"I don't want to go back so early. It's so quiet at home, with only Grandma there," Kushina said.
Hearing this, Minato knew what to do. Of course, he would take his little Nana to the shopping district.
Over the years, he had saved up a good amount of money, all from Jiraiya and the subsidies he received as an orphan.
But aside from food, he didn't usually spend money. He didn't even bother with training tools; he looked down on things like kunai and shuriken. Why waste money on them? Those things were ridiculously expensive anyway.
After discovering that in-depth physique development could increase his chakra, Minato had positioned himself as a mage, the mobile turret type.
In the shopping district, Minato followed behind Kushina, acting as her personal ATM.
When Kushina came back to her senses, she realized she had spent a lot of Minato's money and shyly lowered her head, stopping her shopping spree.
She knew Minato was an orphan and definitely didn't have much money, but just now, he had paid for everything she wanted without hesitation. This moved Kushina's heart deeply.
Grandma Mito had told her to fill her heart with love, and she felt like she was beginning to experience it.
After that, Kushina stopped buying things and indulged in the typical female pastime of window shopping.
Feeling that it was getting late, Minato, carrying the bags, prepared to take Kushina home.
The two walked side by side. Along the way, Kushina chattered excitedly about all the fun things she had seen, while Minato carried the things Kushina had bought in one hand.
Looking at Kushina's cute, round face, Minato felt he should be more proactive and take the first brave step. He couldn't be worse than his original-story counterpart.
He reached out his small hand and took hold of the excited Kushina's hand. This action made the chattering Kushina suddenly fall silent, and she lowered her head, her face turning crimson.
But she didn't pull her hand back. She just stared at the tips of her toes, silently playing the ostrich.
But standing next to her, Minato could clearly hear the "thump, thump, thump" of her heartbeat coming from her chest. It was clear how nervous Kushina was right now, not at all as calm as she appeared on the surface. Her heart was pounding like a fawn, the perfect description for Kushina at this moment.
Before they knew it, the two had arrived in front of the Senju clan compound. Minato reluctantly let go of Kushina's small hand and reminded her, "We're here."
"Yeah," Kushina said, looking up at the gate, then lowering her head again.
Minato smiled gently. It was rare to see the usually boisterous Bloody Habenero with such a shy, girly expression. But it was also very cute.
He handed the things in his hand to Kushina. "Go on in. I'll head home after I see you go inside."
"Then... see you tomorrow," Kushina's voice was still barely audible, but fortunately, in the quiet night sky, Minato could hear it clearly.
"See you tomorrow."
Kushina walked towards the gate, looking back every three steps, and finally disappeared completely into the darkness.
Minato didn't linger either and turned to walk home.
That night, neither of them had a calm heart.
When Kushina returned to her room, she was surprised to find Grandma Mito there.
"My girl, you're back so late. You had your grandma worried to death. Did you go shopping?" Mito looked kindly at Kushina as she entered, then asked after seeing the things in her hands.
"Ah, Grandma, the shopping district in Konoha is so much fun! It's nothing like what we had in the Land of Whirlpools," Kushina chattered, recounting everything that had happened that evening.
"I don't remember you taking any money with you. Who bought you all these things?" Mito quickly noticed another point and looked at Kushina with a knowing smile. Something was definitely up.
"It... it was a boy," Kushina said, a little bashfully, after Mito's question.
"Who is this boy? Can you tell Grandma? Grandma wants to see who could make my dear granddaughter so happy," Mito asked with concern. Kushina's identity was of great importance and couldn't be taken lightly, so she naturally had to ask clearly.
"His name is Minato Namikaze. He's my classmate," Kushina didn't think too much of it and directly gave his name.
"Ah, Jiraiya's disciple." Hearing this, Mito relaxed. She had heard the name Minato before. Who could blame her, with a master who loved to show off, talking every day about how amazing his disciple was.
"Grandma, you've heard of Minato too?" Kushina was stunned.
"Yes, I heard from Jiraiya that he's a genius," Mito said, smiling as she gently stroked Kushina's little head.
"Of course! Minato has always been first in our class. The day before yesterday, a Chunin from the Uchiha clan was bullying me, and Minato drove him away," Kushina said proudly, like a wife bragging about her husband.
Mito clearly saw Kushina's state. It seemed Kushina's heart was beginning to be filled with love. It wouldn't be long before it was full, which was good news.