Third Person POV
The night had barely started and Amaya and Kushina had already gone through so many different emotions that mother and daughter didn't even think there could be anything else left to surprise them.
But of course the universe would show them otherwise.
Especially when it came to Amaya.
Kurenai and Rin didn't take long to arrive at the Uzumaki-Namikaze family home, with their backpacks on their backs and their pillows in their arms.
As soon as they put on their pajamas, at Kushina's suggestion, though it wasn't really necessary since the girls wanted to do it the moment they laid eyes on the older redhead's set, decorated with little bears, the two settled into the living room that Amaya had set up earlier.
The Uzumaki girl herself soon returned to the room, with some CDs in her hands that her mother had suggested for them to watch later. The redhead left them on the sofa closest to the "nest" they'd made with the mattresses and blankets, catching the beginning of one of Kushina's questions to the younger ones.
– Has it been a long time since you two were last here – The redhead spoke and Amaya sat down with them – What's new with you?
The younger Uzumaki held back a laugh at her mother's behavior, who at that moment was sitting with her legs crossed and a pillow on her lap, hugging it.
– I started practicing at a new level of medical ninjutsu with the more advanced users – Rin was the one who started sharing, excited.
– Did nurse Lucy recommend you? – Amaya asked and the Nohara nodded.
When they started medical ninjutsu training, Lucy was the one who supervised the three girls training. However, only Amaya and Rin continued with it given their ease in using it.
And unlike Amaya, who trained the technique just to use as personal support, Nohara intended to pursue a career as a medical ninja.
– She explained that I've completely mastered the basic knowledge that could be taught to someone my age, and that thanks to the progress I've been showing, I can try my hand at the next level.
– That's amazing, 'tebane! – Kushina said, genuinely happy about the girl's achievement.
– I finally got promoted to chunin – Kurenai spoke next – And even though it took longer than everyone else in our class, I managed to improve my genjutsu techniques so much that even my father was surprised – Amaya smiled, happy for her friend.
– You must have made fantastic progress for him to be surprised – The younger redhead told her and the Yūhi agreed.
Although Amaya had never talked to Kurenai's father, she knew from her friend that he was very strict with her training, even though he was a kind man to his daughter. The Uzumaki assumed this came from raising Kurenai alone, since her mother had passed away when Yūhi was still a baby.
– And what about you, Amaya? – Rin asked and the redhead looked at her.
– I guess I don't have anything this time – She said somewhat awkwardly – The last relevant thing was my promotion to Anbu captain, but I'd already told you guys about that.
– Come on, what Rin meant was about what you've been up to while you disappeared from the village these past few days – The redhead looked at Kurenai.
– I told Kurenai you might have been on some Anbu mission – Nohara took over – But since Asuma mentioned to us that Kakashi also disappeared around the same time, we started thinking you two might have done something together.
– Well, officially I was out of the village on a mission – Amaya explained – It was a situation that had been pending for a long time, and I was finally able to wrap it up.
Although she wanted to, it wasn't just her choice to tell Kurenai and Rin about what she'd done outside the village. The Cavern of the Eternal Labyrinth was a sacred place whose location was unknown to anyone other than the Uzumaki herself and Kakashi.
So Amaya couldn't tell them everything like she wished she could. But in a way, that saved her from having to explain her absence with Hatake for days, while also not lying when she said she'd left on a mission.
Kushina understood that too, since even she herself had only been told very few things by her daughter about leaving the village with Kakashi for all those days. Given the caution with which Amaya had told her about what happened, Namikaze understood she couldn't reveal certain things.
But out of everyone there, Kurenai was the most restless about this whole story and the younger redhead's evasiveness toward her curiosity. Since it was just them there, it wouldn't be a problem if she asked something that had been bothering her.
– Kakashi or Shisui? – Yūhi asked and the others looked at her, seeing her gaze fixed on Amaya who seemed confused – Which one do you like?
– What?! – The Uzumaki returned her surprise at the question and soon her face started taking on a reddish tone from the embarrassment that suddenly provoked her.
– I said I should ask this subtly when I did it, Kurenai! – Rin scolded her friend and Amaya stared at Nohara.
– Oh, looks like you two have already wondered who Amaya likes... – Kushina pointed out and the two girls agreed.
– We talked about it once and came to the conclusion that, if you like someone, it can only be one of those two – Nohara explained and Kurenai agreed.
– I'm betting on Kakashi – Yūhi said with an amused smile on her lips – I'm right, aren't I?
– N-No! – Amaya answered quickly, her mind not helping her formulate a decent response to the surprise of those questions coming at her – W-We're friends!
– So it's Shisui? – And this time it was Rin who asked, genuinely curious like Kurenai about it.
Nohara and Yūhi weren't asking that to bother their friend or even embarrass her, but trying to find something simple in her. They'd always seen her since she was young as someone focused, skilled, and almost never as someone the same age as them.
And having the Uzumaki get embarrassed by that questioning opened a gap that – in their view – could bring out a teenage side of Amaya they didn't know.
– N-No... I mean... – But the effect it was having on the redhead wasn't what her friends were looking for.
When it came to organizing an immediate strategy or even reacting in combat, the girl was exceptional. However, when it involved her own emotions, she almost always got flustered trying to organize them rationally when she should just feel them instead of trying to intellectualize them.
And as the only one present who knew this characteristic of the Uzumaki well, Kushina's sincere laugh caught the three girls' attention.
– Amaya, I think you need to tell them about that – Namikaze said only those words, which to an outsider wouldn't make sense.
They only made sense to her daughter.
The confusion in her thoughts gave way to order and a faint seriousness in her expression. Rin and Kurenai found this strange and turned their eyes to their friend, who was taking a deep breath at that moment, even assuming a more focused posture.
– Actually, Shisui and I are... Brothers – Amaya let out the first part of the truth at once, so that everything she'd tell could be clear to the other two girls.
And just as Kushina had told the truth about herself to her daughter that night, Amaya told the reality of who she was to Kurenai Yūhi and Rin Nohara.
The redhead didn't go into details like when she'd told that to her brother or even Kakashi the only two, besides some of the adults, who knew the complete truth of her existence.
But she brought up everything she'd kept hidden from them, as well as the other friends, for all those years. Evoking those memories didn't hurt her anymore, but her fear of what the two were thinking about her didn't allow her to face them during any moment of that narration.
When the last word left her lips, the sensation that came over her for an instant was almost as if all the air had been taken from her lungs, in the one long sigh she let out.
Her eyes still stayed low, unable to muster the courage to look at her friends. And because of that, Amaya couldn't see the smile adorning Kushina's features as she watched her daughter and her friends.
– Amaya... – Rin was the one who called softly to the redhead.
The Uzumaki, even hesitating, lifted her gaze to the two girls before her. And confusion filled her mind. The expressions on the two didn't show anything of what the redhead imagined awaited her.
– You're not... Mad? – Amaya asked hesitantly.
– Because you didn't tell us this before? – Kurenai asked her and the Uzumaki nodded – Considering your situation, I'm surprised you trust us enough to even consider telling us – Nohara agreed.
That was one of the factors worrying Amaya about opening up to the two young women about her story, but there was another that bothered her more – something that didn't go unnoticed by the others.
– And if you're thinking we might be afraid of you, don't – Rin was the one who spoke to reassure the redhead – We've known you long enough to know you're an incredible person, regardless of where you came from or what you did in the past.
– Who we know is you, Amaya Uzumaki, that fantastic prodigy girl who always manages to make us feel good when you're around – And without being able to control it, a smile appeared on the redhead's lips.
And although her gaze was turned to her friends, she couldn't see them clearly because of the tears making her eyes watery. Rin and Kurenai noticed it right away and went to the girl, hugging her and welcoming her so she could feel the truth in what they'd told her.
An overwhelming feeling of relief took over the Uzumaki's body at that moment.
One of her biggest fears was knowing what awaited her the day she told the truth about who she'd been to the friends she'd made.
And the happiest person there was Kushina, with a smile at the scene she watched and how her daughter finally seemed to have taken a weight off her shoulders with that.
– Oh, damn! – Kurenai complained shortly after and they looked at her – So that means the only viable option for who you like is that grumpy Kakashi?! – And Amaya couldn't help but laugh this time at her friend's comment.
You've made great friendships, Amaya..., the older redhead mused. And none of them will abandon you so easily...
– You're focusing too much on Amaya... – Kushina commented and the three girls looked at her – And what about you, Kurenai? Got a crush on anyone? – Yūhi looked at her, surprised by the sudden question, and without any hesitation from Namikaze.
– I vote for Asuma – Rin spoke with a little smile and taking advantage of the moment, Amaya agreed to join in the teasing.
– I-It's nothing like that! – The dark-haired girl spoke quickly with her cheeks taking on a shade similar to her eyes – We're close friends, that's all!
– Uh-huh... Used to say the same about Minato and look where I am today – Kushina spoke and showed her hand to the three, where her wedding ring was.
– And you, Rin? – Amaya asked Nohara a few moments later.
– She's easy – Kurenai spoke with a smile.
– Until recently I thought I had feelings for Kakashi, and I even confessed to him... – Nohara said calmly and the younger redhead looked at her surprised by that revelation – But he rejected my feelings saying he didn't deserve something like that from anyone.
– Oh! But I'm gonna give him a good scolding next time I see him for messing with your feelings, 'tebane! – The three girls laughed at the woman.
– But I didn't feel down or even bad about not being reciprocated – Rin clarified – It was kind of... indifferent to me.
– Whether it was indifferent or not, let's do something, because if you keep talking about rejections and unconfessed loves, I'll go sort them out for you myself, dattebane! – Kushina spoke gently and the young women looked at her, holding back collective laughter at the redhead's indignation about it.
– Let's watch a movie – Amaya suggested and reached over to the sofa where she'd left the CDs to grab them.
– I'll get the food! – Namikaze said jumping to her feet and heading cheerfully to the kitchen.
Rin and Kurenai ran their eyes over the movie options and were attracted to some, narrowing them down until two options remained: A more romantic one and a horror one.
– I'm scared of those jump-scare things – Nohara said looking at the option Kurenai had chosen, the horror one.
– Come on, Rin, a girls' night with a romantic movie is too cliché! – Yūhi defended her choice.
Amaya just laughed at the argument between the two, and that's how they decided the Uzumaki would be the one to determine what they'd watch.
– The choice is yours, Amaya – Kurenai spoke – Romance or horror?
– I think... That a romance would be the more sensible choice for this moment – The redhead spoke – But if we choose it first, I wouldn't doubt that Kushina would get influenced by it and leave, like she said she would, to sort out those unresolved issues she believes each of us has.
And against that argument neither of the other two girls could argue better a horror movie and get scared than even consider Kushina going to sort out each of their love issues.
So when Namikaze returned to the room, a horror movie was waiting for her. Like Rin, the woman wasn't a fan of the genre, any type of it Kushina was a scaredy-cat when it came to that.
But still she settled in to watch the chosen movie with the girls. And it didn't take long for there to be a Rin and Kushina clinging to Kurenai and Amaya, respectively, at every new scare.
Kurenai was a fan of horror movies, even if she got scared by some things in them. Amaya didn't mind anything in that genre in a way, that type of movie attracted her because it made her think, trying to figure out the problems that arose throughout the plot.
The hours flew by without any of the four noticing amidst the movies they kept watching as one ended. That movie marathon only came to an end when Kushina noticed that only she and Amaya were awake at the end of the last film.
Rin and Kurenai weren't used, like the other two, to pulling all-nighters so easily. The two redheads exchanged a brief look under the exclusive lighting of the TV screen and held back a laugh.
Since the whole room was prepared, Kushina set about adjusting Yūhi and Nohara better so they could rest, while Amaya started taking the trays previously brought by her mother back to the kitchen.
The Uzumaki soon returned to the room, seeing her mother finishing arranging her friends and covering them well due to the unusual temperature drop that night although the heater was on in that room to compensate for the cold.
Amaya and Kushina settled in like Kurenai and Rin among their blankets, next to each other. The room would be in complete darkness if the moonlight weren't shining brightly that night, reflected by the TV screen and illuminating, even if just a little, that part where mother and daughter were settled.
– Why do we have to get sleepy at a moment like this? – Kushina asked extremely quietly and yawned – We could do so many more things today... – Amaya laughed softly amidst the sheets at Namikaze's childlike manner.
– Thank you, okaasan – The Uzumaki thanked suddenly, smiling gently and the redhead looked at her.
– You don't need to thank me – Kushina spoke and stroked her daughter's hair – If I can see that sincere smile on your face more often, that's enough for me – A slightly rosy tone took over the Uzumaki's face and her mother smiled – And reminding you of that, you escaped their question before... – The redhead looked at her slightly confused – About Kakashi – The smile adorning Amaya's lips gave way to surprise and the previous embarrassment returned to her, making Kushina smile.
– I-I don't know... Me and Kakashi are friends and... – But she herself didn't know what to say to explain her relationship with Hatake.
– Well, maybe I'll influence you if I talk too much – Namikaze said caringly to her daughter – But think about what you feel when you're with him, what his presence means and brings to you. Then compare it with someone else you're close to, like Shisui – The redhead looked fixedly at Amaya – What differs in what you have with each of them? – Kushina smiled at her – That can guide you to understand your feelings, which I know are confused thanks to that brilliant mind of yours that overthinks everything.
Amaya again ended up laughing softly at how precisely her mother could understand her internal dilemmas. The older redhead yawned longly, showing the tiredness she herself was feeling and sleep soon consumed her.
However, the same wouldn't happen to Amaya so easily.
Her restless mind worked on what Kushina had told her. And something that came to mind was regarding what Rin had told earlier, about Hatake telling her he didn't deserve anyone's love.
Automatically that brought back the day she invited him to go with her without truly knowing it to the Cavern of the Eternal Labyrinth. His reaction when invited had left the Uzumaki restless, but she hadn't focused on discovering the origin at the time.
Thinking now, the way I invited him sounded like asking him to... Go out like a couple, she considered.
Still involving the ninken's home, the last conversation she'd had with Kori and Asami, about whether worrying about Kakashi came only from Sakumo's request or involved some desire of her own came to her for reflection:
She herself had admitted to Kori that there was some personal desire to always act carefully with Kakashi and want his well-being.
And many other unusual moments involving her and Hatake came to mind when she started reflecting based on her mother's words, causing a feeling of embarrassment she'd never felt before.
The conversation she'd sought out with Minato, a few months ago also came to her awareness. The definitions of infatuation and love that Namikaze had explained to her based on his own story with Kushina pressed on her.
"We can feel a connection, that being a result of our similar tastes, hobbies or ambitions..."
Amaya could easily visualize countless situations for each of those points that Minato had told her about infatuation. But her mind told her she'd already passed that stage...
She felt the apples of her cheeks start burning and pulled the blanket covering her more to cover her face – as if that could free her from the thousand and one thoughts that assailed her.
But along with that, sleep began to take hold of her. Her mind tried to work against the tiredness, desperate to reach some concrete answer for what was bothering her.
"Loving something or someone isn't the first thing to appear, because love comes from the desire to protect the other, to be in tune and understand the inner state of that other, and to truly wish the best for them..."
Regarding love, the Uzumaki could find traces of what she herself experienced with Hatake. However, that was still something very subtle. Unlike the first, that still didn't seem truly present in her life.
There's something different between me and Kakashi, she concluded, but it doesn't fit as just friendship or true love. It's almost like something... In between...
And that was the last coherent thought the Uzumaki's mind managed to formulate that night before sleep took her under.