The Demon They Once Feared. {BOOK 2}

|16| Late.

The weather was already cold, but on this particular day, it seemed to be twice as cold. She didn't dare put the radiators on, knowing that the heating bill was way overpriced. Having connections with the Hokage meant nothing when you still have to pay the bills, which slightly annoyed her. Wrapped up in multiple blankets, she curled up into a ball on the couch, silently watching Naruto struggle to keep the blanket on while eating instant ramen.

"Why don't we just put the heating on?!" He shouted, annoyance laced with his words.

"We don't have the money for it," Was Mina's bland answer, staring blankly at the blonde. She eventually sighed, keeping one hand on her stomach and using the other to throw at least two more blankets over to her brother. She winced slightly at the sudden movement.

Naruto glanced worriedly at her, catching the blankets and instantly wrapping himself in them. "Are you okay?" He questioned, sitting next to her after he finished his ramen. Mina only nodded, her messy blonde and red hair bobbing with her movements. "You've been in that position for the last hour and a half, ya know."

"I know, and as soon as the pain stops, I'll bake what I've been meaning to make since last month." She answered, voice barely above a whisper.

"Pain?" Naruto repeated in question, tilting his head to the side making it squish against the mound of blankets.

"Woman problems," She answered simply, grinning when she saw the disgusted 'oh' face form of his whiskered face. "Naruto, bro," She said, grin widening, "word of advice, when you get a girlfriend, don't make period jokes," Mina told, grin falling into a flat line when there was a sudden burst of pain. "No matter how nice and shy Hinata may be, all women can become monsters in a second as soon as a 'joke' of bleeding for a whole freaking week is said."

Naruto nodded vigorously, remembering a time back in October when he accidentally let a period joke slip out of his mouth when Mina seemed to be in a worse mood than usual. And when he saw Mina's multicoloured hair rise in a way it had not risen in a long time, he knew she was angry, a lot, but he knew that is wasn't to the extent of being 'pissed', she was defiantly angry.

"Um, Naruto?" Mina called, looking away from meeting Naruto's gaze and rubbing the back of her neck with nerves.

"Ya?" He responded from the kitchen, having moved there to make another cup of ramen.

"Can you quickly run to the shop and buy," Mina cleared her throat, locking eyes with her brother.

"A-ah..." he nodded awkwardly, letting the flappy lid fall onto the plastic cup. "Do you need the blankets while I'm out? It's colder in here then out there, ya know?"

Mina shook her head, smiling while watching him zip his orange coat on, shoving a knit scarf into the coat and sliding gloves into his fingers. "No, I somewhat learnt how to heat up my chakra and water within my body. It's good practice to see how long I can last heating the two." She answered, standing up slowly and walking over to Naruto to fix his hat. Once she did so, she shooed him off with a smile and shouting which ones to buy.

She closed the door behind her and walked into the kitchen as quickly as she could, making the most out of the time she had without cramps. Grabbing the ingredients, she started on baking.

~~~~

"Mina?" Naruto's voice called out from the front door. She heard the door being closed and some shuffling near the door, but soon enough, the blonde popped his head into the kitchen. The grin on Mina's face was evident as she watched Naruto's blue eyes widen once he saw what was on the kitchen table.

"I know it's late, but," She said, lighting the candles on the cake with a click of her fingers, "Happy Birthday, Naruto!" Mina congratulated waving her hands at the side of her in a jazzy way.