch her first."

"It didn't cross your mind that neither would be able to 'catch' me?" Kushina asked sharply.

The guard stared at her, nonplussed. "You're here, aren't you?"

"Because I choose to be!"

"Riiight."

Kushina raised her hand to give him another piece of her mind – or to beat him around the head – Minato quickly caught it and pulled her along. "Must be getting along now!" he called cheerfully, before she could initiate a brawl. "The Hokage will be relieved to know you're safe and sound."