Minoru Gives Kurai Surprising News

Minoru Uzumaki-Fuuma was wandering all over the Dark Lagoon, looking for Kurai. He had a wide, joyous smile on his face and his eyes were glittering with the excitement of a kid getting a big bag of candy on Halloween. A stranger in a black cloak and hood looked like he/she was being dragged by Minoru by the hand.

Kurai leaned back against one of the trees with her eyes closed, listening to her demons conversations to pass the time. 'Will you just shut your trap, Peacock!? All you ever do is talk, talk, talk! Kami save me, it's driving me insane!' Gobi hissed viciously, although it did sound a little bit like pleading. 'C'mon, Gobi! Where's your sense of fun!?' Peacock giggled like a child, making Kurai's eyebrow twitch in annoyance. She wore a black kimono [think Rukia from Bleach] and tabi socks with sandals.

After searching for her for a while, Minoru finally managed to find her. If it was even possible, Minoru's grin on his face got even bigger and he ran over to her excitedly, pulling the cloaked stranger with him. "Oh thank Shinigami I found you Kurai. I have some amazing, unbelievable news but you have to believe the news because it happened, I saw it and I have the proof" he said with that large, excited grin on his face that made him seem a little creepy. Whatever got him to be this happy must be something incredible since Minoru has NEVER acted this happy before.

His beaming smile and excited voice made her do a double-take. Was this really Minoru? She looked at the hooded stranger beside him and felt her curiousity grow. Who were they, and what was this news that Minoru was about to tell her? "Alright then, Minoru. Whats this 'news' you've got for me?" She asked him as she straightened up, turning to face him. She blinked slightly, waiting for his responce.

"Kurai, I would like to introduce you to someone who means a lot to me. Kurai Niwa, I'd like to introduce you to...my mother Kushina Uzumaki" he said with a wide grin as the hooded stranger pulled down her cloak to reveal none other then Minoru's dimension's Kushina Uzumaki. The red-headed, blue-eyed woman had a kind, motherly smile on her face. "Hello. It's nice to finally meet you Kurai. Mino-Chan here has told me quite a lot about you" she said with that kind, motherly smile on her face as she ruffled Minoru's hair, causing Minoru's grin to grow even wider, which should have been impossible, and hugged his mother tightly.

When she saw Kushina, she was indeed very surprised but she didn't want to show it. She returned the smile warmly and bowed in respect to the red-headed female. "It's good to finally meet the famous Kushina that i've been told so much about," She replied as she saw Minoru's joyful expression. She saw how happy he was and felt pretty good herself when she saw that. It was good that he'd finally found what made him happiest. "I had no idea he'd even spoken about me, to be truthful," She said with a chuckle.

"Oh trust me, Mino-Chan talked about nothing but you during the entire time we were searching for you and what do you mean famous?" she asked her as she raised a fiery red eyebrow.

"Oh, is that so?" She asked, casting a glance in Minoru's direction with a raised eyebrow of her own. She grinned and looked back at Kushina. "Minoru's told me a lot about you as well. As a matter of fact, we were talking about you the last time we met up. So, you're famous to me in a sense," She said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to finally be able to have a conversation with you, Kushina-Sama,"

"None of that Sama stuff. Just call me Kushina" she said with a smile on her face. Minoru blushed and grinned in embarrassment at Kurai as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

She blinked in surprise, she hadn't ever been told to address people she respected with no title to their name. "Alright, Kushina it is," She eventually said with a smile. She saw Minoru and laughed lightly. "Why so flustered, Minoru-Kun?" She said, deliberately adding the 'Kun' to see his reaction. She glanced at Kushina and smirked knowingly. She wondered if she would play along.

"Eh, n-no reason Kurai" he said nervously as he blushed a brighter shade of red and shuffled his feet. "It seems Mino-Chan here is embarrassed" Kushina said with a grin on her face.

She bit back a roaring laugh and looked at Kushina and smiled pleasantly. She knew she was going to get along with this woman just fine. She seemed accessable and upbeat, which was good considering thats the sort of people Kurai liked being around. She looked back at Minoru. "I've never seen you so quiet, Minoru-Kun. Or so shy, for that matter," She said, purposely making herself seem 'sweet', which was something that was very, VERY rare considering she'd always been somewhat of a tomboy. A little like Kushina herself.

"I-I'm not shy" he stuttered as he crossed his arms and looked away, making a 'hmph' sound. "I guess it's because I'm here. I could always bring out a side to Mino-Chan that no one else could" Kushina said with an uncharacteristic girlish giggle as she ruffled Minoru's fiery bright red hair.

She nodded slightly and smiled at Kushina. "I noticed that. To be honest, I think that he looks cute this way," She said with a sly grin, noticing the way Minoru looked away. 'Heh...So stubborn' She thought to herself as she shrugged slightly. He would snap out of his miniature sulk eventually. She looked out across the lagoons murky waters and the permanent layer of fog. Pretty eerie, she thought, but when the sun was out it just seemed a little miserable.

"This is Mino-Chan's true self. He only acts like this when someone he cares for and trusts is around. I guess that means he trust you Kurai" Kushina explained with a smile.

"Ah, alright. I understand," She said with a nod. "What has he been saying about me, then? Nothing bad i hope," She said teasingly, knowing he didn't but feeling the need to say that anyway. Soon after, there came a howl which caused Kurai to look to the direction it came from and whistle. Shia soon came bounding out of the trees with Kizuna on her back. She halted by Kurai's side, letting the pup down before sitting down herself.

"Oh, nothing bad. Just that your his angel, your beautiful, kind, intelligent and how he can't be happy without you" Kushina said with a smile on her face as she leaned down and scratched Shia behind the ears.

That time, making sure Kushina wasn't looking, Kurai blushed a little herself. A light pink stained her cheeks for a few moments as she cleared her throat. "I-I see," She said with a slight nod as she busied herself with fixing the sleeves on her kimono. This time, there were no snide comments or grins, she kept moderately quiet. Shia wagged her tail as Kushina scratched her behind the ears. "I like this woman already," She said as she looked at Kushina. "Nice to meet you, Kushina-San. Couldn't help but hear your conversation with these ears of mine," Shia explained with a wolfish grin.

Kushina jumped a little when Shia talked. "Forgive me for jumping but I didn't know you could talk" she said with a sigh as she placed a hand on where her heart was.

Shia raised a paw and 'pointed' at Kurai. "Her fault. She should've told you," She said as she let out a growling chuckle. Kurai rolled her eyes and looked at Minoru. "I couldn't keep her away for more than 5 minutes," She said with a slight sigh. "I'm glad i ran into you two though," Shia tilted her head. "So, Minoru-San. How's things going between you two?" Kurai groaned slightly. "Shia, for the love of all that is holy could you PLEASE keep quiet?"

Minoru snapped his head in Shia's direction and looked at her with wide eyes. "J-Just what do you mean by that?" he asked her nervously.

Shia smirked devilishly. "Ahhh, i see. Judging by your reaction there's something going on, isn't there?" Shia wagged her tail, loving Minoru's nervous reaction. Kurai sweatdropped. "Thats enough, Shia. Please. We don't have to share every little detail with you," She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "Come, now. All i'm asking is if things have progressed any. For instance, have the two of you admitted you love each other yet? I'm getting tired of watching this thing go round in circles," Kurai blinked, now it was her turn to be surprised. "S-Shia, you're really not helping here," She said as she bowed to Kushina. "My apologies, sincerely,"

"No need. Personally, I agree with Shia" Kushina said with a smirk that was just as devilish as Shia's. "MOM" Minoru yelled out in embarrassment, blushing a bright shade of red.

Shia laughed joyfully, nudging Kurai's leg with her muzzle. "Ha! Y'see? I'm not the only one who thinks so. C'mon, Kurai. You know you wanna say it so just go ahead," Kurai faked a cough and covered her face with her hand as if to stop it, it was really just to hide her red cheeks. "This is a bit sudden of you, Shia. If i didn't know any better i'd say you and Kushina had planned this beforehand," She joked, slowly lowering her hand and looking at Minoru with an apologetic expression. She just prayed that the fog effectively hid her blush. Shia looked at Kushina with a smirk, knowing that this woman was definitely the mischievous type.

"Yeah, come on Mino-Chan. Tell her. I know you love her. It's as plain as day" said Kushina as she teased her son. Minoru moaned in exasperation as his mother and Shia teased him and Kurai about their feelings.

'Oh good Lord, i thought that meeting his mother was going to be EASY...' Kurai thought as she slapped a hand to her forehead. "Wow, Kurai's speechless. This MUST be serious," Shia joked as she went behind her and pushed her forward. "Will you two just get it over with? I mean, you've got an audience here!" Shia said as she sat by Kushina expectantly with her head tilted slightly.

"Yes Mino-Chan, Kurai, just admit it. It's obvious to everyone except both of you how you two feel for each other" Kushina said with an evil smile on her face.

Kurai was now very aware of the fact that she was merely a teenager. Kushina and Shia were like the pushy parents. She smirked at the situation slightly but the embarassment quickly wiped that smirk of her face. 'Only one way out of it i suppose...' She sighed as she turned to Minoru, not making eye contact but looking his way so he would know she was addressing him. "Y-You first..."

"A-Alright. Kurai, what my mother says is the truth. I-I have loved you for so long Kurai" he said nervously as he shuffled his feet around nervously, hoping he wouldn't be rejected.

She was silent for a moment, not quite sure how to go about it. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked at him, finally managing to make eye contact. "I know..." She began timidly as Shia sniggered in the background at her hesitance. "And...I love you too," She finally managed to say, but she had to admit it felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders when she did say it. "It's about time, huh?" Shia whispered to Kushina.

Minoru smiled at her and wrapped his arms around as he kissed her. "Yep, I have to agree. As soon as Mino-Chan mentioned Kurai for the first time, I KNEW he had feelings for her" Kushina whispered back with a nod of her head.

Kurai did the same as she kissed him back, blissfully unaware of the two behind them talking about them. "Heh, same with Kurai. I've never seen her go all doe-eyed before so you could say it was a shock for me," She murmured with a grin. "It's nice to see that she's happy though. The two of them have been through a rough time. They deserve a little happiness," She said as she nodded her muzzle with a knowing air. She might've loved teasing Kurai but she did care about her. Although she was more like Kurai's sister since they were together since birth, Shia had to admit that she saw Kurai as a daughter in a sense.

"Knowing Kurai, she'd be there if he needed the help. I know that he wouldn't want to risk putting her in danger, and he'd want to fight on his own but she'd just as stubborn as he is. We'll just have to wait and see, hopefully things will turn out for the best..." Shia replied, although she did sound a little worried herself. She rolled her eyes as she looked at Kurai and Minoru. 'Jeez, it's like they're glued together,'

"OK you two, break it up. Human beings after all" Kushina said with a teasing smile on her face as Minoru broke the kiss.

Kurai chuckled slightly as she also pulled back. "Hey, you two are the ones that brought it on. Don't blame it on us," She replied, not blushing as much now but her cheeks were still a little pink. To be honest, she hadn't thought about pulling away from him until Kushina said so. She was still a little surprised. Shia grinned as well and looked at the two once more. "Kurai, you can thank me later. I think we're ALL glad that this is finally out in the open and you're not stepping around it,"

"I agree with Shia. It's about time you two finally admitted it" Kushina said with a smile as Minoru rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Kurai looked at Shia and mouthed the words 'thank you'. She'd never have been able to admit it by herself, so whether she liked it or not, Shia had really helped. She looked at Minoru. "So...How do you feel now that you've said it? Personally, i feel a lot better," She asked with a slight smile. She did feel better, she just hoped he did too.

"I feel much better now that I have said it yes but I feel even better now that I know you feel the same way" he said with a smile on his face.

"Well, of course. How many times have we been in situations like this? A few times, right? How many times have i rejected you? Uhm, that'd be none," She said with a smile, sticking out her tongue. "I was the one who was worried if YOU felt the same way," Shia rolled her eyes again. 'Looks like they're still kids deep down...'