Since Kallen couldn't always be with her - and was never the type to show up on cue like a fairytale hero - Kushina learned to fend for herself.
And she did it very well.
At first, some tried to provoke her as if it were a game.
"Redhead," 'weird,' "weird clan girl."
There was always someone who thought it was funny.
Every time someone opened their mouth to call her "tomato," she ended up turned to mush...tomato mush. Literally.
A fist. A kick. Sometimes both.
But they learned.
Kushina didn't cower.
She didn't lower her head.
She didn't cry.
She would hit.
She hit hard.
And she did it with such a serious expression that more than one came to wonder if perhaps the rumors were true?
What if she did have some demon in her?
Eventually, they stopped calling it "tomato".
They started calling it something else.
-Watch out, here comes the red habanero!
Yes, that was the new nickname.
And if anyone dared to say that she couldn't be Hokage because she was "a girl," or had "the wrong
hair," or came from a "weird" clan....
Well, they learned it the hard way.
It didn't take long for her to earn a kind of uncomfortable respect.
They would leave her alone.
They would step aside when she passed.
They would whisper things, but carefully.
Because, even though Kushina had a temper and her fists were always ready, she wasn't just any threat.
She was an Uzumaki.
And even if not everyone said it out loud, they knew what that meant.
Neither Mito, nor the Uzumaki clan would let them mess with her like it was nothing.
Those who picked on her were silenced. Quickly. Sometimes by the teachers. Sometimes by the clan's own adults.
But mostly... by herself.
That day, Kushina was distractedly staring out the window, her mind far away.
Then Kallen approached quietly.
He leaned in a little and whispered in her ear:
-What are you thinking about?
She felt his light breath against her skin, soft, almost like a breeze.
And for some reason... she didn't push him away.
-Nothing important.
The classes continued as usual.
Monotonous, with the occasional chakra exercise that half the room didn't know how to do.
Kushina, of course, did.
Even if she didn't say it out loud, she had a natural affinity.
And yet, no one got too close to her.
It was as if she wore an invisible sign that said "danger" or "do not touch".
Well... everyone, except Kallen.
He didn't talk too much, didn't ask unnecessary questions.
He was just there.
And that was enough.
That day, during recess, Kushina sat on the low wall surrounding the training ground. Legs dangling, hands resting behind her.
Kallen arrived a little later.
He sat next to her, saying nothing.
They were silent for a while, watching the others run, play, shout.
She let herself fall back, leaning her back against the wall, eyes squinting in the sunlight.
-Doesn't it bother you? -he murmured after a few seconds.
-What does?
-That they say things about me. Calling me "red habanero," or whispering when I walk by.
Kallen was slow to respond. He sat back a little, as if he was thinking about his words before he said them.
-No. But it bothers me that it bothers you.
-And why would you care about that?
Kallen shrugged.
-I don't know. But it matters to me.
And that's that. She said it as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
She looked down, a slight heat rising to her face.
She wasn't used to that.
-You're weird.
-You've said that before.
-Yes, but you still are," she said, crossing her arms as she swung her legs in the air.
Kallen didn't answer right away. He took a small apple out of his bag, twirled it a bit between his fingers and then offered it to Kushina.
-Do you want some?
-Are you offering me a whole apple? -she asked, half surprised.
-Did you expect me to give you a bite of mine?
-I don't know... with you you never know.
Kallen shrugged, not bothering.
-I have another if you don't like that one.
-Do you always carry extra fruit?
-I always wait for someone to be hungry.
Kushina took it, looked at it with exaggerated distrust, and took a bite with a "I'm watching you" face.
-Not bad. Although... I was expecting something more epic. Where's the ramen?
-In my dreams. And in Ichiraku's stalls.
-Bah. Bad ninja. Unprepared.
Kallen gave her a sidelong glance.
-I'm leaving, it's getting late. Minato must be waiting for me.
-Shall I come with you?
-All right...
Kushina looked up, but said nothing. She stood up and followed Kallen, leaving the training ground behind.