After a week-long absence, Kushina finally returned to the academy — much to everyone's relief, especially Uchiha Hayashi and his friends. It meant that the Inuzuka brat would finally stop pestering them every day.
For the past week, that boy had constantly asked about Kushina, wearing down even Hayashi's patience. Each day, the same question — "Have you seen Kushina?" — until Hayashi swore he could hear it echoing in his dreams. Today, however, the poor Inuzuka kid could only stare blankly at Kushina's empty seat, lost in despair. Not that anyone would tell him where she'd gone — absolutely not.
It was Hayashi's first time seeing Kushina since she'd become the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. Curiously, she didn't have the familiar whisker marks like Naruto would one day have. That fact puzzled him. If neither Kushina nor Minato had them, then why did Naruto — and even his kids, Boruto and Himawari — have those marks? Maybe it was just one of those strange "main character" quirks of destiny. Kinda like Kakashi's mask hiding some legendary "mouth." Ridiculous — but oddly possible.
After class ended, Kushina, clearly overjoyed to see her friends again, turned to them with a wide grin. "Hayashi! Look what I made!" she said, proudly holding up an opaque, sealed lunchbox.
Hayashi froze, a bead of sweat running down his temple. "Kushina… please tell me you didn't make a bento yourself," he said warily.
Kushina only smiled, her eyes gleaming mischievously. The story behind this moment began a few days earlier. During a talk with the Nine-Tails, Kushina had accidentally mentioned that there was someone she liked. The fox, bored and ever nosy, had immediately perked up, pressing for every juicy detail.
Then, last night, she spoke to it again. "What now, girl? You're bothering me again?" the Nine-Tails grumbled.
"School starts tomorrow," Kushina said. "I haven't seen my friends in a week, and I want to bring them gifts… but I don't know what."
The fox sighed, tail flicking. "Then bring something your crush likes. Simple."
Kushina frowned. What does Hayashi like? She thought hard — and then realized she didn't know. Not even a clue.
"Then you think of something!" she complained. "Didn't you say you had plenty of admirers once? Use that experience!"
The fox puffed up proudly. "Hmph, of course I did! Let's see…"
And so, following the fox's "advice," she made… this.
Now, Hayashi looked at the blushing redhead, then down at the dark, murky liquid she'd presented. "Are you sure this is plum juice?" he asked, his tone dangerously calm.
Kushina nodded enthusiastically.
"Then what's this floating thing?" he asked, pointing at a yellowish lump inside.
"Carrot," she said, smiling brightly. …Carrot. In plum juice. Whoever taught her that deserved to be tied up and used for target practice.
Hayashi sighed deeply. "Kushina… are you mad at me or something?"
"No! Not at all!" she said quickly, her face flushing deeper. "It's just… I'm still learning…" Even she knew it looked awful. But she'd tried her best, and for Kushina Uzumaki, that was saying something.
Hayashi noticed her hand trembling slightly and spotted a small cut. "You're hurt," he said. He reached into his pouch and handed her a bandage. "Here, use this."
Kushina tried to hide her hand behind her back.
"Don't bother hiding it," Hayashi sighed. "I can see just fine." How had she managed to cut herself so badly making plum juice? The Uzumaki clan's healing ability was supposed to be amazing — yet here she was, still bleeding. Someone had clearly been giving her bad advice. Hayashi silently swore to find out who.
As Kushina began wrapping her hand, she giggled internally. "Big Fox, it's working! He even gave me a bandage!"
"Heh. I used that same move once to— cough, never mind. Anyway, don't let him drink that stuff. It's crossed the line from food to chemical warfare."
"What did you say?!" she snapped. "He'll be fine if it's just one sip!"
"Depends on his vitality," the fox muttered.
Moments later, under Kushina's hopeful gaze, Hayashi reluctantly took a tiny sip. She leaned forward anxiously. "Well? How is it?"
A pause. Then Hayashi clutched his throat and croaked, "It's… really good!" His voice cracked halfway through, trembling like his soul was fighting for survival. Desperate to escape, he turned to his friends. "Minato, Nawaki! You guys thirsty? There's plenty left!"
Minato instantly performed a side-step jutsu that would make any taijutsu master proud and bolted for the door. Hayashi sighed. "Minato, you liar — you do know martial arts."
Just then, the Inuzuka kid appeared again — perfect timing. "H-Hey, Kushina," he stammered, face red. "Are you free after school?"
The whole class froze. Kushina, still sulking over the failed plum juice, glared at him. You dare ask me out now? The same guy who laughed at my red hair? Her voice was cold and sharp. "Get lost. Who even are you?"
A collective gasp swept the room. Hayashi could almost hear the poor boy's heart shatter into pieces.
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