Chapter 37
"By the way, to celebrate your first day at school, Kushina, why don't you stay over at my house tonight?"
Tsunade looked at Kushina with great enthusiasm, blinking playfully at Ling Yu as she spoke.
Is she planning to make a move on Kushina already? Ling Yu thought to himself.
"Just me? What about Mikoto?" Kushina hesitated, turning to Mikoto.
Now that she considered Mikoto a close sister, she wanted to discuss things with her.
"I can't. My grandma's waiting at home—I can't stay overnight. But I can come hang out for a while before I have to head back."
Mikoto smiled and gently declined.
"Ah… alright then. I'll go."
Though Mikoto couldn't stay the night, Kushina was happy she could still come along for part of it, so she nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry—it's just one night. I'll talk to Granny Mito."
Tsunade gave a slightly mischievous smile, insisting she had no bad intentions.
And so, after finishing their meal at the ramen shop, Ling Yu and the others said goodbye to Tsunade and headed back to school. Tsunade also left soon after to speak with Mito.
"Ling Yu, uh… that is…"
As soon as they returned to the classroom, Choji ran over. Seeing the two girls beside Ling Yu, he hesitated, lowered his head, and stood awkwardly.
Ling Yu gave Mikoto and Kushina a look, signaling them to go back to their seats first.
"Hmph. I'm not interested in listening to whatever you boys are talking about anyway."
Kushina, thinking Ling Yu didn't trust her, puffed out her cheeks, glared at him, and turned her head away.
But she stayed right where she was—clearly still wanting to eavesdrop.
"Come on, they must have something private to discuss. Let's go."
Mikoto, being more understanding, took Kushina's hand and gently pulled her away. Before leaving, she gave Ling Yu a reassuring look that said: Leave Kushina to me.
With that, Mikoto and Kushina left first, leaving Ling Yu and Choji standing together.
"Ling Yu, I won three whole months' worth of pocket money from that bet earlier!"
As soon as they stepped outside the classroom, Choji excitedly told him.
Thinking about not having to worry about running out of snack money for the next three months, Choji's eyes sparkled like a true foodie.
He had been especially careful not to mention the bet in front of Kushina—afraid she'd get mad and cause trouble.
"I promised—if you won, I'd treat you to barbecue. Whenever you're free, just tell me. I'll take you for the deluxe barbecue set—how's that?"
Remembering how Ling Yu helped him win the bet, Choji puffed out his chest proudly.
"You can bring a few more people too. Inoichi and Shikaku will probably come. Just… don't tell Uzumaki Kushina, okay?"
He added the warning at the end—his main reason for avoiding Kushina.
He still clearly remembered her fierce introduction. If she found out, with her explosive temper, she'd definitely come after him—and he might end up getting beaten senseless.
"Got it. I'll let you know whenever I feel like barbecue. Just make sure you haven't spent all your pocket money by then—or you won't be able to afford me."
Ling Yu patted Choji's shoulder. Since he insisted, Ling Yu didn't refuse—it could just be a friendly treat.
Besides, he had his eye on Inoichi's future daughter. Building good relations now would give him some leverage later if needed.
"Oh right—Ling Yu, you skipped a class this morning and Teacher Yamano was really mad. Be careful during afternoon lessons."
As a student, Choji was still a little afraid of teachers, so he didn't forget to warn his friend.
"Should be fine… right?"
Ling Yu had almost forgotten about that. The thought of Yamano holding a grudge made him nervous. He could only silently pray he wouldn't be that unlucky.
"Whatever. We'll see. Class is about to start—let's head back."
Seeing the time, Ling Yu led Choji back into the classroom.
Ding-ding-ding-ding!
Ling Yu had just sat down when the bell rang. Teacher Yamano entered right on time.
"Alright, everyone's here? Ling Yu—come to my office after class."
Yamano gave a quick, expressionless glance toward the back row. Seeing both Ling Yu and Kushina present, he spoke directly to Ling Yu before beginning the lesson.
"Now let's start class. Today we're covering…"
"Damn it… no escaping this one."
Ling Yu muttered gloomily in his heart.
"Phew… good thing he didn't call me."
Kushina patted her chest in relief, looking like she'd narrowly escaped disaster.
While whispering with Mikoto earlier, Mikoto had told her that Yamano was furious about her and Ling Yu skipping class.
She had already braced herself to face the consequences—but fortunately, she was spared.
"Tch. If you weren't new, he definitely wouldn't have let you off."
Ling Yu gave her a disdainful sideways glance.
"Bleh. You deserve it."
Kushina stuck out her tongue, clearly still holding a grudge over Ling Yu sending her away earlier.
"Hey! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have ended up as the scapegoat for Teacher Yamano!"
"I'm not listening! Not listening!"
…
The afternoon classes passed amid the two's playful bickering.
Because of skipping class, Ling Yu had to go to the teacher's office afterward.
Mikoto had to head home first to cook for her grandma, but Ling Yu promised to pick her up later and send her back tonight.
Though it was a bit troublesome, Ling Yu had the cheat-like spatial portal skill. It was effortless—just consumed a lot of chakra.
Now the classroom was left with only Kushina. Since she lived in the same direction as Ling Yu, she waited for him. Plus, she had already promised Tsunade she'd visit tonight.
"Kushina, are you alone? Want to walk back with us?"
At that moment, Rina's gentle voice came from beside her.
Kushina looked up. Rina and Minato were standing at the door, smiling at her.
Since both Rina and Kushina lived at Granny Mito's house, Rina saw Kushina sitting alone after class and assumed she hadn't made friends yet. So she invited her along.
"Tch. It's that wimp again."
Kushina glanced at them and inwardly scoffed—her impression of Minato still stuck on "soft and weak" from this morning.
"Um… Minato-kun was worried I might not know the way, so he wanted to walk me back."
Seeing Kushina look at Minato, Rina thought she might have misunderstood, so she quickly explained.
But the blush on Rina's face hinted that her feelings weren't quite so simple.
"Yeah, I was worried Rina might get lost, so I offered to walk her back."
Minato smiled and backed up Rina's words. For some reason, he didn't want Kushina to misunderstand his relationship with Rina.
"No need. I'm waiting for someone. You two go ahead."
Thinking about visiting Ling Yu's house tonight, Kushina refused. Besides, she didn't want to walk with Minato.
"I see… then we'll head back first."
Rina had a slight suspicion but didn't expose it. She took the slightly reluctant Minato and left.
"Ugh, that damn Ling Yu—making me wait this long!"
With the classroom now completely empty except for her, Kushina lay her head on the desk, staring at Ling Yu's seat and grumbling.
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