Naruto: The White Spider of the Leaf

The trek to the secluded compound was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves in the evening breeze. Minato led the way with his usual easy stride, but I could tell from the way his hands remained at his sides—never reaching up to scratch his head or adjust his collar—that he was more serious than usual. He hadn't told me much, only that Kushina wanted to see me.

I didn't know why. We had barely spoken since that night, and I doubted she owed me anything. If anything, I had been the one left in the dirt, bleeding, while the enemy got away with her. Maybe this was her way of making peace with it. Maybe she just wanted to say something she hadn't before. Either way, I wasn't sure I was ready for whatever she had to say.

That alone had been enough to make my steps feel heavier with every passing minute.

I hadn't spoken to her since that night. Since the night my body had been battered and broken, left in the dirt, gasping for breath while she was dragged off into the darkness. 

At least Minato did still get her back.

"We're here," Minato said, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.

The compound was as well-guarded as I'd expected, though it was built more like a traditional Uzumaki estate than a fortress. High walls of dark wood, seals inscribed into the very grain. This place wasn't just hidden—it was protected.

A pair of shinobi acknowledged Minato with a nod before one of them turned toward me. "Name?"

"Shirokumo," I answered, shifting my stance.

The guard's eyes flickered over me before he turned to Minato. "She's waiting in the garden."

Minato nodded, giving me a quick glance. "Come on."

I followed, keeping my shoulders squared as we passed through the gates. The air within the compound was different—still, but not heavy. There was something old here, something deeper than just security. The weight of history, of a lineage that stretched back further than Konoha itself.

It didn't take long before we reached the garden. There, standing near the pond with its surface reflecting the fading light, was Kushina.

She looked the same as always—vibrant, her red hair catching what little sunlight remained. But there was a hesitance in her stance, a tension in her fingers as she curled them at her sides.

Minato gave her a reassuring nod before stepping back. "I'll wait over there," he murmured, moving toward the veranda, giving us space.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The water rippled. The wind carried the scent of the garden's old trees. Finally, she took a breath and met my eyes.

"I… didn't know what to say," Kushina admitted, her voice quieter than I'd ever heard it. "I still don't."

I crossed my arms, feeling my chest tighten. "Then why call me here?"

She exhaled sharply, not quite a laugh. "Because it didn't feel right not to, ya know?"

She took a step forward. "That night… when they took me, I thought that was it. That I was going to be taken to the Cloud, locked away somewhere, never to see Konoha again." Her hands clenched into fists. "But you—"

"I didn't stop them," I interrupted, my jaw tightening. "They still got away with you."

"But you tried, ya know?" She shot back, surprising me with the fire in her voice. "And it's because of you trying that I'm still here. What you did for me is what allowed my rescue to happen at all."

I looked away, the memory replaying in my mind—blood in my mouth, my body barely moving, the Cloud shinobi disappearing into the trees. It had never felt like a victory.

She must have sensed what I was thinking because she sighed and stepped even closer, close enough that I had no choice but to meet her gaze. "I never got to say it. That night, when I came back, everything was… chaotic. Then when you woke up, the whole thing got tense with Hokage-sama and… Well, I just didn't find the words, ya know?"

"Yeah."

"But I need to say it now."

I waited.

"Thank you," she said, and the words felt heavier than I expected. "And… I'm sorry."

My brows furrowed. "Sorry?"

She shifted her weight. "I know what happened to you. What they did to you. And that they just left you there. If things had gone differently, you could have—"

"Died?" I finished for her. The word was easy, factual. I had accepted it long ago. "Maybe."

Her hands tightened. "It shouldn't have happened. Such a thing… Even after you miraculously survived, you could've very well been crippled for life because of me."

I let out a slow breath. "I'm still here, and I've recovered fully."

Her lips pressed together, but she nodded. "Yeah. You are, and you did."

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. It was just… there.

"Why did you do it, Shirokumo?" Kushina asked me suddenly. "We barely knew each other, why did you try so hard to save me?"

I exhaled slowly, watching the way the fading sunlight caught in her hair, turning it to fire. For all the time I'd spent turning that night over in my mind, I'd never once asked myself that question. Not really.

"Honestly?" I said, meeting her gaze. "I just acted on instinct."

She didn't look away, didn't let the words settle like an easy answer. She was waiting for more.

I dragged a hand through my white hair and sighed. "That's the truth. There wasn't time to think. I saw them taking you, they attacked me too, and I moved. I got them by surprise and by the time I knew it, I was running away with you in my arms. At that point, I couldn't just throw you aside, now could I? That would've been a jerk move. So yeah, that's all there is to it."

Kushina's fingers curled slightly, and she looked away, her eyes skimming the surface of the pond. "After Minato told me how they found you. How bad it was… I just couldn't settle with it. I felt so guilty for dragging you into that. You're someone who works so hard to achieve your goals and… Like I said, you could've been crippled because of me, ya know? The idea of that terrified me, ya know? Is what you said really your reasoning for it all?"

I felt, for a brief moment, the ghost of that pain. The crushed ribs, the blood in my throat. The helplessness of watching them disappear into the trees with her while I lay there, unable to move.

"It was what it was," I said finally.

Kushina exhaled, shaking her head. "That's not an answer."

Minato, who had been quiet this whole time, finally stepped forward from where he had been standing near the veranda. "Shirokumo doesn't like dwelling on things like that," he said, his voice gentle but knowing.

I shot him a look, but he only smiled slightly, as if he had already expected my reaction.

Kushina crossed her arms. "Well, I do. And I don't think I can just pretend it didn't happen."

I huffed. "I'm not asking you to."

She frowned, but before she could reply, Minato spoke again. "Maybe that's not the right way to look at it." He turned to me. "Would you do it again?"

I didn't hesitate. "No. HELL NO! Are you seriously asking that? You know what? Honestly? I definitely wouldn't! In fact, if I could rewrite history I'd probably have an invisible force smack my head and tell me to sleep early that day!"

Minato burst out laughing while Kushina just stared at me, not knowing what to say to that.

"What? It's true. That stuff was traumatic." I shook my head. "But, in the end it's what happened. Life goes on, I got to learn a fancy new jutsu and graduated from the academy early. Got a cool sensei out of it too. No lasting aftereffects, I ain't even got cool scars to talk about. Overall, positive outcome if I do say so! The price for it still sucked, though!"

Kushina blinked at me, then let out a snort that quickly turned into laughter. It was a short, sharp sound—like she hadn't expected to laugh, like she hadn't wanted to.

But it was there all the same.

Minato grinned, his shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to stifle his own laughter, and I crossed my arms, scowling. "Glad to know my past suffering's so funny to you two."

Kushina wiped at her eye, still chuckling. "It's just—" She shook her head, pressing her lips together before sighing. "The way you worded it—You're being ridiculous."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, yeah. That's what happens when you get your head bashed in one too many times."

Minato hummed. "It's true. Head injuries do have lingering effects."

"Exactly," I shot back, pointing at him. "See? My brain's probably a little scrambled. If I ever do something that doesn't make sense, we'll just blame the concussion."

Kushina shook her head again, this time with something softer in her expression. Not quite a smile, but not the same weight she'd carried when I first walked into the garden.

"Alright, alright," she said, exhaling. "You're impossible, ya know?"

I smirked. "And yet, you called me here. So what does that say about you?"

She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. Instead, she tilted her head, considering me for a moment before she spoke again.

"You said you wouldn't do it again," she murmured. "But if you really could go back to that night… If you knew what would happen to you, what it would cost—"

"I'd probably still move."

Kushina's eyes widened, but Minato just smiled knowingly.

"I thought you just said you wouldn't?" she accused, jabbing a finger in my direction.

"I wouldn't want to," I said with a shrug. "I'd hate every second of it. But I'd still do it."

She opened her mouth, then shut it again.

I rubbed the back of my neck, sighing. "Look. I don't regret trying to save you. I regret that it happened, yeah, that it went down the way it did. But you're here now. And if getting my ass handed to me is what made that happen, then it's fine. You're someone who is immensely important to Minato, and I know he would go through the same struggles in my shoes too. We're boys like that."

Kushina looked back and forth between us, saw us grinning knowingly at one another, then she nodded. "Fine, I get it, ya know."

The silence returned, but this time it wasn't heavy.

Minato stretched, letting out a dramatic yawn. "Well, I think we've had enough heartfelt confessions for one day. What do you say we get some food?"

Kushina blinked, then frowned. "You just ate earlier before getting Shiro here."

Minato grinned. "Yeah, but that was a while ago."

Kushina sighed, but there was no real exasperation in it. "You're hopeless."

Minato slung an arm over her shoulders, steering her toward the veranda. "And you love me for it all the same."

Kushina huffed but didn't pull away.

I shook my head, stuffing my hands into my pockets as I followed them. Whatever I had been expecting when I came here, it hadn't been third wheeling these love birds. But somehow, I didn't mind.

Maybe some things didn't need to be dissected. Maybe some things just were.

And maybe that was enough.