As Kannin's vision focused on the shinobi in front of him, he realized he recognized him. He more than recognized him, in fact. Before him stood the yellow, spiky hair of Namikaze Minato, holding a strange looking kunai in his hand. Despite being a Konoha shinobi, he had attacked Kannin, so he kept Koseki up in case, and a tension filled the air for a few moments.
As for Minato, when he saw the forehead protector on the young shinobi, he felt awful. He was so on edge after hearing Kushina got kidnapped that he had forgotten to even check if the kid was Kumo or not. He got put an embarrassed smile on his face, and scratched his head, saying,
"Umm, sorry about that kid, I didn't realize you were Konoha."
The tension all but dissolved, and Kannin felt much more at ease when Minato said that. He really didn't want to fight the genius everyone praised while he was in the academy. He lowered Koseki, and apologized himself.
"I apologize if I spooked you, I'm on a top secret mission."
Minato nodded and agreed, "So we're both looking for Kushina, right?"
Kannin nodded and gave a faint laugh "Yes, I'm looking for Kushina. Though I guess if you're here, I'd get to her after you."
Minato smiled and replied, "I'm not so sure, you somehow sensed me after I teleported behind you. You're not half bad yourself."
Kannin blushed a little from the compliment given by the utmost genius in Konoha.
"How did you sense me, if you don't mind me asking. Also, would you mind walking and talking? Kushina is still out there."
Kannin nodded, and they began rushing through the woods, "I don't really know how I sensed you, Minato-san. I just felt an antagonistic presence behind me, and my body moved on its own."
"Hmmm, not many shinobi have that type of gift. You should be grateful for it."
"Considering I wouldn't be talking to you otherwise, I'm pretty grateful for it" Kannin chuckled.
Minato had a slight grin on his face, "Yeah I suppose. Sorry about that again."
They ran in silence for a moment before Minato asked, "What's your name, lad?"
"Uzumaki Kannin."
Kannin could see the look of confusion on Minato's face, and elaborated,
"I get my grey hair from my dad, but my mom is a full blooded Uzumaki!"
"So that's why you looked so serious earlier. Kumo kidnapped your family member!"
Kannin nodded, "I've never met Kushina before, but for me, any Uzumaki is a valued family member. There are so few of us left..."
Minato closed his eyes and nodded in assent. He graduated the academy around the time Uzushiogakure was destroyed, and he heard the stories about the Uzumaki. Those who survived Uzushiogakure's destruction were often killed while fleeing. The Uzumaki were all but gone, scattered across the different countries, most of them hiding, forever traumatized by the events. When he thought about how that could've been Kushina had she not been given as the Kyuubi's jinchuriki all those years ago, it shook him to the core.
He shook those thoughts off, and told Kannin, "I was in the academy with Kushina, if you'd like, I could tell you about her. It's the least I can do since you two are family."
Kannin smiled and replied, "I think I'd like that a lot, thank you."
As they were searching, Minato talked about Kushina, her favorite foods, her laugh, her temper, her clothing style, etc. And after about 10 minutes it was quite clear that Minato was deeply in love with her--and probably had been since he was a kid. Kannin smiled at the thought of such a genuine love, and let Minato continue spouting out everything he could think about Kushina.
Another ten minutes later Minato started talking about Kushina's blood red hair, and how it always stood out to him. Kannin was passively absorbing all the information Minato was giving, when he realized Minato had stopped. He turned to look at him, and saw Minato with a shocked look on his face, muttering 'Red hair...'
Minato stood there for a moment, before snapping back to reality, "Kid, it's been great talking to you, but I just figured out how to find her. Thanks for the good conversation."
He flickered away, leaving Kannin to laugh about his definition of 'good conversation' as rambling about his crush for 20 minutes. He really did love Kushina.
-
Elsewhere in the woods, Kushina was struggling against her captors. They had paralyzed her arms with lightning release, and she was tied up. They had been leading her through the woods for what seemed like hours, but she, like Ariadne, left a trail of her deep red hair as she went, in hopes that someone would manage to pick up after her.
A few moments later, before she could even process what happened, she was suddenly above the trees, in someone's arms. Looking up at the person who grabbed her, she recognized the girlish looking boy from the academy who said he'd become Hokage.
"How'd you find me?"
"You left a very clear trail, Kushina. I'd never forget your red hair. It's always been my favorite." Minato replied with a smile.
Kushina blushed very red, before meekly thanking him.
"What about the Kumo shinobi?"
"I took care of them, don't worry."
After a long, awkward pause, the both said, "We should probably get back to Konoha then?"
And return they did. It was a longer trip back since Minato was carrying Kushina, something which almost made Minato comment on Kushina's weight, before realizing just how awful of an idea that was. He just let themselves stay in silence for the majority of the way back. It just seemed right.
Unfortunately, since this mission was top secret, there was no triumph in their return. Minato secretly arrived at the Hokage's office with Kushina, and reported the mission complete. He didn't forget to ask Kushina out, though.
"Do you think you'd ever want to get dinner sometime?"
Kushina took a moment before saying, "Sure. How does Ichiraku Ramen at 6 tomorrow sound?"
Minato, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, replied, "Sounds delightful."
He left with a particular skip in his step that everyone noticed from the normally cool and collected Namikaze Minato. He went about the town quite chipper and treated himself to some more of his special kunai to commemorate the occasion.
-
In Kumogakure
The 3rd Raikage's fist slammed on his desk, "DAMMIT!"
One of his advisors told him "Calm down, Raikage, it's not that big of a deal."
"NOT THAT BIG A DEAL? THIS COULD START ANOTHER WAR! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"
Wind seemed to be bellowing out of the Raikage's mouth as he raged, and static electricity was sparking off his body in random directions, making little pops as they sparked.