4 4. Kushina's Coldness
"Yosh! Ganbare!"
...
In the bedroom...
"Minato, I'm sorry, I've remarried after all. But don't worry, I will never betray you"
Kushina held Naruko in her arms, showing an expression of pain and remorse.
Then she looked at the surrounding walls, they were all pink. One could see the amount of effort that was put into decorating this room.
Kushina could see that this man had arranged the room so delicately for her, very few people treated her this sincerely, and her face couldn't help but soften.
...
Time passed, and before you knew it, it was noon.
Kushina stayed in the room the whole time.
Since he had no money, Itsuki went to the nearby river to catch fish.
Fortunately, he was lucky today and caught two big fish which were enough for him to cook lunch.
He decided to make a braised fish with some nourishing side dishes to reward himself and to cook something that would nourish Kushina's body.
Coming to the kitchen, Itsuki first cleaned the carp and then cut both sides of the fish.
Heat up the oil in a pan, add the fish, fry both sides until golden brown, and set aside.
Add an appropriate amount of dark soy sauce, vinegar, cooking wine, sugar, and salt to a bowl, and pour into a bowl of water.
Put a little oil in the pot, add chopped green onion, minced ginger, and minced garlic, and stir fry until necessary.
Finally, pour in the prepared sauce, bring it to a boil, add the fried fish, simmer for half an hour on low heat, close the soup on high heat, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
He also prepared a bowl filled with diced fruits that are good for Kushina.
As for the side dishes, although it was painful for his wallet he still bought the ingredients from the market and cooked up a scrumptious meal at least it wasn't too shabby
"Hmm...this looks fine."
Itsuki was very satisfied with his creation. In his previous life, he was an orphan and always cooked by himself.
Although his cooking skills are not comparable to a professional chef's he was still good at it.
After the braised fish was done, Itsuki steamed up three bowls of rice. The combination of the two tastes very good.
"Kushina-san, it's time to eat."
Itsuki shouted into the house but got no response.
"Sigh! Kushina-san I'm going to start without you"
After the words fell, Itsuki began to eat slowly.
....
As Itsuki continued to eat he couldn't help but feel that the meal was bland, he didn't know why. Obviously, he had cooked it perfectly without any mistakes, then why?
"Sigh"
Itsuki let out a tired sigh.
But he continued eating in silence.
...
15 minutes later, there was still a plate of braised fish and a bowl of white rice on the table.
"Kushina-san if you don't eat it, the food might get cold"
Itsuki tried to communicate with her again, but still got no response.
After not getting a response even after a few minutes Itsuki couldn't help but feel a little bitter, he understood her situation and could empathize with it but that didn't mean he was an emotionless doll who could put up with this unbridled hostility.
He did his best to renovate her room to make her comfortable and was even willing to spend money to cook her a meal, ignoring the dent it put in his wallet.
He couldn't help but feel like a fool, what did he even expect from her?
Although he knew Kushina as a famous anime character in his previous life, that didn't mean anything now because this is real life and Kushina is a real person with her own thoughts and feelings.
It's time for him to break out of his childish fantasies.
Itsuki felt like his whole head was muddled and he needed to go out for some fresh air.
But before leaving he made sure to cover the meal up so it doesn't get cold.
...
Kushina who was in her room felt that she was finally alone in the house and after making sure that he had left the house, she opened the door and came out of her room.
The reason she was cooped up in her room was because she didn't know how to deal with Itsuki.
Should she be cold and indifferent to him or should she treat him normally, Kushina honestly didn't know and she was sure that she might just lash out at him due to anger and take out all her frustrations.
In a way, although he was not responsible for it, she still held resentment toward him for the marriage.
He genuinely seemed like a good person and it was unfair of her to project her negative emotions onto him but when were emotions fair?
So she decided to stay away from him or at least maintain some distance until she could get her emotions in order.
Kushina came downstairs and she noticed the dish that was covered to prevent it from getting cold.
She couldn't help but feel a little moved by the genuine care given by someone, other than her close friends.
As of right now, Kushina didn't have anyone other than Mikoto and Naruko whom she could consider family and right now receiving care from someone whom she treated with hostility made her feel a tad bit ashamed,
But soon her pride took over
'Hmph, he might have ulterior motives'
She comforted herself with those thoughts.
She took the cover off the dishes and she was assaulted with a delicious aroma.
She was stunned for a second and then her eyes fell on the neatly arranged dishes, she couldn't help but feel that they would be delicious.
" Hmph, maybe they just look good," Kushina said with an arrogant attitude trying to convince herself.
With those thoughts, Kushina took a piece of fish and gently put it into her mouth.
"Why?"
Kushina whispered seemingly asking something.
...
Kushina wanted to know why .... why was he doing this, she could see the effort he had put into decorating her room, She knew his financial condition wasn't that good.
So he wouldn't be able to hire help and the materials needed for refurnishing the room weren't cheap at least for someone like him.
So he should have done all that by himself, and looking at the food placed in front of her, except for the fish rest of the ingredients should cost a little.
Again she couldn't understand why he was being so nice when she literally showed murderous intent to him, even then he still politely introduced the house to her, and she still gave him the cold shoulder. She couldn't understand how he could be nice to someone showing their utter dislike for him.
Even though her mind was contemplating all of this her hands didn't stop picking up food, Kushina was devouring the food like a person who hasn't eaten food in a long time.
While eating, tears started rolling down her face giving the food a slightly salty taste but she didn't mind as currently her mind and heart were in shambles and she was roaring in her mind.
'Why.. Why...Why .....Why ....Why...Why...Why...Why...Why..Why...Why....Why...Why..Why..Why..Why..Why...Why....Why....Why....Why....Why....Why....Why...Why...Why...Why...Why...Why...Why....Why...Why....Why...Why..Why.....Why...Why..Why....Why...Why..Why...Why...Why...Why....Why....Why...Why....Why...Why...Why...Why...Why....Why?'
Her mind was flooded with memories, Her time with Minato, Grandma Mito's care, Her Father and Mother, the people of Uzushiogakure, all those bitter-sweet memories, and people whom she would not be able to see again.
But all those sad memories that were meant to crush her spirit were unable to do it because she was at peace now. After all, this food reminded her of a feeling she desperately sought in her life and one which she thought would never feel again.
A feeling of
'Home'
Kushina finished the entire meal with an urgency like no other, and after finishing it she couldn't help but fall into a daze.
.....
"Thank You"
Two words contained an ocean of emotion.
************
How was it, Did you guys like it, It may be slightly cringy but I wanted to show the viewpoint of Kushina and also to shatter any little pride Mc had as a Transmigrator because he is bound to have some arrogance due to having a god's eye perspective of the world and knowing everything about the future, so let him realize it.
And he may have some delusions due to knowing everything about Kushina.
It was hard work because more than 70% of the chapter was written by myself but I think it was worth it.
I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did and Thanks for reading you adorable MF's.
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