Chapter 2:

Sayo wasn't what Naruto was expecting. Sayo was driven, impulsive and energetic. He had envisioned someone who was quiet, proper and stern. Sayo acted like a young girl. Naruto was starting to think Kakashi told him all that stuff to scare him.

As they walked down the street with Sayo leading the way, Naruto started to take notice of the people around them. When they saw Sayo coming, they made a path for her.

Naruto had a strange sense of deja vu when he saw this. It reminded him a bit of his childhood when the locals would shamelessly avoid him at all costs. They didn't deter from the hateful looks either. They wanted him to know he was unwanted.

However, these looks weren't filled with hate or malice of any kind. These people weren't shunning Sayo. It wasn't the same look he was used to, but instead of believing it was something out of respect, he felt these looks were undesired. It seemed to Naruto that the people were trying to avoid her but not out of hate.

He was finally able to place the look as one of fear and uncertainty. It was similar to the looks children gave to strangers. More fitting yet, the look in a child's eyes when their strict parent called them into the room. They weren't sure what they had done, but feared being punished nevertheless.

No matter which way he looked at it, the chattering townspeople quickly becoming mute and backing away from the center of the street made Naruto uncomfortable.

When he looked at Sayo, she appeared to be used to it. She barely took notice of it, considering the whole event to be a normal day.

She took them down a side street which was quite busy. It took the people some time to realize she was there. In fact, her presence was only realized when someone came out of a store in a hurry and darted in front of her, causing Sayo to stop short.

The woman bowed, looking worried and kept apologizing. Sayo told her everything was alright and to be on her way.

While this was going on, a distracted flower shop employee bumped into Sai. "Sorry," they said, brushing off his shoulder and went back inside.

To prevent anyone else of bumping into the group, the people backed away to clear a path for them. They continued down the street without further incident.

Once away from the shopping district, they were taken through a dirt path lined by a white fence on one side. Naruto started to fall behind, looking back at the people who had returned going about their business now that the noble family member wasn't nearby. They only paused their lives for members of the noble family, it seemed. Comforted by the normal sounds of a busy town, Naruto caught up to his friends walking in the open. Wherever they were going, it was quiet away from the market but still within sight of the town itself.

Sayo brought the group to a large building and tapped on the door with the sharp end of the spear. "Open up!" she hollered at the closed doors.

The door opened and a man in a white coat leaned his head out, adjusting his glasses. "Miss Sayo, please. You'll frighten the animals."

"I am not so scary." She pointed the spear at the ninja, coming extremely close to stabbing Sakura with the tip. "I brought people here to look at the zoo."

"The zoo?"

Sayo turned around. "Yup. Zumi here runs the local zoo."

"It's Zumitsu, actually." The man in the coat sounded like he had been correcting her for some time and she still wasn't getting it.

"I love coming here. Zumi has lots of animals."

"It's Zumitsu."

"Are you going to let us in or not?" she asked, holding the spear behind her back.

Sighing, Zumitsu stepped aside and held the door open for them. Sayo skipped inside, never looking behind her to see if the others were following.

It didn't look like much of a zoo at first. Nothing but white floors and walls and a tall ceiling. Along the walls were large square windows. As they got closer, they could see the animals through the glass. They were housed in rooms displaying paintings of their natural habitat and lots of plantation.

"The zoo isn't open to the public right now so most of the animals are kept in here for the time being," explained the zookeeper. "Then they're moved to larger enclosures outdoors."

"Why don't you just keep them outside?" asked Naruto. "It looks like a factory in here."

"It's easier for me to give them their shots and keep them out of the cold. It's very controlled in here. Besides, if the animals are outside, I have to keep an eye out for any children who hop the fence to see them. Including this one." He glared at the girl pressing her face against the tiger enclosure.

"Do kids trespass often?" Sakura asked.

"Sometimes. It makes my job a lot harder since they're entering without my knowing, so I'll have no way of knowing if anyone is in here and if they run into trouble I won't be able to help them. You wouldn't believe what some of these kids do. I've caught a couple of boys trying to climb into one of the exhibits to play with a hippo. They don't realize these animals are dangerous. Most of these guys are plucked from the wild and placed here. Others were born here and have never seen their natural habitat. This is all they know."

"A baby panda was delivered here a few months ago," said Sayo. "It was so cute."

Zumitsu chuckled. "Yes. A few years back, Sayo came to the zoo with her siblings and watched as a baby giraffe was delivered. The fascination in her eyes. Since then, she's been a regular… Even when the zoo is not open."

"The public is allowed to see the birth of new animals?" Sakura asked.

"No, that's usually a private matter since I have to help. We make sure the animal is healthy before showing it off to the public. But that didn't stop this one from going through a door clearly marked 'private' to watch. Her siblings followed after her."

"And you let them stay?"

"As long as they view from behind the railing, it's fine. It's how we get customers. People love looking at baby animals. People line up asking where the new addition is and we tell them it will be on display with the adults soon. But when the place isn't open, I keep most of the animals in here. It's just easier. It might be a little smaller than their regular enclosures, but at least I don't have to walk all over the place to feed them. We keep the exhibits pretty separate. That way, the predators don't make the other animals nervous. Others aren't moved from their current areas, but still. It makes keeping track of them and sneaking children much easier to manage."

Naruto looked at the girl standing beside him and spoke his mind before he could think twice about it.

"Why don't we just hand you the package?" he asked her. "It's going to your family and this way we don't have to lug it around all day."

Sakura gave him a warning look, unwilling to raise her voice with a member of the noble family standing so close.

"What? Why can't we?"

"That isn't the mission, Naruto," Sakura hissed from across the hall. "That's why we didn't leave it with the guards."

"But this is different. She's a member of the family and the package is going to her family." He looked at Sayo. "I don't see why we can't just give you the thing. You can carry it, right?"

Sayo was looking at him with mild surprise.

Worried that Sayo might take offense to Naruto addressing her so casually and possibly suggesting that she do the work for them, Sakura tried to direct Sayo's attention to her instead.

"It's alright." Sakura forced herself to smile, trying to defuse the tension. "We don't mind carrying the package until your family's ready to receive it."

"But she's standing right here," Naruto insisted. "I don't see why we can't-"

"My family's going to want to be there when you hand it over," said Sayo. "Passing it off won't cut it. They'll want to meet the ones who came to deliver it."

"That's right," said Sakura. "Our mission won't be finished until we give it to them personally."

"Does your whole family really have to be there?" Naruto asked Sayo. "Seems like a waste of time to me. I still don't get why we can't just-"

Sakura crossed the hallway and kicked him. Hands full, there was little else she could do to shut him up.

Seeing Sayo staring at them, Sakura quickly bowed her head to Sayo. "Sorry about him. He doesn't get it. We'll be sure to deliver it to your house in front of your family as requested."

The young girl nodded her head and moved further down the hall, looking at the other displays.

"Why'd you do that for?" Naruto hissed, holding his knee.

Sakura bent down to hiss in his ear. "Think, you idiot. The noble family can get ticked off about anything. You really think they're going to let you talk to them that way?"

"What way?"

"Not only were you being so informal, you were suggesting she do the work for you. Work that we were assigned. We have to deliver this package to their house in person. The whole family wants to meet us. We've had missions like that before, remember?" Sakura told him. "What will Sayo and her family think if we do that? Not only is it rude, but they might see us as lazy. They might also be suspicious of us, thinking it's a trick of some kind. Leaving a package and not bothering to show up to meet the family. What will they think?"

"Fine, fine. I get it."

How soon he forgot how the noble family could be. He didn't think what he was doing or suggesting would be considered that offensive, but if the family was as temperamental as people claimed, it was probably best to walk on eggshells like everyone else.

Even so, looking at the girl pressing her nose against the glass of every enclosure, Naruto still couldn't see that energetic girl being malignant. So far, the only thing making her a danger was the way she was swinging around that spear.

"I want to see the monkeys!" Sayo called from the far end of the hall.

"We have plenty to see. Take your time," said Zumitsu.

"Don't you have to get back to your training?" asked Sai.

"Oh, yeah. I should get back." Sayo ran down the hall, stopping only once to speak to the zookeeper. "When you feed the animals, let me help you. Just come by the house and tell me. I don't want to miss it."

"Miss Sayo," the zookeeper said with a sigh, "you always try to stick your hand in the cages and I keep telling you it's dangerous."

"I'm not afraid."

"I can see that. But you should be. At least, be a little cautious. Some of these animals can tear your arm off."

Sayo tapped her spear on the floor. "Not if I tame them first."

The zookeeper sighed again. "Just like so many of the children who visit… If only I can make you understand that they are not like the stuffed animals you cuddle with at night. I'm glad you love them, but exercise caution is all I ask."

"I'm careful." Sayo looked at Naruto. "Come to the house in an hour. Zumi will take care of you in the meantime."

"It's Zumitsu."

Sayo ran out of the building and Zumitsu gave a loud sigh, as if venting all of his pent-up rage and annoyance.

"Does she get on your nerves a lot?" Naruto asked.

"Sometimes. She's a sweet girl and very feisty, but she throws caution to the wind so often. She's one of the children I've caught seeking into one of the cages. How she's lived to be twelve I'll never know."

"I'm sure it has something to do with her family's training," said Sai. "It has certainly made her fearless."

"It's amazing how so many children forget that the animals are dangerous. They fear humans more than they do the tigers and bears." Zumitsu groaned. "Sayo is one of the many children who takes a special interest in the carnivores. It's a common thing. But she's the only one I've seen who actually tries to climb in the pen with them."

"I thought they were in cages."

"They are. She tries to get in them. She'll climb over the railing and jump into the pits; she'll try to squeeze through the bars. That girl is determined."

Sakura turned away from an iguana tank to ask the zookeeper a question. "You're not the only one who works here, are you?"

"No, I have help. I run the place and I have a hand in everything that goes on here. I'm the only one who does certain things, though. Like handling the dangerous chemicals, giving the animals shots and handling the baby deliveries. Everyone else mostly feeds the animals, cleans the cages and keeps an eye on things. While the zoo is closed to the public, I'm pretty much the only one here."

"Isn't that dangerous?" she asked. "Shouldn't you have a spotter for when you go into some of these cages, especially when you feed the animals?"

"Sayo has done it from time to time. As long as she has an interest, I figured I could help nurture her curiosity and perhaps curb it a little. I just like that she's interested in something other than combat. That whole family is into warrior stuff. But to answer your question, I do get help with that sort of thing. But since I have a special bond with most of the animals here, I do a lot of it myself. Some animals are still leery toward the other workers. Sayo thinks some of them are coming around to her. She might be right."

"What if an animal attacks you when no one's around?" Sakura asked.

"I know how to handle them. There have been very few attacks. The trick is not to show fear. But you're right. It is a bit foolish." The zookeeper smiled. "Ah, don't worry. I have someone nearby when I do the dangerous stuff. No need to fret."

Sakura didn't know if this man was trying to impress them or not. She knew having a bond with an animal was special, but bond or not, getting into a cage with a wild animal was extremely dangerous. Not to mention foolish. If Zumitsu was telling the truth about doing some of the work by himself, then he was just as fearless as Sayo.

"Come, come. Let me show you the other animals. I'll even show you the ones you can pet." Zumitsu guided them through another door. "Some of these animals aren't behind glass, but bars, so watch yourself. Don't get too close."


It's subtle, but this visit is rather important. Continue reading to find out why.

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