Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its character belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 167: Kushina Feeling
"Wife, I need your help," said Raiken while helping his wife in the kitchen.
"Huh?" It was rare for Raiken to ask her for help, and when he did, it meant it was very important.
"Ok," smiled Mikoto while nodding her head. "You are my husband, so of course I will help you."
"Thank you," replied Raiken. "This is regarding Kushina."
Mikoto raised her eyebrows. Although she had a question, she kept it to herself and only listened to her husband.
"Minato came earlier and he was standing outside for long moment while looked at Kushina home," said Raiken waiting for her wife response and seeing none, he continued." I think Minato has confessed his feelings to her, and Kushina had stayed at her house trying to hide from him."
His wife's eyes lit up, and a big smile formed on her face.
"Husband, do you need my help to encourage Kushina?" asked Mikoto.
Raiken fell quiet for a while, then nodded before telling her everything.
"Mikoto, I think my sister has been confused with her feeling for a long time she had looked at Minato as a rival but suddenly little did she know, Minato really likes her, that is why I need your help to talk with Kushina to sort out her feeling instead of hiding, I had a hunch she also liked minato," said Raiken.
Mikoto fell silent for a while.
"Are you okay with him marrying your sister?" asked Mikoto.
"Yes, if they both fall in love with each other, I don't really care, and I am also ready to fund their marriage too," replied Raiken.
"Ok, I will talk to Kushina," Mikoto said with a smile.
....
That morning, Raiken went to Kushina's home, beside his house, and invited her to enjoy breakfast together.
Kushina was also the same as Minato, didn't sleep all night because her mind was constantly thinking about Minato.
She slid into her seat at the breakfast table without a word, reaching for her chopsticks while pretending to be completely fine.
Itsuki, sitting across from her with a bowl of rice in front of him, looked at his aunt with the observant eyes of a five-year-old who could tell something was different about the morning without being able to explain exactly what. He said nothing and continued eating, occasionally glancing between Kushina and his mother with curiosity.
Mikoto set the remaining dishes on the table and sat beside her husband, serving Kushina a portion with the natural ease of someone who had fed this family for years before settling into her own seat.
The two other babies were still young, and they were still breastfeeding.
A short silence passed.
"Did you sleep well?" asked Mikoto pleasantly.
"Fine," said Kushina, not looking up from her bowl.
"Did you sleep late last night?" Mikoto asked.
"I was tired," said Kushina.
Itsuki looked at Kushina, then at his mother, then back at his rice, deciding it was the safest place to direct his attention.
Mikoto picked up her chopsticks and began eating, letting another comfortable moment pass before she spoke again.
"Kushina," said Mikoto. "Is there something on your mind?"
"No," said Kushina immediately, and she felt like her sister saw right through her.
Mikoto nodded slowly.
"It is just," continued Mikoto gently, "you have been staring at the same piece of tofu for about a minute without eating it."
Kushina looked down at her bowl and realized she had been doing exactly that. She put the tofu in her mouth without comment.
Itsuki quietly watched his aunt chew and then returned his gaze to his own food, sensing very strongly that whatever was happening at the table this morning was not something he was supposed to get involved in.
"Sister Mikoto, I am fine," said Kushina again, though her voice had lost some of its earlier momentum.
"Of course," said Mikoto warmly. "Though if something were bothering you, you could always talk to me about it. That is what family is for."
Kushina set her chopsticks down and looked at her sister-in-law for a long moment, reading her expression the way she read an opponent during a spar, trying to determine how much she already knew.
Mikoto looked back at her with the calm and patient expression of a woman who had all morning and absolutely nowhere to be.
Kushina exhaled through her nose as she looked at her brother Raiken, knowing her older brother always caught up when something happened to her.
"Did my brother say something to you?" asked Kushina.
"Raiken tells me many things," replied Mikoto. "He is my husband."
"Did he tell you something specifically or anything?" said Kushina, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Mikoto tilted her head a fraction to the side, then smiled at her.
Kushina covered her face with both hands.
"I cannot believe you," she muttered while looking at her brother.
"He is worried about you," said Mikoto. "And so am I."
Raiken kept his mouth quiet and didn't say anything at all.
Kushina lowered her hands and looked at the table.
Itsuki, sensing things had shifted into something more serious, very carefully took the last piece of his breakfast and chewed it, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere just above his bowl.
"He confessed," said Kushina quietly.
At this time, everyone at the table had stopped breathing except Mikoto and Raiken.
"Did you accept his feelings?" said Mikoto.
"I did not know what to say, so I just, I left," said Kushina, the embarrassment of the memory still visible on her face.
"What did you feel when he said it?" asked Mikoto.
Kushina was quiet for a long moment.
"Weird," she said finally. "My heart was beating really fast, and my face felt hot, and I could not think of anything, which never happens to me because I always have something to say."
"Hmm," said Mikoto.
"What does that mean?" asked Kushina, looking at her.
"It means," said Mikoto gently, "that you already know how you feel. You are just not used to feeling it yet."
Kushina stared at her.
"I have been teammates with Minato for five years," said Kushina slowly. "He was always just, he was always just there. He was training with us and doing missions, and I never thought of him as anything other than someone I was competing with."
"And now?" asked Mikoto.
Kushina opened her mouth and then closed it again, her cheeks coloring slightly.
"I do not know," she admitted. "That is the problem."
Mikoto reached across the table and covered Kushina's hand with her own for a moment.
"Not knowing is fine," said Mikoto. "You do not have to have an answer today. But running away and hiding under a blanket is not the same as not knowing, Kushina. You know something. You are just frightened of what it means."
Kushina looked at her for a long moment before slowly nodding, something in her expression shifting slightly from confusion into something quieter and more honest.
Itsuki, who had been pretending with great dedication to be completely absorbed in his now empty bowl, looked up and blinked at his aunt.
"Auntie Kushina," he said.
Everyone looked at him.
"Your face is red," he said, helpfully giving her a hint
Kushina looked at the five-year-old for a moment before letting out a long breath that was almost a laugh.
"Thank you, Itsuki," she said flatly.
Itsuki nodded seriously and picked up his cup of water, satisfied that he had contributed something useful to the conversation.
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Author Notes: To be honest, I need to pay my internet bill of $50 per month, those of you who love this story. My Patreon subsriber has dropped by more than 80%.
So here I am, opening a new discount code to help me survive this month.
Discount code 40%: 6614D
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