Life is Hard When Your Half Plant: Chapter Three
Zetsu swung his feet playfully.
He had seated himself at the counter while Masami was fumbling through her purse. Unfortunately, her wallet was nowhere to be found. With a sigh, he hopped off of the stool and padded over to her. He tugged on her shirt. "Uh, we can leave if you've lost your wallet…."
A loud voice cut through the chaos. "I'll pay for her! I have two ramen coupons!"
Zetsu looked at the newcomer with a curious look on his face. The person who offered to pay for Masami was a boy about his age with blond hair.
"Wow…."
Zetsu tilted his head. "What…?"
"WOW!" exclaimed the blond. "You are one creep looking dude!"
Zetsu growled, "I have a name. It's Zetsu."
"Really? Cool! I'm Naruto and I lo-" Masami cut him off. "Um, can we just get our ramen and leave?"
Zetsu winced at the venom in his sister's voice. She had snapped out with a harsh look planted on her face. For a second, he was confused. Masami never snapped at kids… That just wasn't…Masami-ish. He looked up at her and saw the hate burning in her eyes. Did she hate him or something?
"Are you going to stand there all day or do you want the stinkin' coupon?"
With a final glare, Masami grabbed Zetsu's hand and pulled him away.
"Come on, we'll eat at home."
"Okay?"
The walk home was a quiet one, also a tad awkward.
Zetsu stole a glance at Masami and to his surprise; tears were rolling down her face. He grabbed her arm and frowned. "Masami," he said. "Something happened back there…" he furrowed his brow. "Tell me what happened between you and Naruto."
Masami bit her lip. She began fiddling with her hair, an expression crossed between confused, hate and nervous on her face. "Uh, it's complicated… I'd rather not tell you anything….." Her answer brought a larger frown to Zetsu's face. He let go of her arm and crossed his own over his chest. With a sigh, he issued a challenge, "Masami, if I win in a sparring match with you….would you tell me?"
His request shocked Masami. She looked at him with wide eyes. There was another short period of silence, but after awhile she did say yes.
"Okay…. Begin."
Zetsu threw a punch at his sister. His fist struck her face, but to his surprise she didn't move….or even flinch.
"What the…?"
BAM!
Her fist collided with his face. For a second he lost control over his body, taking clumsy steps and randomly swatting the air. With a cry, he regained control over his body. He dashed at her, adrenaline pumping through his veins.
His attacks proved useless, she was way too fast. "How the heck can she do that?"
"Chakra control."
He looked up, taken back by her sudden statement. With a sigh she continued, "I focus all my Chakra in the area that's hit and then in my feet. So basically I'm like a human shield, other than that I only have Taijutsu so you should be good." She smiled. "Continue!"
Zetsu grinned. Their fight was getting interesting. He launched himself at her with his fists positioned to strike her directly in her face. She used her "human shield" technique.
"Man!" yelled Zetsu. "I was so close!" His grin grew wider, determination spreading through him. That fight hadn't just gotten interesting, it had also gotten fun.
Masami swung her leg and hit Zetsu on his back. He gasped and dropped to the ground. With a smile, Masami declared herself the winner. "I win, you lose. Tough luck."
Without warning, he jumped up and grabbed her shoulders. He threw himself on her with a furious battle cry. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Hana blinked in surprise.
She hadn't quite expected to find her children fighting. They had fought as if they were trying to kill each other… That scared her. With a yell she ran to them. "Masami! Zetsu!"
The dust cleared, revealing the siblings. They weren't trying to kill each other, in fact, they were hugging.
"So now you know," sniffed Masami, burying her face in Zetsu's shirt. "I- I know holding a grudge wouldn't bring dad back, but I couldn't stop hurting…"
"Everyone makes mistakes," whispered Zetsu, the images of Sasuke lying on the ground bleeding filling his mind. "Everyone makes mistakes, b-but you learn from them… and when it happens again…"
Hana slowly turned around. Her worries had left after witnessing the affectionate display. Well… They're turning out quite alright…Chou.
Zetsu looked at Masami. "So…Naruto has the spirit of the Nine-tailed fox sealed…inside of him? And you were mad at him because the Kyuubi killed dad?"
"Yeah, I just said that."
Zetsu sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know, I know, I was just making sure that I heard right. Sealed? Ugh… Sounds painful."
Masami nodded and wiped a tear from her eye. "Yeah… I don't really feel mad at the kid anymore… He didn't seem to think anything was wrong with him. He looked so…bubbly and filled with laughter. I was wrong, but it still hurts…" She hung her head. "Gosh Zetsu…"
Zetsu wrapped his arms around her and gave a squeeze. "Hey," he said softly. "Didn't I just say that nobody's perfect? I did. Stop beating yourself up. Just blame the fox, not the kid."
Masami nodded. "Blame the fox, not the kid—got it."
Zetsu leapt up and grabbed his sister's hand.
The siblings left the battered area, both stronger than before.
Oh man DX I'm really sorry about being gone so long! I hope you enjoyed this shiny new chapter, and sorry about it being so short! The next will be up...whenever.
~Love, TeenageNeko
