Title: The Courting of Uzumaki Kushina

Rating: Teen for language

Summary: For Minato, being love sick was hard enough. But being in love with Konoha's Red Hot-Blooded Habanero takes the cake. How can the love sick Minato ever court the fiery Kushina, without getting beaten to death? Minato x Kushina

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto (but if I could steal them away, I would).

The Courting of Uzumaki Kushina

Chapter 1: You're my Rival!

It was another beautiful day in Konoha and Uchiha Fugaku was enjoying the warmth of the sun. He sat out in the training grounds, lazing around on the grass underneath the trees. Finally, he had time to relax and finish his book. His girlfriend had a mission that day, his team had no training or missions to fulfill, and it was a beautiful day.

"Fu—!"

Scratch that. It was a beautiful day till his friend decided to ruin it. The dark haired youth glanced up at his friend then back at his book. 'God, not again,' he thought with a sigh.

The Uchiha licked his thumb and flipped to the next page of his textbook, pointedly ignoring his friend's desperate whines. His friend latched onto his arm and whined pitifully about something like 'I'm a fool' or 'I can't believe I did that'. Fugaku grunted and elbowed his friend sharply in the chest, causing the blonde teen to roll over onto his side, clutching his bruised chest.

"Fu, you're so mean!"

The dark haired man glanced down into blue eyes and rolled his own. He asked sharply," What did you do this time, Minato?"

Namikaze Minato sniffed indigently and groaned," I screwed up, man. I really screwed up!"

"How so?"

Minato clutched his blonde hair and moaned," I don't know! I did everything sensei told me to! And she still managed to punch me in the face!"

He pointed at an angry red mark that was blooming on the side of his face. Fugaku grunted and shook his head.

"You chose an awfully brutish girl to have an enormous crush on, Min."

Minato stood up defiantly and looked at his impassive friend. "She's not brutish, Fu. She's…"

He paused and searched for a word in his mind. Fugaku glanced up at the blonde and offered a few words," A demon? A barbarian? A tomato?"

Minato hissed," Don't call her 'Tomato'! She hates that nickname." His eyes turned sparkly blue again as he sighed," No, she's just shy, Fu. I mean—I'm sure a whole lot of girls would get shy if I was hitting on them."

He looked pointedly at Fugaku who snorted loudly. The Uchiha shook his head and crossed his legs. Honestly… how did his friend get the title of 'a genius that only appears once every generation' and still not understand that Uzumaki Kushina hated his guts?

"Really, Min? You think that's the reason why she punches you every time you say 'I love you' to her?"

"That's the only explanation!"

Fugaku closed his book and slapped the uninjured side of Minato's face with it. The blonde howled and clutched his cheeks, both of which were now sporting a red mark. The Uchiha shook his head and reopened the book to his previous page, ignoring the blonde's whimpers.

"What do you even see in Kushina," asked the Uchiha. "All I see is the Bloody Habanero."

Suddenly Minato was lying on his back next to his friend, a goofy smile adorning his handsome face.

"She's perfect, Fu. In every single way."

Fugaku gave a look of pity for his friend. The guy was in love with a she-devil and Minato was enjoying every second of it!

"Everything about her is special man. I dunno how she does it. Does she have a jutsu to become perfect? Is there such a thing? Maybe it's a Kekkei Genkai..."

Fugaku rolled his eyes. Love sick kid.

"Maybe you're just blind, dude."

Minato frowned and rolled on his side, watching his friend. He pouted and asked frustrated," Well, why do you see her as just the 'Bloody Habanero'?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's the fact that her hair is bloody red and that every time someone squeaks an insult to her she pummels then a centimeter near death?"

"I'm telling you—S-H-Y! And her hair isn't just 'bloody red'. I think it's beautiful—like a rose."

Then there was the goofy grin again and Minato laid on his back, smiling up into the treetops. Silence hung between the two, with the occasional noise of either Fugaku turning a page in his book or Minato sighing.

"I am so in love with her, Fu. I think she's 'the one.'"

Fugaku snorted and flipped the page," Yeah, and I'm gunna marry Mikoto and have 2 brats with her."

"Yeah. That'd be nice. We could have our kids go on play dates together."

Fugaku snapped his book shut and stood up, dusting himself of dirt. Minato glanced at his friend and blinked. The Uchiha heir looked down at the blonde and muttered," Honestly man, get a grip on reality. Uzumaki Kushina hates you!"

Minato frowned and sat up cross-legged.

"Then what should I do to not make her hate me? I already tried sensei's blunt asking out technique…"

"It was going to fail from square one anyway. It's Jiraiya-sensei's advice you dolt!"

Minato sighed and cupped his face in his hands," I know man. But… I thought it could work, seeing how Kushina's just as blunt."

Quickly, his expression changed from depression to realization to hope. He looked up at Fugaku and saw that the sun had suddenly decided to go behind the other, making the Uchiha glow from every angle.

"An angel…"

"What?" Fugaku snapped.

What was wrong with his friend? It had been already 4 years now that he had fallen for the redhead. And fallen hard Minato had. Ever since Kushina came, Minato had been a love-sick wreck. It was annoying and funny at the same time. Watching his rival/best friend cower in Kushina's presence was a sight to see. But even amusement had its limits. Training between the two slowly evolved into helping his blonde friend in the area of love. If they weren't sparring, on a mission, eating, or sleeping, everything Minato could talk about was the love of his love.

Fugaku glared at his friend who gave him such a strange and hopeful look that Fugaku got the feeling he should run for it. Suddenly, in a flash of yellow, Fugaku was on the ground with Minato straddling him. The Uchiha turned dark red and was about to scream at his friend when the other grabbed the high collar of the shirt and yanked it up, bringing Fugaku's face right in front of Minato's. Anger suddenly turned into an expression of horror as thoughts of Minato being gay ran through his mind.

Suddenly his mouth unhinged and Fugaku choked out," A-are you gay?"

Minato stared back and his jaw slacked. "What? Fugaku, what are you talking about?"

The Uchiha's eyebrows shot down, his mouth open, and his eyes wide with disbelief. He stuttered again," Why are you on me right now Minato? Are you gay?"

Minato blinked and then threw himself off the Uchiha who felt relieved. He felt himself turn red but looked back at his friend who was still sitting up, but glaring darkly at him. Minato chuckled nervously when he felt a cold, sharp object pressed to his neck.

"Explain yourself Namikaze or I will. Cut. You."

Minato gave another nervous chuckle as his friend pressed the kunai against his tan skin. He raised both his hands up in surrender, but Fugaku would have no say.

The Uchiha snarled," I said. Explain."

Minato, knowing how dangerous the other could get when he wasn't given an answer, stammered," I just wanted to know how you asked Mikoto out and asked her to be your girlfriend! B-because I thought I could use your technique and modify it then use it on Kushina! Cuz I mean we all know that you're the ice prince who has a stick as long as Orochimaru's tongue up your ass and you don't like people very much, let alone ask them out, so I mean I wanted to know! I'm sure you did something that Mikoto likes! She's also not the type to ask you out and you're not the type to let the girl do the asking so I mean—!"

Fugaku stared at his friend who had squeezed his eyes shut during his rant. He pulled the kunai off Minato's neck and put it back into his weapons pouch. He shook his head and sighed and slapped the top of the blonde head for good measure. Minato yipped and opened one eye to look at Fugaku who was already standing up and patting his legs of dirt.

He tossed one look at Minato, whose mouth was open to say something, and saw the blonde click his mouth shut.

"Yes, I asked her out. What about it," the Uchiha asked coolly.

Minato's eyes opened in amazement and sat down cross legged, looking up at his friend with sparkling blue eyes. He knew his friend was cool, but the way Fugaku had coolly answered his question—he must really be in love with Mikoto!

"How, how? How'd you ask her? Details, Fu! Details!"

Fugaku sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking out at the green training field. He was hoping that he'd never have to tell anyone how he asked Mikoto out. Especially Minato.

The whole village, when they found out he was dating *Yamada Mikoto, was in a chaos about it. Fugaku knew—there were school newspapers that headlined: "Uchiha Fugaku—the supposedly asexual stick in the mud—dating!" His father, during their dinner that night, didn't say a thing, but looked at his son with a look of relief. His mother, on the other hand, bellowed in sobs, crying,' My baby's dating! He has a girlfriend! I'm having grandkids! I always thought he'd marry himself before anyone else!' His fan club cried buckets of tears and still insisted to send love letters to his house. They stalked him and Mikoto till one day the dark-haired girl turned around and exploded in their faces. The club, thereafter, accepted the Fugaku-Mikoto pair. Finally, when Minato came back from his 2 week mission and overheard the news, the blonde grabbed the Uchiha in a headlock in the middle of the market, on a Sunday afternoon, screaming,' YOU USED YOUR SHARINGAN ON HER DIDN'T YOU? YOU SLY, BASTARD!' It suddenly turned into a brawl between the two teens and it ended up with the whole market in destruction. It was also the day when many of the villagers realized that Minato was not their quiet and humble genius and that Fugaku was a cheap-ass fighter who would kick the enemy in the balls just to gain advantage. The two were both lectured by the Sandaime, who was amused and, nonetheless, getting a kick out of this.

Of course, Minato didn't believe Fugaku for the longest time, at least until he had shadowed over the couple's date. Fugaku knew that the blonde was spying on his date with Mikoto, but that didn't change much. He would prove to his best friend that he was indeed dating Mikoto. After that date, Minato approved and even added a good kick to the groin to seal the deal (the blonde had ran away screaming, 'revenge is so sweeeeet!' while leaving Fugaku on the floor whimpering).

Now thinking to the present, he thought of how Minato would react to his story of how he asked Mikoto out. The story itself wasn't exactly mushy-love crap or anything cool. It was actually a bit embarrassing and a bit odd.

He looked back down and saw the sparkling admiration radiating off of Minato and felt pressured.

"Well, I… Uhm." Well fuck. He was already stuttering.

Minato nodded, pushing him to continue and unconsciously Fugaku felt his face heat up. In an Uchiha-like manner, he pushed his lower half of his face behind his high collared shirt and slouched forward, avoiding Minato's gaze.

"It was on a mission…"

"Ooh! I bet you took her in your arms as you were bleeding to death and carried her to safety!"

"…I was bleeding to death, but she was the one carrying me…"

"…Ah, well! I bet you fought off all the enemies while she did that!"

"She KO'd anyone who came near us…"

"Errm. I bet you helped a little?"

"I knocked out halfway back to the rendezvous point and she ended up having to heal me herself."

"S-so… I bet she looked like an angel when you woke up to her healing you?"

"She didn't know what she was doing so she pumped so much chakra into me I vomited…"

"…You… vomited on her?"

"…To the side… And then she kept apologizing and stuff and then… Oh, I don't know… I gave her face one look and asked, 'be my girlfriend…?'"

"…You were… desperate…?"

Fugaku turned to his friend, his face on fire," I thought I was seriously going to die! I didn't want to die a virgin!"

Minato stared at his friend who was still heated. Fugaku was so not cool. He expected something heroic. Something like in his comic books where the guy saves the damsel and tells her,' I've been waiting all my life to say 'I love you.' Be mine?' Even something sweet, like saving her from a bunch of his fan club animals. He didn't expect Fugaku to be like this.

"I mean, after that, when she came to my room in the hospital… I mean, started to like her a lot… She's really nice and stuff and she can cook pretty good… She's nice on the eyes and I saw her around a couple of times too…"

Minato groaned and clasped his head; "I can't go up to Kushina and bleed all over her and ask her to heal me!"

He stood up and began to mimic the situation crazily. Fugaku, still embarrassed, kicked Minato in the butt to stop. Fugaku coughed into his hand.

"Just be her friend first."

Minato looked at his friend with wide eyes. Friends? Friends with Uzumaki Kushina? Why hadn't he thought of that? He was the goddamn 'genius that is born once every generation'! How come he never thought of becoming friends with the redhead?

Minato dashed over to Fugaku and clapped both hands on his friend's cheeks and shouted," That's it! Fu, you sweet stick in the mud! That's what I'll do! I'll become her friend and get closer to her!" He gave Fugaku another pat on the face and then dashed away, whooping and hooting as he went.

Fugaku sighed and returned to the shade of his tree, opening up his book and starting from where he left off. He absently muttered under his breathe," Maybe I should get Mikoto to help… She's good friends with that redhead.

Minato slowed his skipping, whooping, and overall hooting as he approached the village. Putting on his calm and quiet mask, he walked quietly into the village, searching for the redhead beauty.

She wasn't that hard to spot. Her rose-red hair screamed 'I'M UZUMAKI KUSHINA EVERYONE!' and she usually stomped a little when she walked—something that Minato found cute. She also had a slight wiggle when she walked and Minato also found it cute. She was a whole head shorter than him (but he was a bit taller than most boys) and whenever the two sparred, he recalled those smoldering *violet eyes as she glared up at him. Those eyes full of emotion and possibility.

Minato sighed. But even though she could be easily spotted, she had a good way of disappearing—especially when Minato was trying to find her. He checked out the fairly new ramen shop and found it empty of a redhead. Going over to the academy, he check if she was on her favorite swing, but still no sight of that bright flash of red.

Honestly! Where could she be? He knew she had no missions (he wasn't checking…) and he knew she usually took this opportunity to hit the streets or train. But she wasn't in the market, she wasn't eating, and she wasn't in the training grounds.

He began to set for home, knowing that whenever Kushina didn't want to be found, she made sure that she wouldn't. He masked his disappointment behind his calm demeanor and passed by the river, going towards his apartment. *He lived separately from his parents, who were good merchants always traveling the world. He felt it was better for himself to be alone—no one to bother him as he studied, no one to worry if he had food and whatnot. And it was near a grocery store and hospital—a very good area for a ninja his age.

It was only 4 in the afternoon… he could study up on his ninjutsu and stuff. Maybe he could take a nap. It was so boring! If he went back to Fugaku he'd throw a hissy fit and tell the blonde to bugger off. Maybe he could try and look for his teacher…? Wait, he'd be at the springs, peeping. Minato slouched forward, a frown gracing his face. Today sucked. He had gotten punched by the love of his life, his friend didn't want him around, and there wasn't anything to do… He hated these kinds of days. Until, that is, he heard it.

It was a chiming laugh that was light and floated to his ears. He knew that laugh anywhere—that beautiful, wonderful laugh that he wanted to be directed to him. He dodged behind a tree and peered past it and towards the river. Then he saw her, sparkling against the clear water. She was sitting on the dock, chatting lightly with Mikoto.

He sighed dreamily, watching her talk and then giggle quietly to her friend. He watched with love sick eyes at how her eyes seemed to sparkle like an amethyst when she was happy. All he ever saw was her eyes smoldering with rage. Her face, which was usually scrunched up in defiance, was relaxed and smooth—shining even. Her lips, which were always were frowning in Minato's presence, were open and revealed a set of straight, pearly whites. Even her laugh was light and friendly, not laughs full of contempt and sarcasm.

Is that what he would see if he became friends with this heavenly redhead? Would she joke and laugh and tell him secrets if he was closer to her? Would she eventually come to like him? Respect him? Admire him?

Minato felt himself tear in two. How he wanted this girl's friendship so bad, her recognition besides a punch or kick. But then, would she even let him get close to her? She had yelled at him that they were rivals for the Hokage name. That was a dream that he had been striving for ever since he became a ninja—it was even the reason why he became a ninja.

He turned around and stood up. He needed to think about this more. He needed to approach this intelligently! He couldn't just stumble over to Kushina and put out his hand saying 'wanna be friends?' That was for kids. He wasn't a kid. He turned had just turned 14! He was an adult now!

He began walking back, defeated and retreating, when suddenly he felt a bop to the back of his head and something fell behind him. He turned around, holding the back of his head and looked down to see a slipper.

"Who…?"

"Hey! Namikaze!"

He looked up, eyes wide with fear. Had Kushina seen him watch her? If she did, was she going to pummel him to death?

Minato watched as the girl, grinning from ear to ear, hopped on one foot to him, Mikoto following behind with a small smile on her face. Minato scooped the slipper robotically and handed it to the redhead. She frowned a little and took back the slipper, slipping it back onto her foot. The blonde tensed up and darted his eyes back and forth, looking for an escape route in case she decided to pull her fist back. He heard her snap her fingers in his face and he jumped.

"Yo, Namikaze, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing at all Kushina…san…"

He wasn't ready to call her by her first name itself. Or what not. At the very least, he wasn't even ready for her to beat him up. His cheek was still red and sore. Kushina noticed his tense body language and scratched her chin, looking up at the sky and avoiding his eyes.

"I-I know it's been, *like, kinda rude of me lately… ya know… Punching you in the face… So, like... I'm sorry…"

Minato's eyes nearly popped out and he stared at the girl. 'A chance!' his mind screamed. 'This is your chance to get to be her friend! Put your hand out you slow fuzz!' The blonde recovered quickly and took in her features.

Kushina looked genuinely sorry as she began to shuffle in place. Her right foot was tapping the ground by the toes and would occasionally switch to the left. Her hand was still scratching her chin and her pretty eyes were averted to the sky. The silence was killing her, Minato expected, because a faint rosy blush slowly spread across her face.

'So cute…'

Minato forced himself to smile instead of openly gaping at her and put out his hand.

"Well, I'm also sorry… For you know… The open confessions."

She turned another shade of pink and Minato felt his heart beat faster. What if she really was being shy? And what if she liked him back? That would be the best present that he would have gotten.

"Let's forget about everything else and be friends," Minato suggested. Kushina gave a smile and then grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"No can do."

Minato's eyes widened again. What? She said no?

Kushina released her hand and put her hands on her hips, her face full of determination.

"How can I be friends with my rival for the title of Hokage?"

The blonde felt his heart drop for a 20-story building and through the earth to its core. Oh yeah, the Hokage-title-rivalry. His hand dropped back to his side and he put his calm mask on again.

"Ah, yes. I've forgotten that you wanted to become Hokage too."

Kushina rubbed her nose with her thumb and nodded," That's right."

"Then why are you apologizing? Shouldn't it be in your interest to beat your competition?"

Another brilliant smile, but not for him.

"Like of course! But you're my rival, Namikaze. I wanna fight you fairly and win the title fairly."

Ah. Fairly. That's all. That was the only reason why she was apologizing. Minato gave a strained smile and bowed a little.

"If that's all you have to tell me, then I'll be going. I should train harder since you seem so determined Kushina-san."

Kushina put a hand on her flexed bicep and grinned," Ha! Whatever you study over there in your house won't help you, Namikaze!"

Minato bowed again and looked at Mikoto. She gave an apologetic smile and Minato smiled crookedly. There wasn't anything for him to do but to go home now. As he turned around and walked off he heard Kushina shout in the distance.

"By the way, Namikaze!"

He turned around and a package descended upon his face and stunned him for a second. He caught it before it hit the ground and looked at it. It was a package wrapped in a light blue with white polka dots over it. It seemed to have been wrapped in a hurry for it was tied up with ninja wire. He looked up and Kushina gave a thumbs up.

"Like, happy late birthday, rival!"

Minato hit the sheets of his bed and laid there facedown. He felt the package and stared at the paper wrapping. He could still see Kushina in his mind, her thumb up and her pearly whites shining.

How lame of him though! All he could do was stutter 'thank you', bow, and then walk off! Minato put his face into the palms of his hands and rubbed his face angrily. He must have looked so uncool. He should have at least walked up to her and done something, said something better than 'thank you.' Curse his inferiority on dealing with the opposite sex!

He sighed and pushed his sandals off his feet. He reached out to the package and pressed it tightly to his chest, whispering thanks to any Gods that could hear him. Slowly he began to open the package. The ninja wire proved to be very durable, forcing the blonde to use his kunai to cut through it. He set the package on the bed and slowly cut off the tape that held the wrapping together.

He wondered vaguely what Kushina had gotten him. It felt hard when had caught it and wondered if it was probably a book. It seemed that way, judging from the size. He lifted it around and looked at it from every angle. Then his eyes landed on a small tag that was taped to the back of the package. He took the tag in his hands and saw in Kushina's messy writing:

'I know I haven't been a good rival to you lately, but I hope your birthday was good.

-Kushina'

He smiled and carefully took off the tag, placing it on his bedside. This was the few gifts that Kushina had ever gotten him in the 4 years he knew her. He made sure to always keep the things she bought him neatly place in his bedside table.

His fingers began to twitch in anticipation. He knew it was probably a book, but it was a book from Uzumaki Kushina. It didn't matter what Kushina got him, it was from her. He delicately lifted the paper wrapping and saw himself staring at a brown, cardboard box. Him furrowed his eyebrows together and flipped the box on its side. Minato pulled the flaps of the side and pulled it open.

His eyes widened as he lifted up a white jacket. The collar was a dark navy as well as the bottom of the zip-up. Unlike his current jacket, there was no hood and instead of a solid stripe of blue going down the sides of his arm sleeves, there were 3 thin lines on it.

Minato placed the jacket down carefully and then peeled off his old jacket. He slowly put on Kushina's gift and looked at himself in the mirror. The jacket was a little big, but he convinced himself that he would grow into it and fit it perfectly. He smiled widely and took it off again. He wouldn't wear it—not yet at least. He didn't want to have it already ruined on a mission or during training, so his old jacket would have to suffice.

He placed the box and the wrapping paper together under his bed and carefully hung the jacket above his mirror. He smiled and turned to go clean up.

There was no rush. He didn't need to be Kushina's friend. After, he was her rival. And that meant more to him than anything now. It meant that she respected his skills—that she recognized his genius and that both of them were on the same page.

Minato smiled again for the millionth time today. Today wasn't such a boring day after all.

A/N: Woooo! Chapter 1, DONE SON. Hahaha…! Thank you for reading this chapter all the way and I hope you've enjoyed and will continue to stay with me TILL THE END. KEKEK. Oh, also. There will be no Uchiha coup and no Kyuubi attack. uwu;

*Yamada Mikoto: I have no idea what's Mikoto's last name before she married. So I made it up uwu;

*Kushina's violet eyes: There's plenty of confusion about where or not Kushina's eyes are blue, purple, gray, green… So I just chose a random color and hoped it worked out

*Minato's parents: Kishimoto doesn't ever mention Minato's parents, so I let Minato have parents but they're somewhere else.

*Like: It's basically Kushina's verbal tic -ttebane.

Thank you for reading! Please review below c: