Kushina decided to take a stroll around town and find something to buy with her money. She wasn't far from some shops.

She walked by a flower stand and stopped to smell some of the purple flowers. The flower vendor was a man in his 30s by the looks of things. He was wearing a gardening outfit with thick gloves. When he saw Kushina, his cheeks flushed.

He asked. “Are you interested in those?”

She thought about it then asked, “How much are these purple flowers?”

“I'd like you to have it for free, if you'll go on a date with me.” the balding shop vendor replied lasciviously.

She blushed with embarrassment and disgust. “I insist on paying for this. But thank you.”

“I guess it can't be helped,” the man said in a dejected tone, “I'll let those go for 5 1-mon copper coins.”

Kushina pulled out 5 copper and handed it to the guy. She felt very awkward and just wanted to get out of there. The vendor gave her three violet flowers with moistened moss wrapped around the bottom of their stems with string. He bowed and said, “Please come again.”

Not if you're going to act like that, Kushina thought distastefully. She waved politely to the man and moved on to look at other shops. She saw a clothing store that had some things that suited her taste, so she walked towards it. She pushed through the wooden door, causing a bell to ring.

“Welcome,” the sales clerk said enthusiastically. “If there's anything you need help with, please don't hesitate to ask.”

She didn't know what would work for a dinner at the mansion, so she approached the counter and asked the girl there, “Yes, I do need some help. I need some help picking out an outfit for an occasion. I was wondering if you could help me?”

“Maybe I can,” the red haired girl replied, “What's the occasion?”

“I'm having dinner at my mother's house.”

“Well, you could wear almost anything. Are you expecting anyone important to show up?” the salesgirl asked with a pleasant smile.

Kushina looked embarrassed and said, “Well, yes. The Hokage.”

“Wow, your mom knows the Hokage?”

“Sort of... my mom is the Hokage.”

“Amazing.”

“So, can you help me?”

“I don't know. Do you know if it's a formal dinner?”

“I have no idea. She just said to pick something out for dinner.”

“That sounds formal. Let me see what I have.” The salesgirl wandered off and started thumbing through some racks of clothes.

Kushina leaned against the counter and looked around. She began to get bored and stroked the petal of one of the purple flowers she picked out.

The bell attached to the front door jingled and a boy around 3 years younger than her walked in. He headed towards the men's section at first, but then saw Kushina. That's when he walked to a rack near her and acted like he was browsing. It was pretty obvious that he was trying to get close to her because the rack he was looking at was full of children's clothing. Something about the boy seemed familiar to her. She didn't know what the boy was up to so she averted her eyes and tried to ignore him.

The young man bowed before Kushina and said, “Please excuse my interruption. My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru.”

“Konohamaru?” Kushina said in surprise. She recognized him and started to really smile big. My adorable Naruto fan club leader has grown up! How funny that he'd sneak up on me like this and introduce himself. I wish I could tell him who I am. This kid was the one she challenged to defeat her in order to become the next Hokage. So the cute little Konohamaru stalked her constantly trying to challenge her for a fight for the title and formed a fan club called the Konohamaru Corps (which had three little members). I loved those kids, Kushina thought, they were so adorable. Kushina figured he must be 17 by now. In five years, he'd grown almost as tall as she was, and was well-built.

Konohamaru maneuvered into his best fighting pose and bragged, “That's right. You may have heard of me. If so, my ninja skills were not exaggerated.”

Kushina giggled at his attempt to sound cool. She bowed and introduced herself to him, “I am Senju Kushina. Pleased to meet you.”

Konohamaru smiled, “Would you join me for some tea, Kushina-san?”

Kushina was flattered. Her cheeks warmed up and she said, “Are you asking me on a date?”

“Well, yes. Maybe I can show you around town, since you're new here.”

“Well, I was looking for something interesting to buy at the market.”

“I would love to accompany you. With me by your side, you won't have anything to worry about, either.” The rugged young man adjusted his forehead protector and gave her a thumbs up sign.

Kushina laughed. She looked at him and still saw the little boy that followed her around when they were young. He might be older, but she thought he was still adorable.

“Are you mocking me? I'm wounded.” he complained.

“I was just thinking that I'd love to go on a date with you.”

Just then, the clerk came back from the back room. She carried some outfits and laid them on the counter. She said, “I think you'll find these would work.”

“Thanks” Kushina said. She picked up the stack of clothes and asked Konohamaru to wait for her there.

A few minutes later, she came out of the dressing room wearing a pale pink dress with small roses embroidered around the v-shaped neckline and a long silk sash tied behind her back which was tied in a bow. It was around knee-length. She twirled around and said, “This is really pretty, but I don't know if it's in my taste. What do you think, Konohamaru-san?”

“I like it. It suits you.” he said with a smile.

Kushina scrunched her nose and then sighed, “Well, I don't have all day. I guess I'll buy this one then.”

“I'm sure your mother will like it.” the clerk said encouragingly.

Konohamaru asked, “You said your last name was Senju, didn't you, Kushina-san?”

She nodded and said, “I'm Senju Tsunade’s daughter.”

“I didn't know the Godaime Hokage had a daughter, much less such a beautiful one.”

“Thanks,” Kushina smiled then thought up a quick lie, “Well, she raised me outside the village before she settled in as Hokage. I moved here recently from the town we lived in.”

“I like your mom.”

“Really?”

“It took me a long time to accept my grandfather's death. I was a little kid when Tsunade took over as the Godaime. I decided that the storage room was grandfather's and locked myself in. I set all sorts of traps to prevent anyone entering. My mentor Naruto tried to get me to leave but couldn't.”

Kushina wanted to pout. I would have if I was given enough time.

“Anyway, I was crouched in the corner and she set off every trap and just used her strength and reflexes to counter every one of them. All so she could grab a book off of the shelf. She didn't even pay attention to me. I realized then the power of that woman.

“Later on I overheard her talking about helping Rock Lee with her medical knowledge. She said, 'After all, I'm the Godaime Hokage'. It was then that I accepted her.”

Kushina smiled. “I admire my mother, and I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her.”

“I just hope that she isn't overprotective of her daughter. She's not going to kill me if I date you is she?”

Kushina pretended to mull it over. “I don't know, she does have a real nasty temper.”

Konohamaru gulped.

“Just kidding.” she smiled cheekily.

“You're a brat.” Konohamaru commented.

Kushina grinned, “Takes one to know one.”

Konohamaru looked at his watch, “You want to go? I was thinking we should do something before it gets dark.”

“Sure,” she said.

They walked through the village business districts looking at various things. She bought an ice cream cone and shared it with him. Then they checked out some books at the book store. She enjoyed the boy's company and had a lot of laughs and fun.

Some creepy guys from across the street yelled, “What a babe. Come play with us, pretty girl.”

Kushina's cheeks flushed bright red in embarrassment and anger as she walked alongside Konohamaru. She tightened her hold on his arm and lowered her eyes. When she turned to look at him, she noticed that he was gritting his teeth.

“The nerve of those guys,” he muttered. She nodded in agreement. They walked for a while and took a break on one of the benches near the water. Kushina pulled some candy out of one of the shopping bags and offered a piece to Konohamaru. He accepted it and chewed on it.

Kushina leaned back and lazily studied the faces of the past Hokages. The one that she focused on the most was the Third's. She wondered if Konohamaru came here to think about the past.

Konohamaru ate his candy and gazed at Kushina with a love-sick expression. I don't know what to say to her. She seems to avoid talking about herself very much. I hope I'm not blowing this date.

Kushina's pale arms were pulled back over the bench which made her chest stick out a bit. She pulled the ties out of her hair and let it down from the dual-pony tail she had it in earlier. When she did, her golden hair fell down softly onto her milky neck and shoulders. Konohamaru was stunned by her beauty.

Kushina turned to look at him and said, “Have you gone through the Chuunin exams yet?”

“Yeah. I was able to pass after training hard with my sensei.”

“I hope to make Chuunin someday.” Kushina said.

Now is the perfect time for the old “yawn and stretch” maneuver, he thought to himself, slyly. He stretched his arms out and yawned, then put his arm around her.

Kushina looked at Konohamaru curiously. Something about it didn't feel right, so she said, “Please don't.”

He lifted his arm and said sheepishly, “I'm sorry.”

Kushina sighed, “Please don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, but I don't feel right about cuddling.”

“I promise I won't do it again, unless you say so.”

Kushina was having problems dealing with being touched by Konohamaru. It was fine to hold his arm in a platonic way as they walked around on their date. Touching her like she was his girlfriend was far too weird for her. Worse than that, she lied to her friend about who she was. She glumly wished with all of her heart that she could tell Konohamaru the truth. She wanted to be Naruto again so she could be his big brother again. The hopelessness of never being able to share a common male bond again with Konohamaru made her feel sad and angry at herself.

“Kushina-san, are you okay? You're not saying anything.” Konohamaru asked, noticing the sad look on her face..

Kushina's picked up her shopping bags and stood up. “I have to go. I am really sorry,” Her eyes betrayed her and leaked warm salty tears down her cheeks. She started to cry and wiped her eyes futilely.

“It wasn't something I said was it?”.

“No, it's not you.” she sniffled and tried to swallow her emotions. “It's something I did to myself.”

“Please don't go. What did you do to yourself? Maybe I can help?”

“No, I have to worry about this on my own. I have to find my way back on the path to my 'Nindo'.” Kushina said.

“Will I see you again?”

She shrugged sadly. She hugged him and kissed his cheek. She walked off, leaving a trail of tears behind her.

As Kushina disappeared, Konohamaru wondered what she meant by what she said. Naruto told him the same thing once about having his own “Nindo”.

Does she know Naruto? He wondered.