Title - Remembrance

Pairing - Namikaze Minato~x~Uzumaki Kushina

Summary - Thinking back, Minato had commented on Kushina's hair before.

Warnings - T, as usual. Kushina has a potty mouth despite her age in this one-shot. It's just that, but I want to be safe, rather than sorry.

Disclaimer - NARUTO does not belong to me. Neither does the prompt.

Note - Just a random thing, a prompt. It was originally going to be short, but it lengthen up a bit. Still short in some standards, but whatever. Anyway, this prompt came up during the summer, but it's only recently that I managed to type it up. Procrastinating and all. Ugh. The end of the one-shot takes place after Minato complimented Kushina's hair, for those who can't tell. Anyway, I really like the way it came out, though it's slightly crappy. I hope you like it though.:3

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The free time bell went off, and the red-haired girl ran off immediately ahead of the other students, surprising the other passer-byers with her speed. For once, though, she wished not to show-off, and so she continued running. The doors flew open as she sped outside, heading off to a corner in the playground.

Sliding to a halt, Uzumaki Kushina knelt down into the corner she came across, hand trembling around the object she held. Opening the eyes she didn't know she had closed, her purple eyes peered down to the knife - kunai - she had managed to snatch from one of the adult shin-obis she ran across in the village. She had had it planned out for a while now, had it envisioned in her mind even.

But - it was her hair. Since she was a child she had grown out her hair. Though it's been over a month since she's planned this, it still hasn't sit on her to shorten her hair. She gulped, the feeling of unwillingness still showering her despite looking in the bright side - people will quit mocking me, looking at me with ridicule, dismissing me…

Taking a deep breathe, Kushina stirred herself once more. 'I will do this.' Flipping her hair over her left shoulder, gathering the large bundle in her small hand, she settled the sharp side of the kunai near the neck base.

"Kushina-chan!"

She cringed. Both from the name calling her out, and because she detested the nickname. Against the nervousness she felt at being caught, her face grimaced, turning it's rage against the one who would disturb her.

The look immediately crumbled away at seeing who it was.

"Kushina-chan, what are you doing?" Namikaze Minato asked her, a look of curiosity decorating his small, boyish face. What little anger manage to retreat back into her chest ignited again. Her concentration had been halted by the pussy boy of all people!

"What the hell do you want, Namikaze-bozu?" she snapped, pleased at being able to catch herself back together. Minato, however, was a fool, a fool who ignored all possible danger happening around him despite it being for the better. If anything, the boy ninja's face scrunched up in concern.

"What are you doing, Kushina-chan?" he asked again. This time, Kushina had no smart aleck reaction prepared for this. His persistence caught her by surprise. Not because this was his first time showing it like this. More like, the look on his face clearly said, he wouldn't leave until he got his answers. When no answer came - she still hadn't collected herself enough to come up with one - he bend down to her level, his hand reaching forward to the one which held the picked out kunai. She should've stopped him, she could and should have, but she only laid there, watching him remove the ninja tool from her suddenly loose fingers.

"Were you trying to cut off your hair, Kushina-chan?" Minato continued to speak. She didn't want to answer him, and yet she still caught herself nodding to him in silent agreement to his words. From beneath the light screen of her eyelashes, her eyes watched the sad shake of his head. "How could you even think of doing such a thing?"

Her heart thumped sharply at the end of his statement. "Huh?"

The shape of his mouth spread out into a huge grin. His hand released hers from around her hair, joined by its partner as it journeyed back up, fingers sinking into the softness of the red threads. "You have such beautiful hair, Kushina-chan." His hands slid down to her shoulders, gripping them firmly. "You're fine just the way you are, 'kay? Don't ever change!"

Just as suddenly as he came, he left, his spiky blond hair standing out as he walked away. Until his blond locks disappeared behind the corner, Kushina didn't realize she had stared at him as he left. Her face turned into such a shade of red, she quickly lowered her head to avoid any 'Tomato' comments she did not need.

Still… was he serious? Her hand, the one that still burned with warmth of his hand, lifted up to her straight red locks, curling a few of the strands around her fingers.

'Did he really just said I was… beautiful?'

Oh, how her face burned.

Then her face twisted in irritation.

"Oh, that teasing jerk!"

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"Minato…" Her hair, her long red hair which she had despised so much, sailed behind her, curling around the still form of the two ninjas. The blond ninja in question looked down at her, in his arms, taking in the shaken woman.

"Hmm?"

Kushina didn't know what to say, what to do. Both the memory and what had just happened had left her speechless. Holding her firmly in his arms was her destined partner, she was sure of it, if all those recollection weren't proof enough. She tucked her head into the crook of his arm, feeling so safe with him embracing her as he was.

"This is the second time you've complimented my hair." She finally whispered so softly.

He dipped his head lower. "Huh?"

He hadn't heard her. Just as she thought. She sighed, but she still snuggled closer to him. "Never mind… you teasing jerk."