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Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its character belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 166: Her Feeling
Raiken was the first to notice Minato presence outside the house. His Observation Haki, paired with his Mind Eye, made it nearly impossible for anyone to approach without him knowing well before they arrived.
He had been ready to step outside and ask the boy why he was lingering near the gate so early in the morning, the sky barely beginning to lighten, but he stopped himself the moment he caught sight of Minato's face.
Years of experience as a husband and clan leader, combined with the kind of emotional perception that came from paying close attention to people for a living, gave Raiken a fairly clear picture of what had happened without needing to ask a single question. He had seen that exact expression before, on himself and others, years ago, standing somewhere he probably should not have been, holding something in his chest that he did not know how to put down.
It became even more obvious when Minato's eyes drifted, almost involuntarily, toward the house just beside his own.
Kushina's house was just beside his, where Raiken and Kushina lived.
Raiken leaned against the doorframe and watched him for a moment longer, deciding whether to intervene or let the boy work through it on his own. Minato stood with his hands shoved into his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched, staring at the closed window of Kushina's room as though he expected it to open and provide some kind of answer he badly needed.
"You are going to wear a hole into the ground standing there," Raiken said finally, stepping out onto the porch.
Minato startled, nearly tripping over his own feet as he spun around.
"Raiken-sama," he said quickly, straightening his posture as though that might erase how long he had clearly been standing there. "I was not— I mean, I was just passing by."
"At 5 in the morning," said Raiken, his tone flat but his expression carrying quiet amusement.
Minato opened his mouth, closed it, and then deflated slightly, all pretense draining out of him at once.
"I confessed to her," he admitted.
Raiken blinked, knowing for a long time that Minato liked his sister, but not expecting him to confess so suddenly.
Not wanting to become a busybody, and considering they were adults and of age, Raiken decided to keep his composure in front of Minato.
"I know," said Raiken.
Minato blinked. "You know?"
"You have been standing outside her window for the better part of an hour," said Raiken. "It was not difficult to put together."
Minato rubbed the back of his neck, his expression somewhere between embarrassed and miserable.
"She ran away," said Minato. "I do not even know what that means. Does that mean she hates me now? Did I ruin everything? We have known each other for a long time, and we have been Team 7 for five years, and I just do not know. I panicked and said it all at once, and then she looked at me and ran."
Raiken studied him for a moment, recognizing the particular kind of spiral a person fell into when they had no experience reading the very specific language of someone who liked them but refused to admit it.
"Did she say no?" asked Raiken.
"She did not say anything," said Minato. "She just stared at me, said something I could not understand, and then left."
"Did she hit you?" asked Raiken with a smirk on his face.
"No," replied Minato.
"Did she look angry?" Raiken's smile became even wider.
Minato paused, replaying the moment in his head.
"No," he admitted slowly. "She looked... red and kind of panicked, but not angry."
Raiken nodded slowly, the corner of his mouth pulling up just slightly.
"Minato," said Raiken. "My sister has never once in her life been speechless. Not when she is angry, not when she loses an argument, not even when she is in pain. She always has something to say."
Minato looked at him, waiting.
"If she ran away without saying a single coherent word," continued Raiken, "that does not mean she rejected you. It means you broke something in her that she does not know how to handle yet, or perhaps she was too shocked and did not have an answer in that moment. But I believe she did not reject you."
Minato's face shifted slightly, hope flickering somewhere underneath the exhaustion.
"You really think so?" he asked.
"I am not going to hand you false comfort," said Raiken honestly. "I do not know exactly what she is feeling right now, and frankly, that is for the two of you to figure out, not me. But I have known my sister her entire life, and the version of her that ran away red-faced and speechless is not the same version of her that would have told you no."
Minato let out a long breath, and some of the tension left his shoulders for the first time since the previous night.
"What should I do now?" he asked.
Raiken looked at him for a long moment.
"Nothing," said Raiken. "Give her space. She needs time to sit with whatever she is feeling without you standing outside her window, making it worse."
Minato winced slightly at that, glancing guiltily back toward the house.
"Right," he said. "Space, I can do space."
"Go home, Minato," said Raiken, not unkindly. "Sleep. Whatever happens next is not something you can force by standing here until the sun comes up."
Minato hesitated for a moment longer, looking once more at the closed window, before finally nodding and turning to leave. His steps were slower and considerably more thoughtful than they had been when he arrived.
Raiken watched him go, then turned his attention toward his own house, where he had a fairly strong suspicion that a certain younger sister was very much awake, buried under several blankets, and in no condition to admit that her brother was about to be entirely right about her.
"They have become adults, it seems I need to talk with her," muttered Raiken, deciding to share what had just happened with his wife, Mikoto.
...
There is 30 advanced chapter on my patreon.
Chapter 190: I Was Betrayed
Chapter 191: Hagoromo Appear
Chapter 192: Son And Mother
Chapter 193: Reveal The Truth
Chapter 194: Reunion
Chapter 195: Return To Konoha
Chapter 196: Madara Effect
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