A Challenge of Love: The Bet

"A Challenge of Love: The Bet."

Kushina was eager to show her new skills to Minato. She was always very competitive when it came to Minato and her desire of wanting to overcome him was the bond that united them.

"Hey, how about if we bet something to make it more interesting?" the blond said with a grin.

"Again with the bet?" Kushina frowned as she stretched her muscles.

"Why not? The last time was fun..." He said smiling and Kushina blushed a bit when she remembered that day.

                                             ***

It was a hot day in Konoha. Kushina and Minato were preparing for the Chunnin trials and both decided to train together during every afternoon to improve their techniques.

Kushina was never very skilled in ninjutsu, but she was very good with taijutsu. Minato on the other hand, was very skilled at almost everything, but he had trouble beating Kushina because she never gives up that easily and had the advantage of possessing the Kyubi chakra, which made her a difficult opponent to beat.

The hours passed and they were exhausted by the trainin and was a matter of time before one of them fell to the ground exhausted.

"I never thought it would be so much fun to fight against you." The redhead said while forcing a smile between gasps.

"Likewise." the blonde replied with a smirk. Minato had always enjoyed these encounters with Kushina, as an excuse to have her around and be able to be with her more often. He always had feelings for the redhead but he never dared to tell her for fear that she would reject him. For now, he was okay just being friends with her.

"I have an idea..." said the blonde. "How about if we make a bet?

"A bet?" she arched an eyebrow. "What kind of bet?" she aked puzzled.

"If you win... I'll invite you to eat Ramen for the rest of the semester." He said smiling.

"Hm... Sounds good to me!" she said excitedly. "And what happens if I lose?" She asked skeptically.

"If you lose... you have to go on a date with me." He said blushing.

Kushina blushed even more after hearing his respond. She was so flushed that her skin color matched with her hair.

"What the hell are you saying-ttebane?" She said excitedly. "By no means I'll go out with a skinny ass like you!" She folded her arms and turned away.

Minato let out a sigh to see her reaction and he trailed off to see that she had rejected him. "Well, I had to try, right?" he said to himself.

"Okay, I will!" She said suddenly which surprised Minato. "A bet is a bet. And I hope you fulfill your part of the bargain or I'll turn you into cat food." She told him while pointing a finger.

Minato couldn't believe what was hearing. Kushina was actually going to go out with him (that is if he defeated her) and couldn't help grinning like a fool. "Deal!" he replied cheerfully and Kushina turned her head slightly to look at him from the corner of her eye and she also smiled in secret. Even though he loose the bet, Minato was very happy because in some way, he will still go out with her anyway.

                                             ***

"So, what do you say?" he asked her again.

"All right. But don't think I'll fall for that twice. This time I'll make the rules."

"Okay." He smiled. "What are your conditions?"

"Hmm... Let's see, if I win ..." she said thoughtfully. "You'll have to invite me to eat Ramen for the rest of the year." She grinned.

"The whole year?!" he said surprised. "Wow... there goes my savings..." he muttered to himself.

"Did you say something?!" she asked excitedly.

"No, no, no, no ..! It was nothing!" he replied nervously. The last thing he wanted was to make her angry. Minato scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. "So, what happens if I win?" he asked curious.

Kushina blushed a little and looked the other way. "If you win ..." She stared at him again a little embarrassed. "I'll go to every festival... with you." She said with her mouth stretched.

Minato's face lit up when he heard her other condition. "Really?"

"Yeah..." she said annoyed.

"And you'll get a Kimono?"

Kushina snaped when she heard that word. "A Kimono?!" she asked indignantly. "Are you crazy-ttebane? She said excitedly.

"I've never seen you wearing a Kimono and I would really like to see you in one. I bet you look beautiful." He said smiling.

Kushina blushed even more after hearing his comment. "Shut up!" she shout embarrassed and had no choice but to accept their terms. "Okay." He said annoyed. "I'll wear a stupid Kimono." She crossed her arms.

Satisfied, Minato smiled like a dork and then prepared for combat.

"Are you ready?"

"I was born ready!" She said smiling.

And without further ado, they started the fight.
Kushina began with a frontal assault by using her skills in taijutsu. She had always been very good at it and Minato knew almost her every move. However, she was very confident since she had an ace up her sleeve and wouldn't hesitate to use it. She knew that Minato was strong and fast but he had a weakness that made him vulnerable.

After dodging all the attacks, Kushina used a smog pump to conceal her movements from him. She had to prevent him from touching her, otherwise he would use his teleportation technique in her. Minato on the other hand, focused to feel the flow of chakra to find her location. Suddenly several kunai were thrown at him in different directions, which he dodged without a problem, but he didn't realize he was about to fall into a trap. Kushina turbed the whole place into a minefield of explosive scrolls. Minato saw the explosives and just before she exploded it all, he threw his kunai in another direction and appeared on the other side in an instant.

"That was close ..." He said relieved.

"I'm still not done with you." He heard a female voice coming from behind.

Kushina confronted him again using his taijutsu and if had it not been for his quick reflexes, Kushina would have ended by knocking him out with a tremendous kick to his face. Minato was able to block his attacks and tried to take her down with a trip, but she dodges it with a backflip. When she landed on her feet, a pair of arms surrounded her while Minato pointed his kunai at her throat. He had managed to mark her with his seal on the previous confrontation and appeared from behind.

"You've improved a lot ..." he whispered gently.

Kushina laughed at this and turned her head slightly to look at him. "You haven't seen anything yet..." she replied with a smile and in a blink of an eye, Kushina disappeared.

"Kage Bunshin?" He said surprised.

"Hiyaaaaa!!" He heard the cry of Kushina and Minato had no time to react when she already was above him. The attack was just a big huge 'attack hug' which made them fall.

And with that Minato had lost the fight.

"Ha, I beat you!" She said in triumph.

"You really hate Kimonos, don't you?" He said a little sore.

"There's no way I'll wear a Kimono. Is not my style." she said proudly.

Minato chuckled. "I guess you're right." He smiled tenderly.

"Well," Kushina got up and shook the dust from her clothes. "We better hurry or we'll be late for the festival."

"But ... you've just won the bet." He said confused.

Kushina scoffed the comment. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" She frowned. "You didn't even tried!" she said indignantly and turned away. Kushina hated to lose, but she hated even more when he let her win. Both knew that fight was nothing more than a simple training combat.

Embarrassed, Minato scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry." He said embarrassed. "You know me very well and you know I can't hit a girl, especially if it's you." He blushed.

Kushina let out a sigh. "I know. But still ..." She turned. "Don't ever do that again, you hear me?!" She took his shirt." I'm not like the other wimps who get to mourn for a simple bruise. I'm Kushina Uzumaki, the bloody Habanero! "In her eyes could see the fire burning inside and Minato began to feel chills to see his eyes full of anger.

"Y-Yes, what-whatever you say..." he said nervously.

Satisfied, Kushina released him from her grasp and then stood up to follow her. However, his footsteps stopped and Kushina turned around to see what was wrong with him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked confused.

"Kushina, there's something I want to ask you, before going to the festival ..." Minato's face suddenly changed.

"What is it?" she asked curious.

It was now or never, he had to tell her or he would never get another chance.

"Ku-Kushina, I ..." his voice cracked. Confused by his strange behavior, Kushina comes close and looks into his eyes. That made things even worse for Minato, since he was fighting to contain the blush.

"Tell me ... what's wrong?" said the redhead.

"Well, I ... I uh ... would like to... you ..." his words were drowned in her throat.

"Aw come on now, tell me already!" she said exasperated.

Minato took a deep breath and said... "I want you to be my girlfriend!" he said loudly.

Kushina was stunned to hear what he just said and couldn't respond because of the shock.

"I know it's a little sudden ... but I really would like to make our relationship more serious." He blushed. Silence surrounded them and they didn't know what to say to avoid the awkward atmosphere. Once again, Minato tried to ask her again. "Kushina, would you like to..."

"No!" She said suddenly, taking Minato by surprise. "I don't want to be your girlfriend..." She said seriously.

Minato's face was sad to hear her response. His heart was about to break into pieces until Kushina approached him and took his face to kiss him. Minato was shocked to feel her sweet and soft lips on his. After a while, they separated their lips to see each other in the eye.

"I want to be your wife." She whispered gently.

Surprised, Minato opened his eyes in amazement. He wasn't expecting that reaction from her, and neither her answer.

"Are you for real?" he asked puzzled.

"Do you think I would joke with something like that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know... I hope not..." he said hopefully.

"I love you, Minato. I've always loved you..." she said blushing as she got lost in his deep blue eyes.

"Kushina ..."

Overwhelmed, Minato took her in his arms and kissed her passionately, and that's when the fireworks began. He had waited many years to hear that and finally he was able to live the moment of his dreams. Both were very much in love, but none of them had the courage to admit it and now they would live a lifetime together trying to make up for the lost time.

THE END.