"Tsunami...Tsunami, come on!" Naruto gasped, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I know how...to push myself...more than anyone! But this...is...crazy!" He paused to catch his breath. "We've been training nonstop since 9:00 this morning! I'm starving!"
I was exhausted, too. I felt like I could barely move. But every time I wanted to take a break, I thought about Honako and it made me push my now 8-year-old body even further.
"Where's your daddy, Tsunami?" Honako's voice from yesterday filled my ears and I clamped my hands over my ears to try to keep the voices out.
"Tsunami, let's go home," Naruto murmured, putting a hand on my shoulder. Naruto wasn't a quitter, so when he was calling it a day, I knew I should, too. Darkness started to slip it's way into the sky as all the other kids retreated to their homes for dinnertime. Naruto and I were training in the forest, where we could have lots of privacy.
"But...Honako..." I struggled to get the words out.
"Come on," was all that Naruto whispered before hoisting me to my feet. "Do you need me to walk you home?" I shook my head.
"No thanks." We slowly walked through the streets of the Village before parting to go to our own seperate houses.
"Thanks, Naruto. You're a good friend," I murmured and he pulled me into a tight hug before turning and running back to his apartment. With a sigh, I trudged back to my own house, my feet feeling like 1000-pound weights.
"Tsunami! Just where the hell have you been?" my mother snapped when I walked in the door. "We've been waiting for you, and now our dinner's cold!"
"Sorry, Mom," I muttered and sat down at the dinner table.
"Sister!" Rayne cried, who was now 3, grinning up at me.
"Hi, Rayne. Sorry for making you wait." I glanced at my one-month-old little sister was giggling at me from across the table. "Hi, Naomi."
"Tsunami, you look filthy!" my mother cried as she put all of our food in the microwave. "What were you doing?"
"I was training with Naruto," I replied.
"I noticed that you're spending an awful lot of time with that boy."
"Of course I am. He's my best friend."
"I thought Kyoko was your best friend!" she cried and I shook my head.
"Not really. For a girl-best friend, then yeah. But Naruto and Shikamaru are my best friends."
"Oh." She served us our food and then sat down to feed Naomi. "Tsunami, I want you to get in the shower after dinner. I don't want you going to bed covered in filth."
I nodded. "Okay, Mother." We were all silent for a while as we ate our food. Even Rayne, who usually flung his dinner at the wall, was calm. "Do you miss Daddy?"
"Of course I do, hon," Mother replied, spooning baby food into Naomi's mouth.
"Are you gonna get married again?" I asked, not sure even why I was asking her these things.
"Not for a long time."
"How long?"
"Maybe I'll start really thinking about myself when Naomi becomes a ninja," she replied and I thought about this. Naomi would be turning 12 and just earning her ninja headband. Rayne would be 15 and already going on lots of daring ninja adventures. I would be 20, shaping a future for myself. Probably married. It was a little scary to think that far ahead.
"Oh." 12 years is a long time to wait, I thought, silently but didn't say anything else. I could tell I was making her upset.
"Are you done with your dinner, Tsunami?" she asked, breaking me away from my thoughts.
"What? Yes."
"Get in the shower now, please." I nodded and got up from the table to go towards the bathroom. "I just want what's best for you." I turned to look at her.
"What?"
"I just want what's best for you. Always. Even if it seems like I'm just out to hurt you...I'll always want what's best for you." Her eyes glistened with tears.
"Okay, Mother." I walked to the bathroom and closed the door, thinking about what my mother had said as I stripped down to my birthday suit. I turned on the hot water and tested the temperature of the water before stepping in, and my mind drifted back to last year when my mother had screamed at my father and the Hokage to have my powers taken away. Did she just want what was best for me then?
