Kushina 2

After hearing Iruka Umino's words, Kushina walked straight toward Qingyun.

"Hi, can I sit here?"

Kushina addressed Minato Namikaze, but although she was asking him, her eyes remained fixed on Qingyun.

When Minato Namikaze saw Kushina approach, he flashed his trademark smile. "Of course. I'm Minato Namikaze, and this is my big brother, Qingyun."

Kushina studied Qingyun curiously. When she realized he wasn't paying any attention to her, she grew a little annoyed and said loudly, "Hey, I'm Kushina. I'll remember that you spoke up for me earlier. If anyone bullies you, come to me for help. I'm really strong, you know."

Faced with the noisy Kushina, Qingyun reluctantly raised his head and glanced at her, then looked at Minato Namikaze, signaling with his eyes for him to hurry up and calm his wife down.

As far as Qingyun was concerned, Kushina was Minato Namikaze's wife, so Minato Namikaze would naturally know how to handle her.

But Qingyun had no idea that Minato Namikaze and Kushina hadn't gotten together at the Ninja Academy. That had happened only after he rescued her under the moonlight.

At this point, Kushina had no interest in Minato Namikaze whatsoever.

Minato Namikaze was puzzled by Qingyun's inexplicable look, but he also knew Qingyun disliked being disturbed. He turned to Kushina with a smile. "That's just how my big brother is. Please don't take it personally."

Kushina glanced at Minato Namikaze and snorted. Seeing that Qingyun was ignoring her, she sat down in a huff, occasionally stealing glances at him out of the corner of her eye.

Soon, the bell rang to end class. Qingyun stood and stretched, took out his lunch box, and left the classroom. He found a shady spot outside, opened his lunch box, and began to eat.

"Hey, can I sit here?"

Qingyun paused at her words and looked up at the slightly nervous Kushina. After a moment's thought, he nodded. "Sure, but could you talk a little less? It's kind of annoying."

Kushina's face lit up when Qingyun agreed, but his next words froze her smile. She glared at him, then sat down, opened her lunch box, and began eating her sushi.

"Is that sissy in there really your little brother? Why aren't you two anything alike?"

After eating for a while, Kushina couldn't hold her tongue any longer and asked Qingyun curiously.

Qingyun paused, then gave Kushina a rather odd look.

Wait, aren't Kushina and Minato supposed to be a couple? What is going on here, then?

Still, when he thought about it, Minato Namikaze's gentle demeanor did seem a little sissy-like. His lips twitched, but he made no comment on that. He nodded and said evenly, "Minato is my little brother, but we're not related. For certain reasons, we're living together right now."

"Oh, I knew it. You two aren't anything alike, so how could you be actual brothers? Why do you live with him?"

"Your personalities are completely different. Don't you two get bored together?"

"I heard earlier that you're really strong. I'm really strong too. How about we spar?"

Qingyun stared at Kushina in exasperation. Seriously, do you have any idea how much you talk?

As Kushina chattered on and on, Qingyun silently finished his last few mouthfuls of food, then left her with a single remark. "I'm going to wash my lunch box. You carry on."

Watching Qingyun flee, Kushina burst into laughter.

She had done it on purpose. She had come to Konoha all alone, surrounded by people she didn't know. On top of that, her unusual hair color had made her classmates shun her.

Only Qingyun didn't reject her. He looked at her no differently than he looked at anyone else, so naturally, she wanted very much to become his friend.

But Qingyun kept ignoring her, leaving her no choice but to keep finding things to talk about so he would speak to her.

Elsewhere, Qingyun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and thought, Kushina talks way too much. How does Minato put up with her?

As he washed his lunch box, Qingyun recalled Kushina's endlessly chattering mouth and shuddered. He shook his head, trying to drive her image from his mind.

After washing his lunch box, Qingyun went to an open area and began practicing Tai Chi Fist.

Since Qingyun had gained an understanding of tai chi, yin and yang, and the eight trigrams, his Tai Chi Fist had become increasingly ethereal, as though every movement contained a trace of the fundamental truths of heaven and earth.

Suddenly, Qingyun's brow furrowed. His internal force surged, and he slowly extended his right hand toward an empty spot. A Tai Chi Yin-Yang Diagram flashed and vanished.

Thump!

With a dull impact, Qingyun calmly looked toward the person who had approached.

"Ow! What kind of weird move was that? That hurt."

Kushina pouted, rubbing her backside as she glared at Qingyun.

Qingyun was speechless. He had sensed someone attacking him and instinctively countered with Tai Chi Fist.

When Qingyun realized it was Kushina, he pulled back most of his strength in time. Even so, the remaining trace of Tai Chi Force jolted her, making her lose her balance and fall to the ground.

"I was practicing Tai Chi Fist. It can reflect Taijutsu attacks. Didn't your family teach you not to approach someone recklessly while they're training?"

Qingyun calmly watched Kushina rub her backside, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. Why had she suddenly latched onto him? Minato Namikaze is your destined partner, you know.

Kushina's expression stiffened at Qingyun's words, and large tears began streaming down her face.

Seeing Kushina cry, Qingyun immediately felt at a loss. He remembered that by this time, the Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed. Most members of the Uzumaki Clan had died, and only a few Clan Members had escaped and scattered throughout the shinobi world.

Apart from Mito Uzumaki, Kushina no longer had any family in Konoha.

Qingyun silently cursed himself and scrambled to comfort Kushina.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Looks like I said the wrong thing. Please don't cry, okay?"

When that did no good, Qingyun thought it over and decided there was no real harm in telling her. He slowly began sharing his background with Kushina. "Stop crying. Didn't you want to know how Minato and I became friends? I'll tell you now.

"I was born into the Uchiha Clan..."

He slowly told Kushina how he had entered the Ninja Academy and how he had met Minato Namikaze.

Kushina's sobs gradually subsided. Looking at Qingyun, who had no family just like her, she felt a bond born of their shared grief.

Seeing that Kushina had stopped crying, Qingyun hesitated before saying, "We've both lost our families. But that's exactly why we have to be even stronger and work hard to become powerful. Only then can we keep others from bullying us. From now on, don't show such a vulnerable side of yourself in front of outsiders."

Kushina stared blankly at Qingyun. At the solemn expression on his face, she couldn't help nodding.

Qingyun smiled and pulled Kushina up from the ground.

When he had watched television in his previous life, Qingyun had been very curious about this woman, who had left a deep impression on him despite her few appearances.

One reason he had treated Kushina so coldly earlier was that he didn't want to become too deeply involved with her. After all, she would become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, while he was a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Qingyun worried that getting too close to Kushina would bring him plenty of trouble.

But now, seeing this lonely girl who had lost all her Clan Members and was surrounded by unfamiliar strangers, Qingyun couldn't quite bring himself to turn her away.

After thinking it over, Qingyun stopped worrying about what might happen later and softened his tone. "All right, wipe away your tears. If anyone sees you like this, they'll make fun of you again."

"Thank you, Qingyun. You're my first friend in Konoha, and you'll be my friend forever."

Kushina smiled through her tears and held out her fair, slightly chubby little hand, signaling that once Qingyun shook it, they would be friends.

"Friends, huh?"

Looking at Kushina's earnest face, Qingyun murmured those words to himself before breaking into a bright smile. "Nice to meet you. My name is Qingyun."

When Qingyun shook her hand, Kushina beamed. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki. I'm really happy to be your friend."