Blonding

Chapter 2 : Naruto

Minato sat in bed; lamp on, book open. It happened to be his favorite read - and he always went to sleep with its message implanted in his mind, in order to mentally prepare him for the next day's work.

He turned a bit, pajamas rustling under the sheets, and looked over to where Kushina was resting beside him, a large (and empty) tub of ice cream lying on its side on her nightstand, dripping what was left of the chocolatey concoction all over.

As if she knew he was watching her, she belched loudly in satisfaction, and tossed a gnawed-upon spoon into the empty bucket, causing it to rattle and fall to the floor, face down.

"Damn, that was good," she said with a groan, stretching her back as she prepared to go to sleep.

Minato only chuckled to himself, before returning to his book. This was his favorite part, after all.

If there is peace in this world, I will find it.

Minato stared at the pages of the book, lost in thought, as he scanned through. Suddenly, one particular paragraph, one that hadn't caught his eye particularly before, rang out to him like the call from an angel.

Wh... who are you? What is your name?

Minato put the book down.

"Naruto."

Kushina blinked, not quite asleep yet. "Huh?" she grumbled, before turning around to look her husband in the eye.

What she saw was something she called his 'Hokage face' - his eyes were narrowed at no one in particular, and his mouth was pursed closed in a line. He was concentrating on something, and from the looks of it, it was something big.

"Naruto," he repeated, still looking at the wall. Finally, he broke the connection with the invisible person, and looked down at her. His eyes began to twinkle in the light, and he smiled so sincerely that it made Kushina's heart melt.

Still, she was half asleep, and was exhausted. "Yeah, that's the character from that book that Jiraiya wrote, right? It wasn't bad - at least, it was better than that pervy smut he's pumping out nowadays." She grumbled and sat up a bit, rubbing her eyes with a yawn.

"Naruto," Minato whispered.

And that's when something clicked in Kushina's brain, and she shot awake like a bullet. Her eyes drifted to her husband's, who was still eyeing her with a glimmer of hope.

And happiness.

"Naruto," she whispered back, wide-eyed.

"Naruto!" Minato shouted happily, wrapping his arms around Kushina.

She started laughing, hugging Minato back tightly.

He joined her shortly, and they just sat there, content with the world, as their laughter died down.

"Naruto," she replied with a beaming smile, nestling under Minato's arm, before she felt something warm and heavy connect with her head, followed by the soft sounds of unconsciousness.