All Mine

Warning: Mentions of rape in this chapter. Please read at your own discretion.

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Naruto blurred over rooftops, heading to the Forest of Death for a long overdue survival training session. With Minato and both Hatakes away on missions and not being well acquainted with anyone else in the village other than the Sandaime who always shoved dreaded paperwork at him whenever he visited, Naruto had to resort to his old training buddies – giant scorpions – for some fun.

The scorpions had been the unwilling victims of his crazy training regimen during the year after his torture when he could barely stand the sight of humans. The survival training session he devised was simple. He would jump into a colony of scorpions, make a loud bang, and try to stay alive for several days. Fun, right? It was a kill or be killed arrangement, but Naruto had yet to die while their population had taken a dip.

Whatever. They were getting cocky anyway.

Naruto was about to perform a Shunshin across Training Ground Thirty-Seven when a dark blob caught his eye. What came into view caused him to snort and change directions.

"Hey, Shikaku. How're the clouds?"

The man's half-lidded eyes flitted to the approaching blonde before returning to stare at the sky. Shikaku raised an arm for the laziest salute Naruto had ever seen.

"Good afternoon, Aka-san. The clouds slept in today."

Naruto lay down next to him and grinned up at the cloudless sky.

"I keep telling you, call me Naruto. We're the same age; it's creepy."

"Why bother? They're both three syllables. It's troublesome to switch back and forth between meetings."

"If you don't, I'll fire you."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "But you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't?"

"You hired me because, somehow, you know how I operate."

Naruto said nothing.

"Tch, I don't care. Just don't give me any more work. As it is, you've already cut my cloud watching time by forty-six percent."

Naruto let out a light laugh. "It's going that well with Fujiwara Transport, then? Maybe I should get Sandaime-Jijii to appoint you as the new Jounin Commander. I have full confidence in you."

Shikaku turned his head sideways to look at the Hunter-nin flatly. "If you do, I'll slash Konoha's instant ramen imports." He smirked when Naruto looked back at him with growing horror reflected on his face.

"Alright, alright," Naruto grumbled under his breath. "No Jounin Commander for another few years."

"Not until my kid turns six."

"Why six?"

"That's when I'm sending them to Academy. It'd be a pain to deal with raising a kid and being Jounin Commander at the same time."

The blonde snorted. "Then get on with the baby making, you lazy ass. I want you taking over six years from now."

They watched a tiny wisp of cloud floating across the otherwise clear expanse of blue.

Naruto broke the silence. "Do you want to spar with me?"

Shikaku twisted his lips into a grimace. "Minato's out of the village?" Naruto nodded solemnly, looking as if his world had ended.

"No," Shikaku rejected firmly, "I've seen you two fight. I don't want to get beat up by either of you crazy blondes. Besides, you don't know medical jutsu."

"Minato is starting to teach me," Naruto defended.

"The answer is no. Go spy on the council or something."

"That's Inokazu-san's job."

"Then don't let me hold you back from the Forest of Death. I'm sure the hyenas or scorpions would love to join you."

"Scorpions," Naruto affirmed, impressed at Shikaku's deduction.

From the corner of his left eye, he caught a flicker of red who could only belong to one person. "Shikaku, what can you tell me about Uzumaki Kushina?"

Shikaku shuddered involuntarily. "Be careful around her," he warned. "We were in the same Academy class. She's scarier than my girlfriend."

Naruto snorted in laughter. "Too late…I don't get why, but she already hates me. We only met for twenty minutes, at most."

Shikaku glanced at him oddly. "I'm not sure if we should be following you into war."

"How is that related?"

"You can be an oblivious idiot sometimes," Shikaku answered with a sigh. "Now I wonder if Iwa is actually our ally and Suna our real enemy."

Naruto glared at the sky. "What happened to respecting your superiors?"

"I control ramen imports," the Nara answered simply.

"Shikaku! Just tell me why she hates me."

"I doubt she hates you. She dislikes you because Minato spends all his time with you," Shikaku informed the Hunter-nin. "She used to be able to track him down pretty easily, but in the last few months, she's had to jump through hoops to find him."

"That's the same thing someone else told me," Naruto said. "But how is that my fault?"

Shikaku rolled his eyes. "How should I know?"

"You have a girlfriend."

"Doesn't mean I'm any wiser about women. They're too much of a bother to work out."

He grunted when Naruto punched him in the shoulder. "Fine, fine. She'd rather be mad at you than at Minato, who she's crazy about. I answered your questions, so go talk to her."

Naruto stood reluctantly and brushed grass of his clothes. "She's scary."

"Hmm, you two are similar in some aspects," the genius muttered thoughtfully. "Almost like family. Uzumaki and Uzuhara…"

The blonde froze at the comment, unnoticed by Shikaku who had closed his eyes. He'd have to be careful. That keen mind was a double-edged sword.

"Anyway, good luck with her."

"Thanks. Good talking to you. See you at the next meeting if I survive."

Shikaku peeked from one eye. "Can we hold it at my house? It's a pain to walk to the Hokage's Tower."

Naruto laughed. "Bring that up with Jijii. I don't choose the venue."

"Then come over to play a few games of Shogi and Go sometime."

"Uhh…" Naruto felt a strong push from Kyuubi his mindscape.

'Kyuu, you want to play?'

'It will be a thousand times better than playing against an idiot like you. For the first time in decades, I have the opportunity to face an opponent with intelligence.'

"Well, sure," Naruto answered gladly even as he sent the demon fox a mental pout. With a last wave, he ran after the fiery redhead's fading figure.

Shikaku watched him leave, feeling rather sorry for the guy. He decided blondes and redheads were equally the most troublesome of them all, and he couldn't be more thankful that Yoshino, despite being bossy and nagging, was a brunette.

"…aki-san!"

Kushina was pulled out of her thoughts by a voice calling from behind.

"Uzumaki-san!"

Speak of the devil, the person she was just contemplating ran up to her. Kushina smoothed her face and continued walking as the man fell in step with her.

He greeted her with a bright grin.

"Uzumaki-san, could I speak with you?" The one named Uzuhara Naruto asked politely and maybe a little awkwardly. She eyed him discreetly, taking in his casual outfit and nicked-up hitai-ate tied around his arm. He seemed energetic, laid-back, and apprehensive all rolled into one, though she couldn't fathom how he pulled it off.

"You're speaking now," Kushina answered curtly. Sensing his energy deflate and apprehension rise, she couldn't help but feel a little smug.

"Um…" He paused and fidgeted. "Uhh…I'm Naruto. It's, um, nice to meet you…"

Kushina almost laughed at his awkwardness; the poor guy was all nervousness now, his grin replaced by downturned lips.

"I already know who you are," she replied as she remembered why Uzuhara infuriated her. Ever since he appeared, she could rarely find Minato, and when they did spend time together, usually while Uzuhara was away on missions, he wouldn't stop talking about the jounin.

"So…how are you today?"

She twisted her unbidden smile into a grimace. "I'm fine."

"Uhh…nice weather huh."

Kushina had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop another smile.

"I'm really sorry about breaking into your house," he rushed out. "Are you feeling better?"

She arched an eyebrow, unseen by Uzuhara as he stared down the path they were walking. "That was weeks ago. Of course I'm better."

"Oh right, sorry." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "My sense of time gets scrambled whenever I go on missions."

The awkward silence returned.

Kushina huffed impatiently. She stopped and turned to him, placing a hand on her hip. "Uzuhara, what do you want to talk to me about?"

The blonde visibly winced at the tone.

"Well…um…" Uzuhara trailed off. "I want to ask you why you hate me…"

"And why do you think I hate you." Oh kami, making this kid uncomfortable could be her new favorite hobby.

He shifted his weight. "You seem really angry at me, but I don't know what I did. Someone told me it's because of Minato, but I can't really figure out how to fix it. I know he's your friend. He told me you're really cool. I think you're pretty cool too, so I want to be your friend too. And Minato says you're really good at Fuuinjutsu. He also said you're really strong. He–"

"Uzuhara! You're rambling."

Uzuhara shrank back like a child who had been chastised. What was so great about this guy? He had no backbone and seemed useless. There was no way he could have become a jounin, much less tie Minato in a fight.

"Are you really shinobi?" She questioned.

He tilted his head to the side quizzically. "Of course I am."

"You look like a wuss. Tell me again, what do you do?"

"I'm a Tokubetsu Jounin in Infiltration and Reconnaissance. I've been for years," he answered, affronted.

"You should stop spreading lies about tying Minato. I can't imagine a wimp like you could stand a chance at getting a single hit on him." Kushina frowned inwardly. That was pretty harsh even for her, especially since he wasn't an enemy shinobi or an asshole.

"I'm not lying! The first time, I electrocuted him, and the second time I escaped Hiraishin," he growled.

Hm, so this guy can fight back. But, no one can beat me in arguments.

"It was Combat Assessment. Obviously, he wasn't going all out." Kushina flipped her long hair.

Uzuhara scowled. "It wasn't a life or death battle, but we were fighting seriously," he retorted. "I can fight you now to prove I'm good."

"Psh, I'm a real jounin. You're not worth wasting time on," she glared down the blonde who was half a head taller than her.

"You wouldn't know unless you try. Or are you scared you'd lose?" He taunted.

"There's no way I'd lose against a baka like you. You'd probably lose against fresh genin," she taunted back.

This scene strongly reminded her of a quarrel between pre-school children… Why did he seem to bring out the worst in her?

"Teme, I'm not a baka!" He pointed at her rudely. "I'm smarter than you."

"You've got to be kidding me. You didn't even make it to Academy." She stuck her chin out mockingly. "I bet you failed three times."

He opened his mouth to snap back, but no sound came out.

Kushina's jaw dropped open. "What? For real? Hahahaha! You failed to get in three times? That's why you didn't go to Academy?"

"No…"

"I doubt anyone else has ever failed three times." She snickered.

Uzuhara growled. "Who cares about failing Academy. I made it to jounin anyway. I'll have you know, I could evade ANBU since I was seven."

"Baka, stop lying!" She snapped.

"I'm not!" He snapped back.

"Then prove it."

He looked at her blankly.

She smirked triumphantly. "You can't, can you?" His lack of reaction only strengthened her resolve.

"Uzuhara, I want you to stay away from Minato. I've never seen you around before, and I don't trust you. For all we know, you could be a spy," Kushina lashed out angrily. "You claim you're part of Infiltration, and I know you've lied multiple times already. That only backs up my suspicions. Stop wasting his time with your problems."

Instead of retorting, Uzuhara's face fell, eyes dulled, and his shoulders slumped. He looked utterly devastated. A sizeable portion of her heart wanted to take back her cutting words and comfort him until his bright grin returned, but no, this was the kid who was taking the love of her life away from her; she would fight tooth and nail to keep Minato by her side.

Uzuhara raised his face to the dark clouds rolling in. The last of the fading sunlight illuminated his face, highlighting the shadows in his weary expression. He stuffed a hand in his pouch around his waist and spoke lifelessly without looking at her.

"I'm really sorry for wasting your time." An umbrella appeared in his hand and was shoved quickly into hers. Unsealing with no lag time! "Here, just in case. There will be a rain shower in five minutes. Um bye."

Before she recovered from her surprise at his Fuuin prowess, he had already vanished in a silent, cloudless Shunshin.

Kushina's mind was as stormy as the sky as she stared at the umbrella which was colored just as blue as his azure eyes when he first greeted her. She had said her piece and defended her position in Minato's life. Uzuhara had probably been scared away, which was her aim from the beginning…

…Then, why did she feel so awful?

Minato walked around the village aimlessly, not sure what to make of the situation. It had been half a week since he returned from Team 9's week-long assassination mission, but he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Naruto. Hokage-sama had confirmed he wasn't away on a mission, and he had scoured the Forest of Death with no success. Naruto wasn't in his room or at the ANBU training facility, ANBU training grounds, or regular training grounds, and both Kakashi and Sakumo-senpai were still on their respective missions. He had even checked Ichiraku for every meal, including breakfast.

That was where he was headed now for dinner. He was a little disappointed that Naruto hadn't welcomed him home, but after this many days, he knew something was very wrong; Naruto only holed himself away when he couldn't deal with people on top of emotional turmoil.

Minato ducked into the ramen stand, scanning for golden hair but was disappointed. However, he saw bright hair beside four empty bowls. He sat down next to Kushina, glad to see his longtime friend.

"Hey, Kushina," he greeted. "What flavor is that?"

She raised her head in surprise and grinned. "Soy with sliced pork."

"Sounds good. Teuji-san, can I have the same?"

"One soy with sliced pork, coming right up!"

"Teuji-san, has he been by today?"

The question caught Kushina's attention immediately.

"Sorry, Namikaze-san." The Ichiraku owner shook his head as he prepared the noodles.

Minato sighed heavily, settling his cheek on the counter dejectedly. "It's been four days. I'm worried about him. Last time he disappeared like this, he was in pretty bad shape."

"Minato, who are you talking about?"

"Naruto." He raised his eyes. "He's avoiding me."

"Uzuhara? Why do you think that?"

"Since he doesn't really know anyone else, he only masks this chakra when he doesn't want to be found by me," Minato explained. "And when he hides, it's impossible to sense him."

Surprised, Kushina's eyebrows rose. "He can mask himself from you?"

Minato nodded gravely. "He has the best chakra control in Konoha. Better than the ANBU Commander and Hokage-sama."

"No way, I don't believe it."

He raised his head when his bowl of ramen was offered to him, but instead of digging in, he picked at the noodles. "He's good. He's always training one thing or another, and it's all for Konoha. Sometimes, I wish he'd take a break so he doesn't burn out."

Kushina's hand had stopped, and the awful feeling that had been stewing inside her for days grew to a boil. She identified it as regret.

"But…just last week, he…he was such a pushover!" She tried to compare the Uzuhara whom she had verbally crushed with the Uzuhara Minato described and came up with two completely different people.

"Last week?" Minato turned to her in an instant. "Was he okay? Did he seem strange or upset?"

She didn't answer.

"Kushina?" He furrowed his brow.

She cringed inwardly. She had never been able to lie to him, and she feared his reaction to the less-than-friendly exchange between her and Uzuhara.

"We talked a bit last week," she said hesitantly. Minato urged her to continue with an encouraging nod. Seeing his eagerness, she glowered even while knowing the anger was petty and unjustified. "We had a disagreement. For some reason, we don't seem to see eye to eye about anything."

He looked at her, overflowing with doubt. "He's almost never confrontational unless the other party provokes him first…"

Minato's eyes narrowed. "Kushina…what did you say?" He asked softly. Dangerously. In that voice she found so bewitching, but frightening now that it was turned against her.

Her anger faltered. "I told him I didn't trust him. I told him to stop wasting your time with his problems."

Minato froze. "You told him to stop wasting my time?" This time his voice was faint. A moment later, he dropped his head in his hands.

She watched him anxiously. "What?"

He clenched his hair in frustration. "Wasting people's time – that's one of the things he fears and despises most. He doesn't think he deserves positive attention unless he offers something of equal or higher value in return. When I said he's had it worse than you, I meant it. Naruto's childhood could be considered appalling, and his teen years could be described as horrific. It took months to get him to open up to people." To me.

"If he's vanished for a week, he must have regressed." His shoulders slumped, identical to how Uzuhara's had slumped a week ago.

Kushina was flooded with guilt as she recalled the younger blonde's crushed face. The idea that she had torn apart someone who was already damaged made her sick. Acting that way towards anyone was inexcusable.

"If you can't find him, why don't you call him to you?" She suggested.

Minato looked at her skeptically. "If he's hiding from me, he's not going to show up."

"Make it seem like a distress call."

"A distress call…?" His eyes lit up, and he pulled her into a quick hug. "That could work! He would never ignore a distress call."

Minato practically inhaled his noodles, and when finished, he paid for both his and the blushing redhead's meals before rushing out of the stand.

"Minato, let me go with you," Kushina pleaded. "I want to apologize."

He looked conflicted for a second but nodded and took off over the rooftops. As she struggled to keep up with his hasty pace, she squashed down the jealousy which threatened to rise again. If Uzuhara's condition was as precarious as Minato said, her petty feelings had no place here.

Kushina was surprised at their destination. At her questioning look, Minato explained one of Naruto's odd quirks.

"He considers the Forest of Death his personal backyard and playground. This is probably his favorite place to train."

"You think he's in there now?" Kushina asked, incredulous.

"No, I already checked today. If he was here, he would be blasting something."

"Then why are we…?"

"As strange as it sounds, he'll feel least threatened here." Minato frowned to himself. "Ugh, I shouldn't say that like he's an animal."

He compressed all of his anxiety, confusion, and conflict from the last four days into a tight ball and released it all at once with a small burst of chakra.

"Are you sure that was strong enough?" Kushina asked skeptically after barely feeling a pulse.

"He knows my signature. He'll be able to sense that," Minato said confidently.

The air was tense as they waited. Sounds from the Forest of Death behind them grew louder as the sky began to turn orange from the setting sun.

In a sudden displacement of air, Naruto appeared in front of Minato, hair messier than usual and expression frantic.

"Minato!" Naruto's fearful eyes zoomed in on his friend, and then he was patting the larger blonde, searching everywhere for injuries. His hands finally rose to cup Minato's face, his right thumb gently stroking the left cheek.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Naruto pressed urgently for answers. He brushed aside Minato's bangs to search his eyes. "Did something happen?"

Minato raised his hands to grasp the smaller ones on his face and lowered them slowly. "I was worried about you."

"Huh…?"

Then Naruto snapped his head to the side at a barely audible gasp. "Uzumaki-san…?"

"You're Hunter-nin!" Kushina stared at the uniform and the mask pushed to the side of his head.

Naruto's eyes, now filled with confusion and a hint of betrayal, snapped back to Minato's. He wrenched his hands out and stumbled back. "Minato, what's going on?"

Minato groaned inwardly, regretting the decision to allow Kushina to follow. "I've been trying to find you for days, and this was the only way I could reach you."

"So you tricked me?" Betrayal gained ground.

"I'm sorry for using this method." Minato looked at him remorsefully. "But I'm not sorry for searching you out. I was worried, just like how you were worried about me earlier."

"Worried?" Naruto stepped back unsteadily. "You shouldn't be. Why aren't you hanging out with your team or Uzumaki-san? Or your friends at Headquarters? I overheard Lemur is looking for you for a spar."

Minato took several steps forward. "But I want to spend time with you."

"But, but I only cause you trouble." Naruto backed away some more.

"Whether it's trouble or not is for me to decide." Minato matched the steps.

"Think about all the times you were with me that you should have spent with Uzumaki-san." Naruto glanced quickly at the Forest to his left.

"I'm fully capable of deciding who to spend time with," Minato said, taking another small step closer. "I still do spend time with her and with my other friends."

"I'm stealing their time with you." Naruto insisted. His eyes flitted between Minato, the Forest, and the village. Minato recognized it as a sure sign that Naruto's skittishness had returned, and that he was about to run.

"Well, I think time spent with you is worthwhile."

Naruto shrank back. "But I'm not even supposed to be here… You're supposed to…" His eyes flickered to Kushina before glazing over.

As predicted, Naruto performed a Shunshin, but Minato had been prepared and activated Naruto's Hiraishin seal. No Shunshin could outrun a Hiraishin. The Hunter-nin only managed to travel several feet before he was caught from behind.

He flinched violently as arms grabbed hold of him.

"N-no, don't!"

Minato froze at the flinch. Naruto hadn't reacted negatively to his touch in at least four months, since Suna. He took pleasure in the fact that his touch and chakra were sources of comfort, whether they blanketed Naruto's entire body or simply nudged a shoulder. It never failed to make him smile when Naruto reluctantly or unconsciously sought contact.

Whatever Kushina said had caused him to retreat back into himself, exposing that he hadn't fully moved past his trauma.

Naruto struggled harder as he was pulled against the strong body, unable to break free. His spiral mask slipped to the grass, unnoticed and forgotten.

"Don't touch me." He began to shake when he felt phantom hands crawling all over him. "Let me go." The shakes turned into spasms as images of leering faces flashed through his mind. Naruto clawed desperately at the arms trapping him. "Help me. Someone, save me. Please…anyone…" His voice grew weaker and weaker as he fell deeper into despair; his chakra cried along with his eyes.

"Shit, relapse!" The larger blonde swore. Hoping to at least quell the spasms, he coated his front and Naruto's back with his own chakra. "Hey, Naruto, breath slowly," he said clearly. "You're safe in Konoha. It's evening, and we're standing next to Training Ground Forty-Four. I've got you. Naruto, I'll protect you, so come back."

Naruto shuddered and stilled, recognizing the signature. "Minato. Minato. Minato," he chanted as if to convince himself of the other blonde's existence. "You're here. What are you doing here?"

"We've been here the entire time."

"What about them?" Terror and urgency saturated his voice.

"Who?"

"Them. Quick, you have to get out before they come back." Naruto twisted for a glimpse of Minato. "They'll hurt you."

"They're gone. We got rid of them all." Minato tried to recall everything the Hunter-nin had shared about his imprisonment.

"ANBU?" Naruto snarled.

The ANBU Captain berated himself for unintentionally hinting at the people Naruto hated. "It's over with. A long time ago," he reassured. Minato turned him around in his arms to look intently into dilated eyes. The smaller blonde shook his head, trying to decide what was reality. He saw both the cave and Minato, or was it Minato in the cave? "We're out of the cave?"

"That's right. We're free. Look at the open sky."

Naruto whimpered, sinking down to the ground. Minato dropped with him, arranging the Hunter-nin to face him between spread legs, drawing him closer with an arm around the waist. His free hand rose to tangle fingers into locks of soft hair, pressing the smaller blonde's cheek to his shoulder.

Feeling the steady heartbeat under his ear, Naruto wrapped his arms around Minato, holding onto him like a lifeline. "I'm tired, Minato. I'm tired of being alone," he mumbled. "I wish you were mine…"

Minato's heart warmed at Naruto's selfish desire. "I'll be yours if you want," he replied softly. "Whenever you want."

But Naruto shook his head as much as he could without lifting his head from Minato's shoulder. "You can't be."

"Why not?" Minato pulled the other blonde closer.

"Because I don't like to share." Naruto hid his face in the crook of Minato's neck in shame.

"Hmm?" Minato glanced down at the top of the blond head in confusion. "You won't have to… Why do you think you have to share?"

Naruto staunchly remained silent.

Minato sighed heavily, looking up and only then remembering Kushina. He looked at her apologetically but immediately turned his attention back to the shaking form in his arms. He whispered words of comfort – soothing words describing Naruto of how important the Hunter-nin was to him and to his few friends. "Remember how I tackled you when you returned from your mission? Remember how I waited to learn new jutsu so we could learn them together? Remember how Kakashi likes to tease you? And how Hokage-sama calls you to his office for no reason other than to chat?"

"Paperwork," Naruto grumbled quietly. "He makes me do his paperwork."

Minato chuckled. It was a relief to see some of Naruto's personality return. "He could have asked his personal assistant to do it, but he asked you instead."

Naruto snorted. "That's because his personal assistant is a snobbish idiot. He thinks he owns the place, but in reality, he gets Jijii's coffee wrong half the time. Jijii is going to fire him next week; the moron barely lasted a month."

"Is he going to hire you next?" Minato continued the conversation which seemed to take Naruto's mind off of his past and insecurities.

"I turned down the offer. It's a crappy job. I'd never do it."

"Would you do it if I was Hokage?" Minato joked.

Naruto raised his head and looked at the future Yondaime strangely. "I'd rather be the personal guard."

Minato laughed. "Alright, I'll hold you to that."

He pressed a light kiss to Naruto's temple. 'Sealed with a kiss,' Minato thought in a moment of extreme sappiness. He felt a blush creep into his cheeks and was thankful for the waning sunlight.

Kushina stood stiffly to the side, watching the scene with mixed feelings. It felt as if an unseen force was squeezing her heart. She couldn't tell how much of the pain was from seeing Naruto caught in his personal terror and how much was from seeing Minato hold him so tenderly. While she had never received anything more than hugs, Naruto had received a kiss. A kiss. The ease at which Minato placed the kiss showed that it wasn't the first time; her woman's intuition told her so.

She exhaled slowly to collect her thoughts and think objectively.

She failed.

The love of her life, who she'd been in love with for years, who she believed would never notice anyone because of his obliviousness, who she had been trying to catch the attention of, who had been slowly warming up to her, was holding someone else in his arms, and a man at that. This wasn't baseless jealousy anymore; someone else was quickly occupying Minato's thoughts and heart, pushing whatever portion she had to the back corner.

The worst part was that Uzuhara didn't know the effect he had on Minato. She couldn't even get angry at the younger man, only at the situation, because he was innocent, even encouraging Minato to spend more time with her. She could tell that he would be the greatest friend anyone could ever wish for and had the potential to be one of her best friends – if only he wasn't competition.

Kushina squared her shoulders. There was no way she was going to back off. This was her future husband. It wasn't her style to roll over and hand him off to someone else. 'To a man,' she pursed her lips disdainfully. As long as Minato remained oblivious, she was still in the running.

"Uzuhara-san, are you okay?"

Naruto stiffened and whipped around. He tried to scramble to his feet but was held down by Minato's stubborn arms.

"Minato…"

The older blonde made a low, unhappy sound but released him after a final squeeze. Minato rose to stand at the Hunter-nin's left, resting his right arm across the back of lean shoulders as if to protect him from future harm by Kushina.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I promise I'm sane most of the time."

"Don't worry, I understand." Kushina managed a strained smile, which was better than glowering at Minato's thumb lazily caressing the base of Naruto's neck.

Naruto looked at her gratefully. "How about I treat you to ramen sometime? As an apology."

Kushina started, remembering why she was there in the beginning. "Uzuhara-san, I'm the one who should apologize."

"Apologize?" Naruto's expression was honestly bewildered. "For what?"

Kushina tilted her head, confused that he seemed to have forgotten their argument a week ago. "For all the things I said. They were rude, offensive, and hurtful…"

"It's alright," Naruto interrupted with a shrug. "You had your reasons, and what you said is the truth."

"But!"

He cut off her apology with a wave of his hand, and an idea for matchmaking popped into his head. "We can treat each other to ramen for both our apologies and call it even."

Kushina looked baffled as she tried to grasp his over-simplified logic.

"Please?" Naruto watched her expectantly with large eyes which seemed to glow warmly in the dim evening. She couldn't help but compare him to a stray puppy waiting for her to take him home. How could she ever deny those eyes? !

As soon as she agreed, he gave her a blinding grin. "And since we cancel each other out, Minato will pay for both of us." He tugged fondly on one of Minato's eartails.

Minato made to protest, but at Naruto's hopeful expression – and those large, large eyes – all complaints shriveled and died. "How about I pay for half?" He asked weakly, trying to salvage some of his next paycheck.

"Awesome! Half-off ramen!" Naruto gave him an almost loving smile and tugged again.

Minato melted; he'd happily fork over two paychecks for that smile.

"Come on, Minato, you're slow," Naruto complained as pulled on Minato's hand. The ANBU Captain followed unenthusiastically, dragging his feet to delay the Hunter-nin.

"Slow down. He's not going anywhere for at least a week," Minato said, half of his attention was on the smaller hand gripping his and the other half on his ire. They were on their way to get ice cream until Naruto changed direction without warning

"But I haven't seen him for two weeks."

Minato glared darkly as the Hatake residence came into view.

Naruto whooped and dashed forward when he saw a figure sweeping the front path.

"Kakashi-kuuun!"

Mini-Kakashi looked up in horror as a blond-haired blur swept him off his feet and twirled him around.

"I missed you, brat." Naruto dangled Kakashi by hands under armpits. He admired the boy with a wide grin and mischievous eyes.

"Baka, put me down!"

Naruto pouted. "Didn't you miss me at all?"

"No. I enjoyed the peace and quiet as I slit the sleeping yakuza's throat."

"Awww, that's so mean."

"Well, I missed you," a deep voice whispered into his ear.

Naruto jumped in surprise and fell forward, dropping Kakashi on his bottom. Before the blonde could fall on top of the little prodigy, a strong arm caught him around the waist.

"Careful, Naruto, I can't have you falling on my son." The arm pulled him back against a hard body and lips brushed the top of his ear.

Naruto gasped, and fingers dug into Sakumo's forearm. He began to tremble almost unnoticeably but nails digging into the arm were blaring signs of distress. Naruto tried to tell himself this was Hatake Sakumo and not one of his torturers, but their position reminded him of Captor Number 3 who favored taking him from behind. The humiliation exacted to him with each touch made him sob and drown in self-loathing, but the unwelcome pleasure mixed with pain overwhelmed his broken mind with delirious arousal. The pressure of the calloused hand was just right, and the pleasure was so repulsive but felt so good. The man loved to make the unwilling blonde exploded with a strangled–

"Naruto!"

His eyes snapped open.

"Naruto," an urgent voice sounded from in front of him.

Minato's concerned face came into focus. He couldn't control his shallow breaths. When had he slipped to the ground?

"Mina…to…" he rasped out. "W-what happened?"

"You had a flashback."

Naruto sobbed once. His hands shot out to grab Minato's wrists. "Minato, stay with me. Hold me."

Minato moved forward on his knees. "Are you sure? I don't think I should touch you."

"Please."

"…Alright." Minato gathered his shaking friend into his arms, cradling him gently against his chest with his left arm under knees and right arm around shoulders which suddenly seemed small and fragile.

"I hate myself," Naruto told him quietly. "I'm weak. I've turned into the monster everyone said I was. I tried hard to be human, Minato, but when you have demons in you, you become one too." He met Minato's gaze and flickered his eyes red. "My body may be human, but my mind doesn't consider myself one of your kind."

Minato didn't recoil from the smoldering red, but he narrowed his eyes disapprovingly when Naruto called himself a monster.

"I don't consider you weak or a monster or a demon." He spoke quickly before Naruto could interject. "I think you're strong and kind. I haven't seen any evidence of you being a monster."

"But you don't know! And remember when I killed in cold blood?"

"I don't care. I will never hate you." Minato stared unwaveringly at Naruto, trying to make him believe. "Doesn't my opinion hold any weight?"

Naruto looked at him skeptically but nodded with small relief. Suddenly, awareness of his surroundings returned, and he mentally groaned. How many times had this happened already? If he kept making a fool out of himself in front of everyone, no one would ever respect him again. He'd broken down in front of every single person he was acquainted with in this timeline except Shikaku and Inokazu-san, and the mind walker already knew about his screwed up head. The genius would probably figure it out soon enough.

He stood shakily and apologized to the Hatakes, rubbing the back of his head in obvious discomfort and embarrassment. However, what Kakashi said next made him chuckle.

"Dad, you're officially an idiot," the boy said blandly. "You're sleeping in the doghouse tonight."

Sakumo winced and turned to Naruto and Minato who sent him a withering glare as he pulled the smaller blonde closer.

"I apologize. It seems I never learn…" Sakumo trailed off in uncharacteristic awkwardness but winced again when Kakashi kicked him in the calf to continue. "Is there anything I can do to make up for this?"

"Uhh, well." Naruto furrowed his brow. "It wasn't really your fault, but if you're offering… We were going to get ice cream before this. You could treat us?"

Kakashi palmed his face. "Niisan, you're an idiot too. You're supposed to ask him for something like a plot of land or a clan secret."

"What would I do with those?"

"…Nevermind," Kakashi rolled his eyes in exasperation at Naruto's clueless expression. "Let's just go get ice cream."

As they walked into the village proper, Sakumo observed Naruto yanking on Kakashi's gravity-defying hair, wondering why after four months the blonde still couldn't stand his touch even when he made certain to touch him at least once each time they met. He turned to Minato who was watching his friend like an over-protective mother hen.

"Minato, what am I doing wrong?"

The ANBU Captain's shoulders tensed. "You can guess some of his background. He has to reach out to you," he answered ambiguously.

They walked in silence the rest of the way, both occupied by thoughts of the enigmatic Hunter-nin. Just outside the ice cream shop, Minato paused and advised the older man threateningly:

"Don't touch him."

Or else.

Once the door closed behind Minato, Sakumo burst out laughing. The younger man had pretty much laid claim to Naruto and told him to back off or suffer death. The kid probably didn't realize the true meaning behind his own words.

In that moment, Sakumo conceded defeat.

He entered the shop with a light heart, ready to treat both Naruto and Minato to the most extravagant desserts on the menu. He walked up to the older blonde and clapped him on the back playfully.

"He's all yours," Sakumo whispered for Minato's ears only.

'He's all yours.'

Sakumo had spoken with a strange glint in his eyes which he had no idea how to interpret.

As the two blondes strolled towards ANBU Headquarters, Minato watched Naruto enjoy his ice cream. The smaller blonde had surprisingly opted for a simple cone with three scoops of strawberry, while Minato had chosen two scoops – strawberry cheesecake and mint chocolate chip.

'Of course he's all mine,' his mind supplied hesitantly. 'And maybe a little bit of Kakashi's,' he amended.

He watched in rapture as a pink tongue slipped out and dragged up the cold treat.

Naruto turned to Minato and smiled blissfully – not a wide smile, but just a slight lift of the corners of his lips and a twinkle in his sky blue eyes.

It was one he had never seen before, and Minato added it to the collection of Naruto's smiles memorized in his head. With each new smile, he learned more about his friend and the things that made him happy.

"Minato, aren't you going to eat your ice cream?"

The older blonde was pulled back to reality as Naruto appeared right in front of him.

"It's already starting to melt."

"Oh."

Naruto made a small sound of approval in the back of his throat as Minato gave it a few licks and a bite.

"Is strawberry your favorite flavor?"

"Yup," Naruto replied, "I always get it."

"Have you ever tried strawberry cheesecake?"

The Hunter-nin tilted his head to the side in a way that oddly looked more adorable than usual.

"Nope, can I try yours?"

Minato's brain screeched to a halt. "S-sure." He extended his arm in a daze as Naruto came closer.

The smaller blonde used his right hand to cover Minato's left hand holding the cone and nibbled the top scoop, followed by a quick flick of the tongue which overlapped half of where Minato had licked previously. The ANBU Captain felt heat pool in his body.

"Mmmmm…" Naruto closed his eyes to savor the flavor. "That's really good. Do you want some of mine?"

Minato's eyes followed the offered strawberry ice cream. "Yes, please," he said in a voice that was all velvet. He wrapped his right hand around the smaller blonde's left in a firm but gentle grasp and deliberately leaned forward instead of pulling the cone to him.

Naruto's breath hitched as Minato took a slow bite, the older blonde's pair of intense eyes just inches away, locked on his own widened pair. The action was almost sensual, and Naruto suddenly noticed for the first time why so many girls fought for his attention.

The man was deathly attractive.

Naruto swallowed hard. He realized his hand was still curled around Minato's hand and cone, but he couldn't find the strength to avert his gaze or move his hand.

Finally, when Minato pulled away, breaking the visual connection, Naruto could move again and immediately released his grip on the older man, exhaling the breath which had stuck in his throat.

"Thank you," Minato said with a kind smile. He reluctantly let go of Naruto's hand, allowing his fingers to linger a moment longer than necessary. He raised those fingers to rest on the side of the smaller blonde's jaw and pressed a chakra-covered thumb to his whisker scars. He chuckled inaudibly when Naruto's eyes glazed over with a wave of pleasure.

"That was delicious, Naru-chan. Let's do this again sometime. Next time, I want you to try strawberry shortcake." Naruto absently hummed his agreement, barely comprehending the words as the thumb drew idle circles on his sensitive cheek.

Minato leaned down to lightly bump noses.

"Sakumo-senpai is right." Warm breaths ghosted across Naruto's lips which were still swollen from sucking on the ice cream. Minato released a little more chakra to his thumb, a pleased smile forming on his face when Naruto shivered and arched against his chest. Minato tilted the smaller blonde's chin upwards and kissed him on the tingling cheek his thumb just vacated.

"You're all mine."

A/N: Possessive, protective, and sensual Minato. Like it?