A/N: WHOOOO! An update! Its a bit short, but fun. I love Midori so much. She is so much of what I am not. For those that asked. Midori is 18 years old. Naruto and the gang will be two years younger. So 16 years or so. She was with the toads a while.
10 years and the minutes fly
From the day the MONSTER spoke inside of me
Dug deeper into my mind
"Keep on lying" said the monster anyway
So I've lied and I've been tricking ever since
No, not a single person out there can see what sits behind
Just a monster by now, can't deny that it fits
"Oh wait, my bad!" "Don't get mad"
"You know I'm just a liar in the end"
As if to prove a point Yamato took me to a real tea house. Part of me was sad he didn't just show me to where Daddy-kins was staying. I could go for some sake. This guy made me feel super awkward. He was really quiet, and seemed totally at ease with the situation. Did he not realize I looked like a wet dog? Probably smelled like one too. Yet he walked casually into this nice little shop not even caring.
"Uh.. thanks again." I swirled my tea and looked off to the side. He stared straight at me with a rather thoughtful look. "You're being really weird though. You didn't have them drug my drink or anything did you?"
"Wha.." he blinked a few times. God I love when I can blindside people. A bit of confidence came back to me. "No. No! Nothing like that. You just.. remind me of someone."
Oh..
UHHHG
THAT'S WHY HE WAS BEING SO NICE!
"Did he send you to babysit me?" I did my best not to ground my teeth. "If he did you're doing a shitty job. It would have been nice if you didn't wait until the ass crack of dawn to wake me up."
"No reason to get hostile. I'm just trying to help out." he returned in a stern way. I felt like I was getting scolded, but he didn't look innately angry. I made a mental note that it would take a bit to ruffle this one's feathers. "You keep talking about 'he'. Who are you looking for? You don't seem to like him very much."
I took a long sip of of my green tea I let the hot liquid burn my throat. Sighing I put the cup back on the table. Now I was being interrogated. First instinct I had was to tell him to sod off and walk away. Kaa-chan taught me better than that. When in a new place you had to make a good impression. Show everyone you are strong but reliable. That was how you got decent jobs. Unfortunately she'd never taken me inside of a large village.
Just the little ones.
Gotta check my pride.
"Sorry. Just a little irritable right now." I mumbled indignantly. " 'He' is my.. Fa...Daa.. Wow this is going to be harder than I thought. I'm his kid.. Yeah, we'll just put it that way. Bastard ditched me without saying a word. Probably passed out in some random woman's arms. I kid you not I was two steps outside after getting registered and POOF."
"Who is he though?" he prodded again. "Maybe I could help you find him."
"I'd much prefer to stare at you then him." I muttered. When he choked on his tea I couldn't help but grin. Yamato wasn't bad looking at all. Obviously he wasn't used to women voicing that fact. Covering his mouth he tried to hide the last few coughs and gasps for air before he settled. "Anyway, I'd like to just say he can kick rocks, but he's got all the he is probably spending on booze and women. Money I could use to eat and get clothes so I don't look like a dog with mange."
"I don't think you look like a dog." he said quietly. I fluttered my eyelashes at him. Boy did it feel good to flirt. His cheeks took a bit of color. "I can show you to the bath house. If you tell me who I'm looking for I can go find him. Tell him where you'll be."
"That.. would be heavenly." I groaned at the idea of a bath. This time I was rewarded with a darker shade of red on his cheeks. Glee filled me on the inside. Addicted to the interaction I kept the flirt on. "I would really appreciate that, Yamato-kun."
"Then its settled." he cleared his throat. "When we finish here I'll drop you by the bath house and go find him. What's his name?"
"Jiraiya the asshole."
He sat with his tea cup just in front of his lips. Dark eyes just stared at me. His expression was a mix of confusion and interest. Blinking a few times he set his glass down. The little green and white teacup clattered on the table. Stretching back I raised an eyebrow.
"How is that even possible." he asked more to himself than me. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I mean I could explain to you how babies are made." I started. " So a man has this thing call a pen.."
"No! I mean.. I know how that works." he rubbed his face. "I just never expected Jiraiya to ever have any kids of his own. Let alone keep it a secret."
"To be fair our whole 'arrangement' just started." I leaned forward and rested my chin on top of my palms. "We've been going steady at this whole father daughter thing for a few weeks now. That's definitely an accomplishment. I hate his fucking guts, and I'm pretty sure he can't stand me."
"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me he didn't know about you?" he didn't look like he believed me. "There's no way he would do that."
"Well, sorry to disappoint, but daddy dearest has been MIA for eighteen years. Don't know why. Don't care why." I recited the lies like always with a bored tone. "Guess that's what happens when you sleep around."
"So your mother.." I held up a hand to stop him.
"Is not a subject that gets discussed. That bath, though…" he sighed. Obviously there were more questions he wanted to ask. Rubbing his eyes he dropped money on the table and motioned for me to follow.
"Alright, come on."
To be clean was a wonderful thing. After scrubbing my pale skin until it was red I decided to soak. Okaa-san had taken me to a spring before, but that was in a small settlement. I thought this was supposed to be a luxury, but bathing in Konoha was apparently a public thing. Completely and one hundred percent normal.
So I sat in the hot water for a long long time just watching the steam curl into little wisps. Warm stones pressed into the back of my neck. Muscles relaxed and I let my head tip back. The temptation to sink down so that the water cover me completely was almost too much to resist. If I wasn't worried about being thrown out on the street naked by the little woman manning the place I would have slept into that warm pool of water.
Sadly I had to get on with life.
Feeling a ton more relaxed I stepped out into the sun. Pausing I tilted my head up. Taking a deep breath I used my fingers to massage the base of my neck. Today started out pretty shitty, but things were starting to look up. Maybe I should ditch the old man and stick around Yamato. He was the only good thing that had happened in days.
"OI!" the voice startled me. "Old man!"
Blinking I looked left and then right. Hauling ass down the street was some blonde kid. Bright blue eyes were locked onto me. Which was confusing. I definitely was not an old man. Stepping to the side I looked behind me. Sure enough all there was behind me was the tall wooden walls of the bath house. Hair stood on the back of my neck. All the good feeling I was basking in disappeared.
A body connected with mine. The idiot in orange and black tackled me hard enough to knock me to the ground. Knees locked around my hips. Dirt puffed up around us is big clouds. Adrenaline made me tense, but the worse part of this all was the fact that I was getting dirt.
"Not gonna lie old man your Sexy no Jutsu isn't that bad." blue eyes studied me as I continued to stare. He had to only be a couple years younger than me. Definately a ninja given his strength and wardrobe. "I thought you'd make yourself bigger… you know.. here… Isn't that what you said you looked for in a woman?"
Lewdly he gestured towards his chest.
This…
Idiot…
"OW! WHAT THE HELL?!" his reaction was instantaneous as my fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back off me holding his jaw. "What was that for?"
"That one was for tackling me after the nice bath I just had." I sat up and cracked my knuckles. "The next one will be for the comment against my figure."
"Don't get so upset, old man." he said rubbing the tender spot. "Sheesh. I thought you could take a joke."
A hand grabbed my wrist when I went to lunge at the blonde idiot. Turning my head I saw my bastard of a father shaking his head. He had a rather amused look on his face. Snorting I reigned myself in. Eyebrows rose and I heard this odd noise come from the blonde. He was shifting his gaze back and forth between Jiraiya and me.
"Wha..bu.." he sounded like a dying squirrel. "How? I thought.."
"Naruto meet Midori. Midori meet the village idiot."
