Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto
Chapter 8: I Am Happy When You Are Happy
The next day Kushina got up extra early to get herself ready for work as well as to help Naruto get ready for his first day of school. She was surprised that they had managed to get him in at such short notice and with such little documentation of the child but she was very thankful because she really couldn't miss anymore work. Luckily his school hours worked out well with her work schedule. Her bus came at 8:30 am every morning and to the bus station it was about a 20 minute walk from her house. Luckily that route passed Naruto's school, so she'd be able to walk him to school every day. He'd always be about 10 minutes early since his school also started at 8:30 am but that wasn't too bad especially because there were always kids playing out front anyway. While Naruto would finish at 3:30 pm, the school did a kind of afterschool program, almost like a daycare exclusively for the students at that school. Although it wasn't free it was a reasonable price so she had put him into that which allowed her work hours to stay the same, meaning she'd be able pick him up from school at 5:30pm.
Walking Naruto to school, she talked to him, telling him as much as she knew about his school "and your class teacher will be Iruka Sensei, I've heard he's a very good teacher".
Naruto just nodded his head keeping silent, trying to shut out his nerves.
"Naruto" Kushina spoke softly "I know your last school was horrible to you, I know they treated you poorly and that was very wrong. But that's not what school is supposed to be like. School is supposed to be a place where you can learn, have fun, make new friends and create a path for your future. I really feel like this will be the type of school for you so please give it a try with an open mind"
"I hope you're right" Naruto replied quietly.
"Look we're here now, come on since it's your first day I'll take you to your classroom."
Just outside the door she gave him a big hug, wishing him a good day. "Just remember to smile" she added before introducing him to Iruka Sensei and then walking onwards to the bus stop.
Kushina sat down on the bus dreading her day of work as the bus rolled along picking up more passengers. It wasn't because she found her work boring but because she was feeling stressed and tired and hurt and she didn't know how to deal with it all other than by putting on a fake smile for Naruto's sake and doing her best for him.
It wasn't Naruto that was making her feel down in fact it was with him that she actually felt content. But because of Naruto's presence it had become even clearer just how little Kinoshita made her feel happy and just how much the way he treated her actually hurt her and ultimately that was a hard feeling to deal with.
Trying to get comfortable on the rigid bus seat she grumbled to herself wishing for a more cushioned seat barely noticing the friendly presence until she heard his voice."I see you've finally decided to come to work" he said light heartedly.
Kushina looked up at him and felt a strong urge to hug him, wanting his strong arms to wrap around her and comfort her. He looked so happy and so warm, as if he'd be able to take away her pain.
"Here" he said handing her a cup of coffee."I picked it up along the way to the bus stop. I brought one for you yesterday too but you weren't here so I just had two cups of coffee in my hands. I tried handing the extra one to people but they all looked at the drink as if it was poison and me as if I were a criminal. It was pretty embarrassing and then because of all the bustling people and my lack of free hands I spilt the extra drink on my work pants".
Kushina bit her lip trying not to laugh as she thanked him for the hot drink. Taking a sip from her drink, she noticed him staring at her "What?".
"Nothing, I just I hope everything worked out well".
"What do you mean?".
"It's just, you don't seem like the type of person to miss work for nothing and I remember on Monday you said you had something very important you had to deal with and with missing yesterday too I was a bit worried so you know, I just hope it all worked out well for you".
"Oh umm" not wanting to lie but not knowing what to say she settled on, "not exactly as planned" as she forced a small smile out, not wanting him to catch onto the fact that she was upset.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked kindly.
Kushina shook her head slowly "I…umm".
"It's okay, don't feel like you have to but if you ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me" he said handing her a slip of paper "In fact here's my number".
"Thanks" she replied, pulling out her phone to plug the number in. "Although is it normal for you to carry your number on a slip of paper everywhere you go?" she said jokingly, trying to get his expression to change from concern to something else.
"Oh well, I wrote it down specifically today for you. So that next time when I bring the coffee, to avoid a fiasco like before you can call me if you're not coming, that way I'll only buy one." he replied smiling.
"You're not buying me coffee everyday" she said surprise laced in with her refusal.
"Why not?"
"Because then your treating me too much and I can't treat you back".
"Your company's treat enough".
Kushina frowned at that, although really all she wanted to do was smile. "But at least let me pay you back for my own coffee"
"Nope" he replied stubbornly.
"You're not being fair".
He took her hands in his, causing a small gasp to escape Kushina's lip. She could definitely feel the butterflies as well and a tingling sensation as his skin touched hers.
"Listen, let me treat you Kushina" he said softly almost enticingly.
"I-I just, we're just friends, you really don't need to treat me, let alone every day" she murmured shyly.
"You deserve to be treated every day though, anyway treating you makes me happy and I'd like to think it makes you happy too. So please don't make problems out of nothing."
"Fine" she replied slowly, hesitantly at first before a genuine smile formed on her lips "but just coffee". How could she resist him when he put it like that, that guy was dangerous he had a way with words and a special pull over her, he was enchanting.
He smiled back at her, letting go of her hands.
For the next few stops they chatted lightheartedly just about random stuff until he stood up and said "Looks like this is my stop, it always seems to come up so fast" before walking away. After taking about four to five steps he turned back around and walked back towards Kushina. "Forget something?" she asked.
"Yes" he replied as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. He really was warm she thought upon feeling the impact. It felt good, he felt good. It was a comforting hug and if he would have held on longer she probably would have started to cry in his arms sprouting him all her problems but he couldn't because this was his stop. So for that she was thankful because she didn't want Minato to find out how damaged she really was but she was also sad because in his arms she felt safe.
"What was that for?" she quickly asked as he pulled away, trying to keep her voice steady despite how breathy she felt.
"I noticed you weren't yourself today, you looked kind of down and upset. I don't know why but I thought maybe a hug from your bus buddy might help" he said softly as he quickly walked away managing to gracefully slip off just before the doors began to shut.
A full day of work later, Kushina rushed back from the bus station, swiftly dodging the bustling people that kept obliviously throwing themselves in her way. She was on a mission she told herself as she hurriedly walked through the continuous streets. She wanted to get back to the school as fast as possible to see how Naruto's first day of school went.
Finally she wanted to shout out in excitement as she saw the schools building nearby. Walking into the school she knocked on the classroom door and out came a pretty raven headed lady who appeared to be the students daycare teacher.
"Hello I'm Mrs. Kurenai" she said smiling as she held open the door wider so that Kushina could see inside.
"Hello, I'm Kushina" she answered back, "I'm here to pick up Naruto".
"Of course" she replied as she called for Naruto.
As he was putting his coat and shoes on, she kindly said to Kushina.
"Naruto is a lovely addition to this after school program. Although it's only your son's first day here I see him fitting in really well and I hope he really enjoys this school. He really is such a good kid".
Kushina looked at her, trying to hide the surprise creeping onto her face and not knowing what to say as she kept hearing those two words replaying over and over again in her head Your Son, Your Son, Your Son, Your Son. It had such a lovely sound to it, she liked it, it seemed right but also scary and almost out of reach.
"Kushina?"
"Oh sorry" she replied shaking her head "That is very nice of you to say, his last school didn't treat him so well but I really think in this environment he can flourish."
As Naruto came walking up towards them, the first thing she noticed was the smile on his round face as she greeted him with a big hug.
"How was your first day, Naruto? You can tell me all about it on our walk home."
Just as they were turning to leave, a little pink haired girl ran up to Naruto, after tapping him on his shoulder in a very bossy voice she said "Naruto, you can't just leave without saying goodbye, that's not very nice you know."
Naruto looked up at Kushina a surprised expression on his face before looking back at the girl. "Sorry" he replied raking his small hands through his hair. "Bye Sakura-chan" he said smiling. "Goodbye everyone see you tomorrow" he shouted smiling even wider as more of his peers ran up to him to say goodbye.
Walking back towards the house, Naruto could not stop talking about his day at school. He absolutely loved it, it was the complete opposite of his old school, the teachers and students were all very nice, the lessons understandable and the whole day so much fun. He couldn't wait to go back again tomorrow.
Kushina smiled happily at Naruto, hearing him gush about school and his new friends really warmed her heart. Taking Naruto in really was the best decision she had made. Whether she could prove it to Kinoshita or not, Naruto belonged right here.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter =D
