Naruto: Journey to Reach You-Chapter 27

Kushina (pleading): "Please, ma'am... I'm all alone now... I have nowhere else to go... My village was completely destroyed... I promise I'll be quiet and obedient and won't cause you any trouble."

Miyuki: "I said no. Now go."

Kushina: "But, ma'am—"

Miyuki (firmly): "Go."

Despite Kushina's many pleas, Miyuki refused and kicked her out of the house.

Kushina looked up at the sky and said, "So now... after everything I went through to reach Lady Miyuki, she's rejected me too... Where do I go now...?"

She began to cry. "Father... Mother... I miss you... Why did you leave me alone... No one wants me... I don't even have a tiny hole to call my own..."

She walked away from the house slowly, still crying quietly, when she noticed a child about her age lying in the snow. She rushed over and sat beside him, looking at his face.

Kushina: "This child... I know him... He's from my village, from my clan... He looks sick..."

She leaned over and wrapped his arm around her neck, supporting him as she brought him back to Miyuki's house. She knocked on the door.

Miyuki (annoyed): "What is this? The door is knocked twice in one day? Unbelievable..."

She opened the door and said, surprised, "Kushina! Didn't I tell you—"

But when she noticed the boy with her, she asked, "And who's this?"

Kushina: "Glad to see you still remember my name... I'm very sorry for disturbing you again, but I just want to treat this boy, then I'll leave immediately..."

Miyuki looked annoyed but then said, "Fine... alright."

She allowed Kushina in. Kushina placed the boy near the fireplace and began treating him.

Miyuki watched her and then said, "Well... you're not as bad as I thought."

Kushina (happily): "So you'll train me?"

Miyuki (quickly): "No... I didn't say that at all. I was only complimenting your treatment skills."

Kushina (cheerfully, getting closer): "Come on... come on... Don't be stubborn, Miyuki-sensei!"

Miyuki: "Sensei?!"

She looked at Kushina laughing innocently and sighed, "Fine... as you wish."

Kushina hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much, Sensei!"

Miyuki (to herself): I don't know what came over me to make me agree to train her.

Miyuki stood up. "Alright... go take a bath so I can get you some clothes to replace those torn ones... After that, go to bed. Your training starts early tomorrow morning. My training is very harsh, and I doubt a little girl like you can handle it."

Kushina (with determined eyes): "No, I'll endure it... and I'll prove it to you."

Miyuki gave a small smile, thinking to herself, This girl reminds me of myself when I was young. Then she left the room.

A voice came from behind Kushina, surprised: "Where am I?!"

Kushina turned toward the voice and saw the boy had woken up. She sat beside him and said, "You're here... at Miyuki-sensei's house."

Boy (confused): "Miyuki?! Who's that?"

Kushina (smiling): "She's the instructor who's going to train me. So... who are you?"

He looked at her for a moment, then said, "My name's Kado... and you're Kushina, right?"

Kushina (surprised): "Yes... You're from my village, aren't you?"

Kado: "Yeah."

Kushina: "So... what brought you here?"

Kado (a bit shy): "Actually... I was following you."

Kushina (surprised): "Following me?! Why?"

Kado: "Well, the village was destroyed and my whole family died... I had nowhere else to go... so I followed you."

Kushina looked at him for a moment, then joked, "Looks like we're the only two Uzumaki survivors."

A silence passed between them before she said, "Alright, Kado... since you have nowhere else to go... you can stay here with me."

Kado: "Stay with you... here?!"

He glanced toward the door Miyuki had exited through. "Will your trainer even allow that?!"

Kushina (playfully): "Don't worry... she's nice... A little persuasion from me and she'll agree."

Kado smiled at Kushina.

Kushina (narrating):

"And that's how Kado and I lived at Miyuki-sensei's house. She trained us both together. She taught us how to make seals until we mastered them completely. I won't deny Kado was more talented than me in that.

I also convinced her to teach me medical ninjutsu. Her house might've been small, but it held the largest medical encyclopedia I had ever seen.

I read all the books and applied everything I learned until I became skilled in that field.

Years passed. Kado was a year older than me. Since we lived together and knew no one else... sadly, he fell in love with me.

I loved him too, but only as a brother. For him, it was something entirely different.

When I turned fourteen, Kado decided to leave us and train in new fighting styles. He believed seals alone wouldn't make him strong.

Two years after he left, my sensei passed away. I was heartbroken... She had been like a mother to me. I hadn't felt warmth or kindness except with her.

After her death, I decided to leave as well... to pursue my main goal... to find Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto: "Uzumaki... Naruto?!"

Kushina: "You must know him... or at least heard of him."

Naruto looked at her, surprised, then said after a moment, "Yes... yes."

He paused, then asked, "Kushina... you don't know what he looks like?!"

Kushina: "Honestly, every village I go to describes him differently than the last... So I have no idea what he actually looks like.

He must be someone great if people are impersonating him like this..."

She touched her cheek with a finger, thinking. "But since he's an Uzumaki, he must have red hair and red eyes."

As soon as Naruto heard that, he covered his mouth to stifle his laughter and turned away from her, thinking to himself: At this rate, she'll never find him.

Kushina opened her eyes and looked at him, saying, "What is it? ... Why are you laughing?!!!"

He regained his composure and said, "So, Kushina... you don't know which village he's from?"

Kushina: "Actually, I do... he's from the Hidden Leaf Village (Konohagakure)... but when I was on my way there, someone told me he had left the village temporarily... But I didn't give up... Every time he went to a village, I followed him—but unfortunately, I always arrived late... by the time I got there, he had already left."

Naruto thought to himself as he looked at her with a smile: So, you finally caught up with me, you little troublemaker.

Kushina continued, "Honestly... I don't think he would accept me anyway... I'm just an annoying little girl, and if it weren't for my father's will, I wouldn't burden anyone else with my problems..."

Naruto: "But I'm sure that wouldn't bother him at all."

She looked at him quickly and then smiled, saying, "I've heard so much about him... That he's strong, brave, loyal, and..."

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She fell silent, so Naruto asked, "And what else have you heard about him?"

Her cheeks blushed slightly and she said, "And handsome... You know what makes me laugh the most? No matter where he goes, he leaves a trail behind."

He looked at her, puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean by a trail?!"

Kushina cheerfully: "How do I explain this...? Well, the most obvious sign is that right after he leaves a village, all the girls there seem to go crazy for him... That only made me more determined to meet him."

He turned his face away and thought to himself: Is that really what happens?!

Kushina: "Is something wrong?"

He turned back to her and said, "No... not at all..."

Then he asked her, "Kushina... what are your dreams?"

She placed her hands on the ground, leaned back, and looked up at the sky, saying, "My dreams... My dream is to rebuild my clan and become like Uzumaki Kushina... the heroine my father always told me about... He used to say I've resembled her since the day I was born... but I don't really believe that..."

He interrupted her, "On the contrary... you resemble her a lot."

She looked at him, surprised: "Really?!"

Naruto: "More than you can imagine."

She smiled widely, looking at him happily, then said, "Did you see her?"

Naruto: "Of course I did... I'm from Konoha too."

Kushina: "Konoha?! That means you must know her son too!"

She suddenly moved toward Naruto, nearly on top of him, saying excitedly, "What does he look like?! Is he as strong as they say he is?!"

He kept looking at her nervously, supporting himself with his hands behind him. Kushina stayed like that for a while, and when she realized how close she was to him, her cheeks turned red. She quickly moved back to sit in her place, saying shyly, "Sorry... I just got a little excited."

Naruto slowly sat up again, saying, "Don't worry about it."

Silence fell for a while until Kushina broke it, saying, "Even though I don't know you... and I don't know why I told you all this... I don't usually trust anyone... but you seem a bit different... Thank you for listening."

He smiled at her, then stood up to leave, but she stopped him, saying, "Wait a second... I told you everything about me... but you haven't even told me your name?!"

He paused and looked at her with one eye, then after a brief silence, he smiled and said, "Uzumaki Naruto."

He continued walking, while Kushina remained staring at him, her eyes widening gradually. When he disappeared behind the trees, she ran after him quickly, saying, "Uzumaki Na—"

He cut her off, saying, "Ja ne!" (See you.)

Suddenly, he was nowhere to be found...

She placed her hand on a tree, saying, "What was that... Where did he go... He completely vanished... Could this all have been a dream?... Or am I going crazy?... No, I'm not crazy... He was with me the whole time... I can't believe it—I finally found him..."