"The weekdays passed by; our inseparable couple of souls never ceased to dote on their daughter. They cared for their little girl, showering her with attention and showing all the love to their radiant child. Little Miroku inherited her mother's crimson hair and her father's eye color.
Uncle Jiraiya would come by to witness the result of his wards' love. Kaname-san was giving a master class to her not-so-young parents. Minato often visited the Third to glean experience from the older generations.
The day of the inauguration was approaching. Kushina decided to help her husband with the preparations and hurried to the home of the old granny Kiemi, who, according to legend, embroidered haori for all past Hokages.
But when she stepped over her threshold, something happened: "Good day, Kiemi-san, I've come for my husband's haori," — cheerfully reported the girl to the old granny, who responded:
"It's not ready yet, come back in a week! — she replied with a disgruntled tone. And then bewilderment, shock, panic ensued!"
"How come in a week?! I personally came to you two weeks ago for the order!"
"What's the rush, all of you? Youth, I tell you! Making a haori for the Hokage is delicate work; it's not like darning socks!"
"Granny! This haori was needed yesterday! We can't tell the people that the Hokage appointment is canceled because our turtle ninja is the only one who makes these haori, and she doesn't have a turbocharger!"
"How dare you! I outlived your grandpa, and trust me, I'll outlive your grandkids... Let them wait: until I finish this haori, your hubby won't wear anything!"
Arguments erupted with renewed vigor. The shouts echoed almost throughout the neighborhood, and all the ladies who were helping the granny kept themselves far from the epicenter of this infernal mix of senile dementia and the rebellious personality of Bloody Habanero.
Kushina even remembered some old curses she didn't shy away from using against this old lady; and when it all reached a boiling point, Kushina simply pulled on the cloak with a fierce look, but the granny wasn't outdone: she almost ripped it out of Kushina's tight grip with her teeth.
The outcome was that two temperamental representatives of the female gender simply tore the cloak in two. The initiators of the conflict, seeing the result of their actions, just hung their heads. Kushina couldn't let Minato down, but here was the problem.
The appointment was for today, and therefore, overcoming herself, she decided to act together with this stubborn but responsible old lady, who agreed in response, as this incident could badly affect her reputation, she began to oversee the whole process. Finally, in four hours, they managed to finish this thing.
Kushina realized she was late. Arriving at the square, she saw people who had already started to fall asleep standing up, because only duty kept them from going home. Moving to the roof of the Hokage's residence, she immediately approached Minato. In response to the questioning looks of everyone around, she decided not to justify herself and laid everything out as it was.
Minato, seeing this creation, described as "It'll do."
The characters weren't perfectly straight, but even despite that, Minato was glad that the dream of his whole life was realized with the help of the one he loved most, like his daughter.
"— I, Minato Namikaze, pledge to uphold all the laws laid down by our ancestors and to protect all the people of this beautiful village, and to give my life for it."
After these words, there was a roar of joy and praise for the newly appointed Hokage. Minato, jumping to his family, took his daughter in his arms, kissed his wife, hugged Kaname-san, shook hands with Jiraiya, and accepted congratulations from his friends on the way home.
After all this hustle and bustle, the young couple, having put their daughter to sleep, approached the window:
"Darling, our dream has finally come true!"
"What are you talking about, dear? It's you who became the Hokage."
" You're wrong! Because when I didn't know what to do next in the last war, only you helped me with advice. Now I'm the Hokage, and your advice and arguments will be as weighty as mine, so we are both equally the Hokage."
In response to this, Kushina just pulled her husband closer to her and tumbled onto the bed, showering him with her love.
The first week for Minato as Hokage was challenging because even though he had received training from the Third on village management, practicality proved to be more difficult. After three weeks into his inauguration, Kushina began to feel strange.
A similar feeling had occurred when she was pregnant with their first child. It was devastating for her because there was no guarantee she would survive a second time, as the seal couldn't withstand the birth of another child.
Minato came home late one evening. The job demanded too much time: clan meetings, paperwork bureaucracy, civil receptions - there was just too much to do. Kushina even started meeting her husband every night with a frying pan, working on his punctuality, and even teasing him that he caught tardiness from Kakashi.
But tonight was different. As Minato entered the kitchen where his wife was, he sensed something was off. She was sitting at the table, poring over a report of test results. Minato decided to approach cautiously:
"Sweetheart, is everything alright?"
"My dear, how about you?" She immediately lowered her gaze to the sheet, conveying that she had only noticed him now.
Minato took the paper in his hands and, after looking at the results, his emotions ranged from surprise to confusion. Placing the sheet back in place, he pulled a chair closer to his wife.
"Kushina, we'll figure something out," he said with all the confidence he could muster, though he began to doubt the positive outcome himself. But one thing he knew for sure! He wouldn't let his beloved die. After sitting a little longer, he suggested they sleep on it and think with a fresh mind in the morning.
***
The morning rang with the doorbell. Kushina, opening the door, saw her aunt Kaname.
"Hello, Kushina, how are you, and how's Miroku doing? I brought some baby food for you."
"Hello, Aunt Kaname. Everything's fine, and Miroku's sleeping. Come in, I'll freshen up and be right back."