10. Did You Do It ?

" So...did you do the nasty? "

Kushina all but growled at the raven-haired woman in front of her.

Did the nasty? how old was this woman .... asking such childish things. Kushina glared at the woman with an embarrassed face while the woman in question just met her glare with a gentle smile on her calm face.

Which only managed to irk Kushina more.

...

" Hehe~" Mikoto just giggled a little at the redhead's embarrassment because how couldn't she, when she was acting this cute?

On the outside Mikoto showed a calm appearance but inwardly she was brimming with excitement.

A bunch of little Mikoto's were running around in her head dancing, celebrating, and screaming. 

'Kyaa!' 

[Picture]

Mikoto's calm eyes met Kushina's pair of embarrassed eyes. She could see that something embarrassing happened yesterday and Mikoto was going to get to the bottom of it if it was the last thing she did.

....

" This..." Mikoto was just a little speechless looking at Kushina who was hiding her face behind her hands due to shame. 

" Kushina .... we are all adults, and it isn't that shameful to relieve yourself " Mikoto said in a soothing tone. Mikoto didn't try to tease Kushina as she knew this was a sensitive thing for Kushina and there was more to it and as her friend, she would try her best to soothe her.

" I-its not that ..... I just thought of him while doing it "

Mikoto looked at Kushina with a surprised expression. She understood who Kushina was talking about and a Cheshire grin crept up on her face which she quickly concealed.

Although Mikoto didn't want to tease Kushina, she couldn't help herself. 

" Is it Itsuki? " Mikoto asked her while maintaining the same calm face.

" Umm" Kushina just gave a small hum while keeping her head lowered.

'How cute ~ fufufu~'

 ...

"Kushina" Mikoto said in a serious tone.

Kushina raised her head to meet Mikoto gentle gaze " It's... okay to let go "

Kushina's lips trembled a little and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words were formed.

Seeing Kushina's state Mikoto went over and embraced Kushina. She hugged Kushina's trembling body while whispering words of consolation.

.....

Mikoto gazed at Kushina in her arms who was torn between grief and guilt.

Kushina was distraught over Minato's death and guilty towards him. She felt that she had betrayed Minato.

Mikoto could understand Kushina's complicated feelings. She also felt a bit sad for Minato but that was it. It might sound a bit cold but to Mikoto, Minato was Kushina's husband, not her friend, yes she did consider him a friend of some sort , but that was only due to the existence of Kushina.

Kushina was like Mikoto's family, Hell ! she cared about her more than her damned clan.

In Konoha Mikoto only had 3 people whom she could truly consider her family. Her two children and Kushina. And now Itsuki was also added.

She knew Kushina never had anyone she could truly call family or friends, and after Minato passed away that became glaringly obvious. For Kushina who lost her whole clan and came to a new village with strangers, Minato could be considered an emotional pillar tying her to this place.

Mikoto didn't want Kushina to suffer due to Minato. Kushina suffered enough, she isn't going to let her ruin her happiness for a dead dude.

Mikoto truly disliked Minato, he was a Village Hero but he wasn't a good father or a husband.

If he so wanted, he could have lived but he chose to sacrifice himself for the village, which is admirable and Mikoto is grateful for it. 

Mikoto isn't a fool like Kushina, being the wife of the patriarch and an Elite Jonin of the most influential clan in Konoha made her privy to some details.

And she didn't like what she found out one bit. The so-called higher-ups are just a bunch of rotten decrypt old fools. She respected the Third but maybe it is due to old age or something, his incompetence is off the charts. 

'He is trying too hard to maintain stability, and is willing to go to any lengths for it, and he is giving free rein to his old friends, who are just cancers who corrupt Konoha'

Minato may be a good Hokage but in Mikoto's books, she didn't respect him. The moment he decided to seal the other half of Kyuubi in his newborn baby was the moment she disdained him.

It's not like he didn't know what the fate of a Jinchuriki is. But still, he chose to do it anyway, what did he expect? Would the villagers treat his daughter as some Hero? Naruko was lucky her mother was alive otherwise Mikoto couldn't imagine the fate, the young child would experience. 

Even subconsciously Minato chose the village first, which was reflected in his actions. She won't let Kushina be sad over someone who is gone. Kushina is in the prime of her life, and she doesn't need to spend it in guilt and self-blame in this prison known as Konoha.

Mikoto knew Kushina should have started to develop some feelings for Itsuki which caused her to feel that she was betraying Minato, thus blaming herself for trying to be happy after Minato's death.

Mikoto didn't want this to continue, she wanted her to know that it's okay to let go.

Mikoto felt Kushina would be happy with Itsuki, but ..... the problem is Itsuki. Would he be willing? 

She knew Itsuki was taking care of Kushina as her 'Husband', but in a way, he was forced into it. That was the only thing bothering her, as she didn't want to take advantage of Itsuki's kindness as she could confidently say he was like her little bother.

'Maybe see his attitude towards Naruko ' Mikoto felt that was a good idea , if he showed any negative reaction towards Naruko....then she might have to reconsider some things.

But first, she needed to convince Kushina to come to terms with her growing feelings. 

.....

" Kushina you are still young and in your prime, you shouldn't be ashamed or guilty about seeking happiness" Mikoto said in a gentle tone while gently patting Kushina's head as if she were a child.

" B-but Minato .." Kushina said in a trembling voice. Kushina felt it was wrong for her to do this.

She felt that she was desecrating the memory of Minato, her husband who sacrificed himself for the village and them, and here she was trying to forget all that.

Kushina felt scared by these whirlwinds of emotions, she was scared by the fact that she didn't feel disgusted when she thought about Itsuki while touching herself.

Her mind would think about Itsuki from time to time. Itsuki was genuinely kind to her and didn't see her as a monster. Kushina always felt a little inferior in her life, only Minato genuinely treated her like a person instead of a monster in human skin.

She could see the eyes with which the Shinobi who guarded her gazed at her, it was as if they were looking at a weapon, not a person. She could see how Itsuki didn't look at her with hatred or anger in his eyes.

She wondered whether he was that good of an actor, but that was unlikely as she could sense negative emotions due to being the Kyubi Jinchuriki and recently she felt her perception had become even better, maybe she had unlocked her clan's precious bloodline ability.

She felt very uncomfortable when Itsuki treated her so well, her thoughts were contradictory, one part of her wanted him to be disgusted with her like the rest of them, while the other part wanted to find out whether he was genuine.

If Itsuki continued to take care of her she couldn't imagine what would happen to her feelings, thus the contradiction.

She wanted Itsuki to look at her with Hatred or Disgust, so she could quell these rising feelings. Kushina felt like she was in a dark place and didn't know what to do.

Suddenly the darkness surrounding her mind was dispelled when she heard Mikoto's gentle voice.

...

 " Kushina ... It is okay for you to be happy " Mikoto looked towards Kushina who was sobbing in her arms and said in a gentle tone.

She could understand Kushina's viewpoint a little bit, unlike her, Kushina truly loved Minato and felt what she was doing was betrayal towards him.

By trying to move on and choosing to be happy she was betraying Minato, Mikoto could understand but that didn't mean she wanted Kushina to wallow in sadness. She would convince Kushina to follow her feelings even if it means she has to wrong Minato in the process. Mikoto could only offer an insincere apology to Minato.

" I-is It ?" Kushina asked a little apprehensively

' God please forgive me ' Mikoto knew what she was going to do wasn't right, but as they say,

'Everything is for the greater good'

Mikoto felt a shiver down her spine as she felt she was aligning with something bigger and greater.

...

In another Universe, a certain spectacled wizard had a soft smile on his face.

 He raised his goblet to the air as if to toast.

....

Mikoto felt she had to do it even if she felt bad about it, as it wasn't harmful to Kushina in any way but maybe Minato would be affected, but hey why bother about the dead.

Yes, Mikoto was going to gaslight Kushina into erasing her guilt and make her feel okay with accepting her feelings.

" Yes, It's okay. Minato would also be happy to see you living happily " She did it, she pulled the Minato card out, but why didn't she feel that bad.... 'Hmm' 

" Really " Kushina's eyes brightened a little and she looked towards Mikoto like a lost chick.

"Yes... Really " Mikoto felt a little bad about doing this but , it was necessary.

' Hope you Rest in Peace Minato ' Mikoto prayed out of a little guilt.

Now she had to completely convince Kushina and it was going to be hard work.

But hey, somebody's gotta do the job right?

**********

Whoa 😲 this chapter was pretty hard to write , due to all the emotions needed to be portrayed I really tried my best please don't flame me 🥲

...

I despise Itachi , a person who can murder his mom is not someone I can admire , nah I don't wanna hear shit from Itachi fanboys who are trying to cope with the bs of him having no choice.

He was mature enough to question the meaning of life so he was mature enough to make a good decision.

....

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