ghostpepper | 1 Crushed Tomato

Entry tags:

1 Crushed Tomato | Video/Action

[The video kicks on first to show a partially-rolled up and dirty white shirt. (Are those blood stains?!) The stomach below it has faint scarring in the shape of what could be a large circle, or maybe a semi-circle. At any rate, the video pans up after a few seconds over the shirt, hitting a wall of bright red hair at the shoulders. Dried blood long-since turned brown stained her chin and mouth. Then the full, filthy face of a very alive and pissed off Kushina Uzumaki.]

Is this some kind of a joke?! I woke up in a room that isn't mine with some woman claiming to be my mother who looks about my age shoving a bag of stuff in my hands. My husband is missing, my baby is missing, my chakra is missing. But that's not the best part, ya know! Some guy shoved this thing on me!

[She turns the video down toward a Vulpix that's staring up at her with innocent brown eyes. It lets out a happy cry and attempts to nuzzle up against Kushina's leg. But the video-- and Kushina-- move away from it quickly. When the video comes back up, her hair is flowing out at every angle around her quickly reddening face.]

If I ever find the guy who gave this to me again, I'm gonna kill him, y'know!! What a sick joke! So someone tell me how to get rid of this thing!

[Bonus Action Option Edit!]

[Anyone else who might have been wandering around New Bark Town probably had the ~~honor~~ ~~misfortune~~ pleasure of spotting a particular redhead fuming over her starting partner. Or perhaps browsing one of the manuals Minato had forwarded to her over the Pokegear, occasionally nudging the Vulpix away with her foot, while she waited for him to arrive. Do you dare approach?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She'll gladly listen and take her time reading over the manuals sent while waiting, both in and out of the Pokecenter. With a room secured, her bag is inside it, and by the time skip is coming to an end, she's wide awake and waiting outside. Her eyes were fixed on the sky, so she missed that her Vulpix had let itself out of its ball and sat down by her side. With each passing minute, she grows more and more anxious and excited.]

[NEVER FEAR MY DEAR, YOUR DERP ON A SHINY BIRD HAS ARRIVED.

Minato kept to flying through the city instead of walking, his skarmory dipping down lower and zooming through trees and between buildings, metallic wings glinting in the moonlight.

~*Fancy*~

He'd had to stop and let her rest a few times (and switch out to his altaria for some of the flight), but he and Miu had arrived safely and relatively on time.]

Kushina!

[Miu dipped even lower and Minato jumped- hitting the ground running, literally, stumbling a bit on impact before shaking it off and quickly closing the distance between him and Kushina.]

...Kushina.

[His tone was softer that time, arms encircling his wife and pulling her close for a tight hug.

Ah, was that a sniffle? Yeah, it was a sniffle, vision blurring with tears of relief that she was really here and they were together and she was okay and-]

I missed you. [So much. So so much.]

[By the time he arrived, Kushina had managed to get herself cleaned up. Her bloodstained clothes from home were still soaking, so she had gone for the only set of spare clothes she had. The outfit of a battle girl in deep green.

As soon as she saw lights glinting off a metal bird and heard him call her name, she felt her heart leap. Once Minato was on the ground, she went running for him too. Before she knew it, she had Minato in her arms once more. Everything felt right again. But his words very nearly broke her heart. She remembered what Yumi and Naruto had said, about her having been there and disappearing. How badly had that affected her husband?]

I'm sorry, but I'm here now and I don't want to leave.

[She reached up a hand to dig her fingers into his hair. A turn of her head allowed her to press a kiss to his cheek.]

[More than he thought it would- Minato hadn't really known how to be himself without Kushina at his side, so used to her providing support and balance... they'd spent practically half their lives together, to have her leave so suddenly (and having the knowledge that nothing was waiting for them outside of this place) had been startling and difficult to deal with.

And it was only with her that he could really show how he felt, that he could be open and transparent. Another reason for the tears (though he would have cried anyway), he'd bottled things up and kept them to himself for some time.]

You better not.

[But there was a smile there as well, the corners of his lips quirking up at the feel of her familiar touch, head turning to catch her in a proper kiss. None of that cheek only stuff missy.]

[A proper kiss she definitely would never complain about. A short laugh escaped as she pulled away a little to get a good look at his adorkable face. The hand behind his head stopped playing around in his hair came around to wipe up his tears.]

I promise I won't.

[She leaned up for one more kiss once she finished. It had been a long day but who needs sleep.]

[He could stand there with her in his arms all night- the feel of her fingertips brushing against his face, the deep tone of her laugh- both were immensely comforting after going without.

And if he was honest... Minato hadn't been so sure he'd experience those things again.

But as much as he would have liked to just stand around kissing his beautiful wife all night, they should probably head inside. There was another spikey-headed blond waiting for them.]

Let's go. You can call Naruto and let him know we're alright, and I'll heat us up something to eat.

[He reached around for the bag against his back, pulling out a Pokeball before taking her hand with his free one, lacing their fingers together. Miu was a bit big to hang out in the room with them... and kind of tended to tear things up accidentally when in smaller spaces.]

Are you sure you don't want me to cook something? You've been traveling all day while I've just been... here.

[Her fingers intertwined with his, still second nature. She was still unaware that her Vulpix was following her around.]

I think I can handle heating up some water for ramen.

[And she should spend her time talking to their son, catching up on the things she'd missed. Miu back in her Pokeball and tucked away he gave Kushina's hand a little squeeze as they walked.

While he hadn't immediately noticed the little vulpix (he'd been a little distracted, to be fair) it was kind of hard not to as it started following after them. He tilted his head, nodding back at the Pokemon.]

You two on better terms now?

Ramen? [Now he's speaking her language. :9

Right up until he mentioned being on better terms with... aw hell no. He didn't mean what she thought he meant, did he? She stopped dead and turned her head over her shoulder, visibly cringing when she saw the Vulpix.]

I didn't know it could let itself out.

[Her hand instantly flew to her back... where there was nothing. She remembered her bag was sitting open on the bed. With the Pokeball. Damn. Welp... guess there was nothing to be done about it besides let it follow her back in.]

Why did it have to be a fox... Why?

[He winced himself at Kushina's reaction, her words. He's... not really sure why she was given a new starter pokemon, why it was something different. Why it was a fox.

He eased his hand free from hers, extending it towards the Vulpix instead as he turned and crouched down. There was a small smile as the little fox bumped his head up against Minato's hand, eager for any kind of attention, but the expression didn't stick around for long.

How could he ask her to accept having another fox forced into her life?]

I don't know.

[Maybe this world had a worse sense of humor than he imagined. Maybe Vulpix decided it wanted to stay by her side to help her come to terms with the things that had happened before she arrived.

His fingertips curled in gently behind Vulpix's ears, scritching, petting.]

If you really don't want to keep it... Think about it for a few days, at least. Naruto has one on his team as well, they're fire types, quite useful.

[She bit her lower lip, watching Minato give attention to the Vulpix that she had been denying it all day.

She was silent as she thought over his words. Had it been anyone besides a member of her family that tried telling her this, she would've brushed them off instantly. But after a few minutes...]

Fine, I'll think about it. If the fox can prove itself, I'll consider letting it stay.

[He was lucky to get that much and he knew it, straightening back up with a small pleased smile.]

All I ask.

[He reached for her hand again as they continued the walk towards their room for the night, and tried to steer the conversation off the little fox happily trailing after them.]

You can only travel with a team of six Pokemon at a time, but there's a machine here called a PC that can store the rest until you're able to reach a town and release them again. ...I'm not sure I could really explain how it works [That's offered a bit sheepishly, even the great Yondaime didn't know everything.] but it doesn't seem to adversely effect them.

You can meet some of my team though, if you'd like.

[Maybe seeing different species and thinking about the ones she'd like to add to her own team would lift her mood a bit.]

[She was more than happy to turn the conversation away from the Vulpix. She spared him one last look over her shoulder before gluing her attention to what Minato was saying about storing them in a machine. Maybe that would be best, first chance she could get to do so anyway.]

Yeah, I'd like to meet them.

I have a few of yours too, from when you were here before. Well, not on me right now but, once we're back in Blackthorn you can meet them and decide if you'd like to take them back.

[He didn't want to assume it was alright to just drop off a bunch of Pokemon on her, but he'd happily return them if she was interested. They had time to worry about that later though, it wasn't anything that needed to be done that night.

AND THEN THEY WALKED AND FINALLY MADE IT INSIDE AND TOSSED DOWN BAGS AND FOXES.

Minato dug around in his bag and pulled out a few cups of instant ramen before checking out the room- definitely wasn't anything even resembling a kitchen but there was at least an electric kettle they could boil water with, and that was all that was needed, anyway.]

Yeah... I'd like to meet them too.

[Learning there were more Pokemon she had left behind was weird. But it also raised some questions in the back of her mind. But first, there was something more pressing at hand.

YYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH INSTANT RAMEN. Ahem...

She put Vulpix back in his Pokeball before picking up the Pokegear and plopping down in a chair with it. Time to play around with it to figure out how to make a simple phone call. After about five minutes or so...]

Minato... how do I just talk to just Naruto instead of a bunch of people with this thing?

Hm?

[He plugged in the kettle, leaving it to warm up, and walked over to Kushina's side, crouching down beside her chair.]

You need his number, first. [It should have shown up with his earlier replies, but Minato's got his 'gear handy and just pulls it out, pointing out the address book on her gear and reciting Naruto's number so she could save it.] Then you can call him from there, whenever you'd like.

Edited (WORDS...) 2013-07-25 06:26 (UTC)

[It probably did, but she was a little preoccupied with "AHHHH MY BABY BOY ;u;". So she puts it in. But now it's nosy waifu time as she makes a grab for his 'gear.]

Who else do you have listed in there?

[And amiable husbando hands his 'gear over without question.]

Aside from my four other wives?

[That's definitely meant to rile her up a bit since she's being nosy, a small smirk quirking up the corners of his lips.]

The other ninja here, mostly.

[Well it worked since a nerve pops for all of two seconds. Until she notices the grin. A+ Kushina, have some faith. He's much smarter than that. So she settles for reaching up and giving him a gentle punch in the arm.]

I'll add them too.

[She goes through the list, adding names here and there when she recognizes any Obito mentioned or what very few she identifies right off the bat.]

[A part of him must seriously be masochistic- he laughed after being hit, though rubbed at his arm as he stood to add the now hot water to the cups of noodles.]

Probably a good idea.

[Water poured and cups set down on the nightstand, he unplugged the kettle and sat down on the bed, grabbing his backpack and rummaging through it.]

Some of the Pokemon I brought with me are a little too big to let loose in the room, but I can let you meet Hachi and Machi at least. They're not much bigger than house cats, but I should warn you they're a little... affectionate, and will remember you.

[He wasn't concerned though, they were well trained despite their enthusiasm and at worst would hop up on her lap for a hug.

He held the Pokeballs out, a bright flash lighting up the room for a moment before a Plusle in a cloak just like his and a Minun rolled out on to the bed. For a moment they looked around, figuring out where they were, but after a nod from Minato they jumped down off the bed and made a beeline for Kushina, chirping and exclaiming excitedly. Plu~! Min~!]

[Now these two were adorable. As soon as they were in range, she leaned forward automatically and pulled them in for hugs.]

Minato, they're adorable! They look like identical twins, besides some of their markings and colors! --And what's this on you?

[She had set them down on her lap and noticed the cloak on the Plusle. Just like her husband's. She turned her around to look at the back, expecting to see something written, but instead... a giant swirl. The sight of it made her smile.]

Who made this?

I did. Well- with your help, of course.

[The cloak was a little too small for writing much of anything (and you know how he enjoys his long ridiculous titles), nevermind the time it would have taken to stitch out the tiny letters- it was a bit too much work for him to take on as a somewhat beginner in sewing.

It was one thing to add on the tiny sleeves and a button clasp, another entirely to not only come up with a title or nickname but to sew it down along such a tiny space.

But Hachi was family too, as much as he or Kushina and Naruto were, and he didn't really have anything of his own clan to pass down so...

It was important that none of them forgot the Uzumaki, or Uzushiogakure, the clan and the lost village meaning just as much to Minato as Konoha.]

They're electric types, and their abilities compliment and amplify each other- they're quite dangerous really, in a fight.

...We kind of blew out the electrical system in the first gym we challenged, it had to be closed for repair for a day or so.

Edited 2013-07-31 13:02 (UTC)

[She laughs at that last bit because the thought of the two little creatures on her lap blowing out the power of an entire building was hilarious.]

I'm sorry I missed it! But what d'you mean by challenging a gym... whatever that is here.

[He'd felt pretty bad about it at the time, embarrassed at being ushered out of the gym so they could begin repairs, but it was hard not to crack a smile at Kushina's amusement, to start laughing along with her.]

I was quite proud of them, honestly.

[Once he'd stopped trying to hide from anyone associated with the gym in Violet, anyway.]

The Gym leaders each have a team of Pokemon, usually specializing in one type, and the trainers, us, are able to challenge them to a duel with our teams. If you defeat them you earn a badge, which can allow your team to use certain abilities though I'm not really sure why that's a necessary step. It's basically the "goal" of our traveling here.

[Why the hell couldn't a bird fly without a tiny piece of medal? \o_o/]

I'm a breeder myself though, it's not necessary for me to earn the badges but I think it's important for my team to experience proper fights.

Ah- [And before she could ask:] a breeder is supposed to- well... breed their Pokemon, in hopes of producing stronger offspring. These two are already parents, actually, and Rin took in two of their eggs, but I'm waiting for my team to grow a bit more before trying again.

[He definitely stole the question just as she opened her mouth to interject the question. So here's another one that was lined up after it.]

Breeding for stronger Pokemon sounds pretty cool and all, but these gyms and stuff sound like my kind of thing. Is there one in the city we're heading to?

1 Crushed Tomato | Video/Action

no subject

no subject

god i need more icons of these two...

kehehehe

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)