I honestly don't know where this came from. I was digging though some old files, and there it was. I like the original idea - but I hated my execution. It's not very well done, I'll be the first to say, but then again, none of my work is.
Title - First Run
Word Count (No Notes) - 1,222
Word Count (Notes) - 1523
Summary - Naruto has a problem, and he goes to his mother for help.
"Mommy?"
Uzumaki Kushina looked up from her book to glance at her son at the doorway and smiled softly to herself. Her Naruto could be so cute sometimes. He was nervous, she could tell, from the way he addressed her and how he was biting his right thumb anxiously.
She set down her book and gave him her full attention.
"Yes, Naruto?"
He took a few steps hesitantly towards her before stopping. The blonde suddenly looked like he was starting to regret coming to her. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he appeared to think.
Kushina squealed to herself silently in a completely un-Kushina way. She was one of the largest tomboys and squealing was much too 'girly' for her in usual circumstances. But sometimes she just couldn't help but marvel at how adorable Naruto could be.
She opened her arms and gestured for him to come. It only took a moment longer before he scurried to her side. She put her arm around him in a motherly way as he sighed.
"So, what's up, squirt?"
Naruto scowled at the shot towards his height. It wasn't his fault he was short! He crossed his arms and huffed. He'd grow up to be big and strong just like his dad, he was sure of it! He was going to become Hokage!
His mother's giggles broke him out of his mental rant.
"Sorry, Naruto, but your expression was just too funny!"
Naruto let out a "hmph!" before he abruptly remembered the reason he had gone to his mom in the first place. Kushina could practically see the lightbulb turn on above his head as his mouth went round and a slight 'oh' escaped his lips.
"I saw a girl today!" he exclaimed, his face flashing through several emotions – embarrassment, happiness, surprise – before finally settling on cutely confused.
Kushina blinked. Twice.
"You see girls every day, Naruto," she explained. Of course, she knew exactly what he meant, but she wanted to hear him say it and see how he worded it. If he was anything like his father when it came to the opposite sex…
"No, Mom, it's different! Not like you or Shizune-nee! She was like…a girl!" he said
She cocked up an eyebrow. "Oh? So I don't count as a girl anymore?"
It just struck Naruto that he had said something wrong. He recognized that look. That was the look that told him he was going to wash dishes for a week. That was the look that told him he'd have to read through his dad's D-rank mission reports. That was the look of evil.
He gulped and held his hands in front of him for protection.
"N-no, Mom, what I meant is…uh, I meant, erm…"
"Naruto…! You…!"
He screwed his eyes shut and waited for his punishment.
"…should tell me about this girl."
"H-huh?"
He opened his eyes to see his mother sitting down and smiling pleasantly at him. He shook his head and sighed again. She could be so weird sometimes. He briefly wondered if it was that 'time of the month' he sometimes heard his dad talking about with his friends – not that he really understood what it meant.
Kushina chuckled quietly at her son. He was just so endearingly cute when he was scared. But even as fun as it was to mess with the kid, this topic was of even more interest to her.
"Go on, tell me what happened," she encouraged, grinning at him.
"Oh, well, I was at Training Field Six, working on that water-walking exercise Dad showed me. It's so cool! I can stand for ten seconds now! Soon I'll be able to walk, no question!" he rambled, going off topic.
He was so talkative when he was nervous. Taking a deep breath, she interrupted him.
"And then I'll be able to run and fight and do jutsus on water and I'll be so kickass and-"
"Naruto-"
"- then Dad'll promote me to super-extra-special-secret-jounin-ANBU captain - "
"Naruto-"
"- and then everyone will have to acknowledge me –"
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"- then I'll show them! …huh? Did you say something, Mom?"
Kushina buried her head in her hands. "Get on with the story, please…"
Naruto chuckled nervously. "Heh, right."
--
A loud splash echoed through the air, followed immediately by a garbled voice and irritated scream.
"Why can't I get it?! Argh, Dad made it look so easy!"
Naruto kicked the water in frustration. Another splash, and the sky was covered in water droplets.
"Eek!"
"Huh?"
Naruto turned around and was met was quite possibly the creepiest eyes he'd ever seen. Pale, colourless, and without pupils, they were certainly unique.
Almost immediately after, his attention was diverted to the owner of said eyes. With touching index fingers, short lavender hair, and a light blush cutely adorning her face, she was one of the prettiest girls Naruto had ever seen.
"Sorry 'bout that! Hope I didn't get you too wet," said Naruto, somewhat awkwardly.
The girl's blush intensified at his voice and her fingers began to twitch more. She looked down, and didn't speak.
"Hey, are you okay?"
She sprinted off into the distance.
--
Must not laugh. Must not laugh.
A mantra ran its way through Kushina's head as she took a second to calm down. Was Naruto always this amusing? Most likely that was Hyuuga Hinata. Out of all people...life with Naruto would never be boring. Especially if this actually went somewhere. Taking one final deep breath, she looked down to her indignant son.
"It's not funny!" he pouted.
"No, it isn't. Do you know who that was, Naruto?" asked Kushina.
"Not yet, but I will!" he declared, determined.
Kushina raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? How exactly do you plan on doing that?"
"I'll find out at school tomorrow, duh!" Naruto gave her a glance, as if there was something wrong with her for not coming to that conclusion automatically.
"How do you even know she'll be there, if you've never seen her before?" she asked reasonably.
He paused. "She'll be there, I'm sure of it!"
The other eyebrow went up. "So, what are you going to do after you're done stalking her?"
He scowled again. "It's not stalking! I just want to get to know her!"
"And then?"
"Then we're gonna get married!" he beamed.
His mother stared at him. "It doesn't quite work that way, son…"
"I don't care! I won't go back on my words, 'cause that's my nindo!"
It was just now that Kushina noticed how much conviction her son spoke with. A gentle smile made its way onto her face as she absent-mindedly ruffled Naruto's blonde hair. It was so like his father's – he was so like his father.
A yawn broke though her musings.
"Maybe, but right now, let's get you to bed. It's bedtime."
She stood up and picked him up, despite a weak and sleepy protest.
"After all, you wouldn't want to be late for your first day at the Academy, would you?"
If it seems rushed, that's because it probably was. This is really all over the place. Actually, I really like this kind of family thing, though. I might continue it some time down the line, so keep a lookout for that? The 'completed' status may be dropped yet.
Drop a review in, 'kay? Thanks a bunch!