Civil Affairs
Chapter 10
Gama-chan Goes Shopping!
I stared at the green toad hanging in front of my face. I blinked. It didn't. I would have been alarmed if it did blink mostly because it was a wallet. A wallet that held remarkable resemblance to Gama-chan, the hero toad that Uzumaki had chucked into the Kawarama River an hour ago, but a wallet regardless.
I had gone inside a shop to purchase basic things like toiletries, blankets and towels for Uzumaki's apartment. I had left him outside the shop, partly because I wasn't sure how the shopkeeper would react to his presence and partly because he was a kid and buying toiletries was a boring affair. I didn't want him getting bored and wandering off to cause mischief in the shop, so I'd made him promise not to move and left him at the front entrance. I was working fast, mostly because I assumed his attention span could easily wane and he would wander off on me if I took too long. I bought two full size towels, one nice blanket, toilet paper, a toothbrush, all the soap he could ever want, a toothbrush, toothpaste...the list might as well have been endless.
The shop was small, and I had chosen them for their affordability more than anything. I had a strict budget for all of Uzumaki's things that I would have to adhere to and this particular shop was famous for their deals. I had struggled under the awkward weight of the shopping baskets for a few minutes before a chunin around my age offered to help me carry them up to the counter. He was average height and build, with tanned skin, brown eyes and hair in a ponytail. The only real distinguishing feature was the scar across his nose. I thanked him vigorously for his thoughtfulness, my face still flushed from managing the weight of my purchases on my own. We began talking and it came out that I was helping 'a friend' move into a new apartment and had more shopping to do after this. Since that was the case he offered to take them to the apartment for me if I gave him the address.
I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
When we got up to the counter I quickly jotted down the address and the apartment number, handing it to him once he had the two large, brown paper shopping bags in his arms. He wasn't struggling with the weight, but the bags were large and awkward, so I did my best to give him verbal directions just in case he wasn't able to see my note.
The cashier at the store told me that she wasn't surprised he had offered to help me after he had left; apparently, he lived nearby and was in her shop often. He was notorious for being kind-hearted. I told her there were worse things to be notorious for, which made her giggle and reply that there certainly was.
That was the reason I had been looking at the more frivolous items in the store to begin with. The woman had mentioned that every time the nameless chunin came in he would look at this one wallet hanging on the rack near the till, but as it wasn't a necessary purchase, he would never buy it. It seemed he was frugal. A man after my own heart.
Still, I wanted to repay him somehow, so I made the decision to buy the wallet with my own money and have the cashier give it to him when he next came in. I picked up the one she had mentioned, but as I went to turn came face to face with a toad.
More specifically a toad wallet hanging on the same rack.
I had a feeling that Gama-chan was a joke the universe had chosen to throw at me when I least expected just to see if it could stir things up a bit. The suddenness of the wallet's appearance in my face caused me to choke back a laugh, making a strangled sound. Every time I saw a toad now all I could picture was Gama-chan flying into the sunrise. I think that would forever threaten to make me laugh; I just couldn't help it. I would never be able to forget it.
I couldn't help it, I reached up and grabbed the Gama-chan wallet off the rack too. No matter how frugal I was, I really couldn't miss the opportunity.
Using some paper the cashier leant me, I quickly wrote a thank you note and stuck it inside the wallet for the chunin. Then I purchased both wallets, entrusting the one for the chunin into the care of the cashier, before saying my thanks and exiting back onto the street.
At first, I didn't see Uzumaki and a small part of me panicked. Had I taken too long? Had he run off? But I saw him eventually, my eyes scanning the entire street until I caught sight of him. Like the child he was, he had decided to play in the dirt next to one of the buildings across the street. There was a narrow, shaded alleyway and I could see his small form in the shadow, drawing in the dirt with a stick.
"There you are, Suit Lady!" He exclaimed. When he saw me approaching, he sprung up and dropped the stick. He was filthy, and I had to force my face into a passive mask to hide a grimace. It occurred to me that I had never actually introduced myself to him, so it seemed he had decided to call me 'Suit Lady'. "You were taking forever! I thought you'd never come back!" He informed me, genuinely looking concerned at the prospect of me never returning.
I felt that weird indigestion feeling again. Since he had been loitering in an alleyway, no one seemed to have noticed that he was out shopping with me. It was also early in the morning and the streets were rather empty, so there were less nosy people to begin with.
"My name is Miss Shiranui." I informed him stoically, trying not to show how much being called a 'suit lady' made me want to cringe. "Call me that instead of Suit Lady, please."
"Okay, Su- I mean Miss Shiranui!" He said with a bright smile. I felt a smile start to tug at the edge of my mouth and had to force it away. Keep it cool, Kiyoko. You are the master of the passive Shiranui visage.
Now that I had his toiletries and basic items looked after that left only two things on my list. Clothing and food. For now, with my budget, I could probably get him a few sets of clothes and a pair of pajamas, then get him more clothing as time went on. I was planning on teaching him to buy food on his own, mostly because depending on how much he ate I might not always be available to replenish his groceries for him. That would, however mean I would have to teach him about money - a daunting task that I didn't necessarily look forward to. That was part of the reason I had been able to mentally convince myself to purchase the Gama-chan wallet.
As for furniture, that was already being handled by the one and only Tamaki Miyajima. It came out in conversation yesterday, although I had known before but forgotten, that an old flame of hers was the proud new owner of a furniture store in the Namui District. She had been confident that she would be able to get a decent bed, kitchen table and chairs for cheap. She also said that she would be able to cajole the young gentleman into delivering them by noon today despite the short notice. She even said she might be able to persuade him into taking and disposing of the old furniture that was already in the apartment.
I wasn't entirely certain what she had meant by 'cajole and persuade' but I had a rough idea since she had undone the first few buttons of her blouse as she said it. How her quietly possessive boyfriend would feel about her method of persuasion I didn't know and didn't want to find out. I just hoped he didn't blame me.
"Next we have to get you some clothes." I informed him, slipping the wallet underneath my arm so I could reach into my kimono top and pull out the envelope of money I had for Naruto. Yesterday before our meeting with Lord Hokage, I'd had Finance pull a decent amount of ryo from Uzumaki's budget for necessary items, clothing and food. I'd have to save all my receipts, so I could account for where I had spent the money, but it wasn't nearly the full amount available for Uzumaki. Before we left the area of this shop I wanted to count what was left and get a rough idea of how it would be allocated.
"What's that?" The boy suddenly exclaimed, having noticed the wallet. I stopped and took it out from underneath my arm again to hold it so he could see.
"It's a wallet." I said simply.
"It's a Gama-chan!" He said, his eyes brightening. Obviously, he had also noticed the resemblance as well. He seemed determined to begin referring to the wallet as a living being. I moved it up slightly and his head followed. I moved it to the left and his head swiveled to follow.
He was enraptured by the wallet and I decided since I had his attention, now was as good a time as any to start our money lesson. I wasn't teacher material, but I had a feeling I was going to have to get creative to teach a six-year-old about the fundamentals of money and its importance. I didn't want him buying diamonds or monkeys after all.
I puzzled for a moment over how I could do this. When Atsuko and I were little, Genma had taught us how to tie ribbons into our hair by telling us a story about rabbits running from a wolf cub. It was an effective tool, because with the story we had learned quickly and retained what he had taught us. One thing I'd figured out from watching Uzumaki already was that retention wasn't his strong suit. He was clearly going to need a story or a tool to help him remember what I wanted.
I moved Gama-chan down again and the kid's bright eyes followed, a huge grin on his face.
Suddenly, I felt an idea surface. A wonderfully unconventional idea.
I think Uzumaki had been right; Gama-chan really was a hero. He was about to make this a whole lot easier for me or at least I hoped he would. It was worth a try.
"This, as you know," I said in a very professional tone, "is Gama-chan."
Since we were still in the shadow of the alleyway I decided to take the time and kneel down again, holding Gama-chan reborn in the palm of my right hand so it's beady eyes were facing him.
"Gama-chan is happiest and healthiest when he is fat, just like any other animal." I said matter of factly, watching as the boy's face took on a thoughtful expression. I was amazed that he was even listening to me - I felt like a lunatic. I hoped no one saw or overheard me, that would be mortifying.
"But he's all flat." The kid pointed at Gama-chan's deflated being, which was resting limply in my hand.
Good, I thought, he was playing right into my hands. This might just work.
"Right, so you have to feed him." I was a little proud of myself for what I personally considered to be a rather clever teaching method even if it did make me feel like a total loon. I began searching for the envelope of ryo from Uzumaki's budget in my top again, anticipating his next question.
"But what do you feed him?" He asked innocently.
"This." I told him, pulling out the envelope with my free hand and extending it towards him. "You feed Gama-chan money. In fact, it's the only thing he eats."
He looked between the toad wallet and the money for a few moments before he hesitantly reached forward and took Gama-chan, then he opened it up and pulled one of the paper ryo out of the envelope that I still held in my hand. He stared at it with a puzzled expression, glanced at me and then put the ryo into the toad-wallet's mouth. He then held it up in front of his face and stared at it closely.
"It's not getting fatter." He mumbled dejectedly. With one paper ryo in his belly I wasn't surprised, and I had to force myself not to face palm. Remember Kiyoko, I had to remind myself, he's only six. I wouldn't have understood either at that age.
"Well then, you have to feed him until there's no ryo left." I told him bluntly, my facial expression straight. "The fatter he is, the happier he is."
I pushed the envelope back towards him, watching as he began to understand and began filling the wallet with ryo, until Gama-chan was full. His mouth still closed, but the difference in size was noticeable. I took one look at the flattened envelope, which now only had my receipts inside, before folding it up and tucking it away again in my top.
Gama-chan was now huge and perfectly round, so much so that the kid had to hold it with both hands. He smiled in triumph at the wallet before extending it back towards me, but I declined it with a wave.
"No." I said, which caused him to frown in confusion, "He's yours to take care of. Think of him like...like a pet." I finished lamely, feeling stupid for suggesting it.
Thankfully, Uzumaki didn't seem to think it was lame at all. In fact, the idea that his wallet was a pet had him absolutely elated, he even began petting it.
"Now," I said, standing up and brushing off my now dusty black skirt, "I'm about to show you the coolest thing about Gama-chan."
XxX
So far, he was getting it; for which I was thankful.
Referring to Gama-chan as a pet that needed to be coddled and cared for had translated to 'be careful what you spend your money on' just like I had hoped. I had purchased his clothing, occasionally offering him limited choices of 'either this one or this one'. The kid had a natural gravitation between orange, dark green and navy blue. The outfits he had designed very much looked like something a six-year-old had put together without supervision. Well, he'd had supervision. It just really didn't look like it. I hadn't wanted to discourage him from making decisions, so no matter how much I internally cringed at the mixture of colours I hadn't interfered. If he picked the orange shirt, it went in the basket. If he picked the green cargo pants, they went in the basket.
When we went up to the till, since I was fairly certain he didn't know how to count money, I had paid. But I had let him hold Gama-chan and had instructed him which of the ryo to hand me, forcing him to participate a little. My hope was that he would understand that everything obviously cost money, which would have to come out of Gama-chan which would make Gama-chan emaciated if he wasn't careful. It was my way of trying to slowly introduce the topic. He had watched the exchange of me giving the cashier the money with a concerned and thoughtful expression. When we left the store, he appeared to weigh his wallet quietly and then sent me a dirty look which I met with a level expression.
I stopped in the street, the two plastic bags of clothes in either hand and waited to hear what he was thinking. I wanted to see if my wonderfully unconventional idea was working.
"You took Gama-chan's food. He's not as fat now." He accused, and I was almost taken aback with how betrayed he sounded. I had to force myself not to sweatdrop; I had been expecting him to say something, but I hadn't expected a blatant accusation that I was killing his wallet.
"Well, I had to." I explained, "I needed to pay the cashier for your clothes."
His blue eyes narrowed to slits as he stared up at me, appearing to attempt to process this new information.
"Why?" He finally asked. Ah, the return of the 'why' questions.
"You need clothes. But even if you really need them, if I took them without paying than that would be stealing. You told me yourself that stealing is wrong last night, remember?" I tried to be as thorough as possible, because I didn't want to answer a million other questions if it could be avoided.
He turned Gama-chan in his hands so that he could stare into its beady glass eyes. He didn't say anything, he was just continuing to look thoughtful, so I decided I should take the opportunity to continue.
"That's why it's important that you only spend that money on things you really need. Like food." I wasn't going to encourage him to purchase clothes unless I was present for the time being. As a child, his ability to distinguish between what he wanted and what he needed was naturally impaired. My main concern was teaching him how to buy food because I wasn't certain I would always be there to make sure he was fed.
He 'hmmm'd in response, still clearly thinking about it.
"Okay," He finally said, "how do I do that?"
At that exact moment his stomach growled, and I had to hide my shock; I'd only just fed him a few hours ago. He was hungry again already?
I looked around, temporarily setting down one of the bags and bringing my hand up to my chin to think. I had been choosing our clothing stores just by following the sale signs and for that reason I wasn't entirely certain where we were. I had been so absorbed in finding the best deals on children's clothing, that I really hadn't been paying attention. If there wasn't a big wall and gate, I probably would have wandered out of the village altogether.
I took in the state of the buildings, the types of buildings and the signage looking for any indication of where we had ended up. The Hokage tower was visible in the distance, probably about three or so districts away. The Yumehara Teahouse, the largest and most prominent tea house in the village, was just down the street from where we were standing. The plum coloured awning and white apple blossom wall mural just inside the door was very distinct and unmistakable. That meant I was in the Mita District and was not far from my apartment complex in the Kamotsu District. I was barely three streets over from it.
This ended up being perfect because I had been planning on going to The Asai Grocery near my apartment to purchase his groceries. If we hadn't walked all the way to the Izuna District this morning, that would have been where we'd have gone first. Since we had gone full circle, albeit unintentionally, this would line up perfectly with what I had intended.
"I'll show you, let's go." After getting my bearings I chose to veer through the closest alleyway that connected this street with the one adjacent to it. The sooner we got to the grocery store the better. I could give him a crash course on purchasing foods and which foods he should purchase before taking him to his apartment. I was aware he was hungry, but most restaurants and food stands were not keen on serving him and even though it was close to my apartment, I didn't want him inside it more than necessary. Maybe there was a restaurant in the Sakata District, closer to his apartment.
It was just after noon when we reached The Asai Grocery, the only grocery shop I trusted to take Uzumaki into to purchase his food. It was across the street from my apartment building and if I looked up to the third floor, I would be able to see the simple black curtains of my bedroom window.
The Asai Grocery was run by Mr and Mrs Asai, an elderly civilian couple who had four children and twelve grandchildren. The shop itself was quite tiny, but it's compacted shelves held almost every foodstuff you could possibly want. Above the door, there was a big red banner with the name 'ASAI' on it and underneath in white lettering it said, 'open 24 hours'.
It wasn't necessarily open 24 hours so much as it was that Mr and Mrs Asai's home was attached to the store and so they were readily available at a moment's notice. More than once I had come by early in the morning for eggs when Genma unexpectedly returned and had been served by Mrs Asai still in her nightgown. A white paper sign with neat, bold writing was posted on the oak door that connected the shop and what I knew to be their kitchen saying, 'if we're not in the shop, please knock'.
I wasn't entirely sure how they would react to me bringing the nine-tails kid into their store, but I had chosen to come to The Asai family for a reason and that reason was that I knew their need to sell produce would outweigh any flimsy hatred they had of the boy. I knew for a fact that they hadn't lost any loved ones in the attack, so any dislike they had for him would purely be on principle. Which was an easier sort of hate to overlook when you had a good enough motivator.
They weren't necessarily greedy people but the Asai's would do anything to sell, sell, sell. Hence the 24-hour availability which had made them extremely popular amongst single ninja, who didn't have a spouse or clan to keep their fridges stocked. Being able to do some quick grocery shopping after returning from a month-long mission, no matter the time of day or night, was a convenience they highly valued. The fact that some of them had to go out of their way to the Kamotsu District, which wasn't a highly popular district for ninja to live in, to get that convenience didn't seem to bother any of them.
Still not entirely sure what to expect, I ushered the kid into the shop and quickly glanced around for a basket. I figured one basket would be enough for now, and I put the bags of already purchased clothing into the basket to make carrying everything easier. I glanced down at the boy, who was holding Gama-chan under his arm and looking around at the shelves lined with various foods.
"So," I began, "It's your choice. We'll buy whatever you want." Within reason, of course, but there didn't seem to be much need to say it aloud. So far, his desires had been rather simple. He scrunched up his face in what appeared to be deep thought and began walking slowly down the aisle, head swiveling left and right. I watched him for a few minutes as he turned and made his way back towards me, still scanning the narrow wooden shelves. After the third time he reached me and turned back, I put my basket down, crossing my arms over my chest as I continued to watch. He knew there were other aisles, right?
I was about to prod him into checking another aisle, because we weren't making any progress where we were, when my view of him was suddenly blocked.
As soon as the golden spikes were hidden from my view I had an uncharacteristic moment of panic. My heart jumped into my throat and without even caring who was in front of me I suddenly started desperately trying to look around them, a grimace on my face. As the seconds ticked by I became more agitated at the separation and there was a brief moment where I was ready to push or shove this person out of the way. The panic had come so swiftly and was such an unfamiliar feeling, that it took me a moment to recognize that I was panicking and when I did, I froze in response.
What was I panicking for? I needed to calm down. This wasn't like me.
I carefully began cultivating a neutral expression, concentrating on every muscle in my face and making sure it was forced back into the correct position. I was so focused on doing that, that it took me a few moments to realize that my unexpected visitor wasn't a stranger and was even trying to get my attention.
"-yoko? Kiyoko?...Miss Shiranui?" My eyes finally fixated on the person in front of me, who had begun to lean down and wave his hand quietly in front of my face. He appeared very concerned by my lack of observation. He didn't appear to have noticed that he had stepped between myself and my charge, which lead me to believe that separating me from Naruto had not been an intentional maneuver. When I identified who it was, the last ounce of panic disappeared because I was fully aware that this person was not a threat.
Raido Namiashi was one of my brother's more recent teammates, having served alongside him as an elite bodyguard of Lord Fourth seven or so years ago. While the team of three had only served Lord Third for a few years afterwards before returning to regular jonin duties, the three had remained close and had an obvious preference for one another when choosing five-man cells. While it was clear that Gai was the former teammate he was closest with, Raido was a clear second, since they had grown close after realizing they both lived in the Kamotsu District.
Raido, like my brother, was an unassuming man of average build, with dark eyes and short brown hair. He was more stern and methodical then Genma, but that never seemed to impair their friendship, which had only grown stronger as the two men aged. Raido also had become very comfortable amongst the Shiranui household, most likely because Atsuko and I were among the few civilians that never cringed away from the large scar on the side of his face.
I realized that he must've been calling my name for some time if he resorted to calling me 'Miss Shiranui'. After seven or so years, such formalities really weren't necessary.
"I'm sorry, Raido." I apologized immediately when I came to my senses, "I didn't see you there. I was a bit...startled."
I was fully aware of how flat my voice sounded. I wasn't about to admit that I hadn't been startled so much as I had been prepared to pounce at a perceived threat. Namely him, since I'd failed to recognize him immediately. It still puzzled me. Why on earth would I react like that?
What had come over me?
"It's fine. You looked like you were deep in thought." He dismissed my apology, choosing instead to continue what I assumed he had appeared for, "did you hear my question?"
Admittedly, I hadn't. As much as I could enjoy Raido's company from time to time, I figured the sooner I ended this encounter and got back to Naruto the better.
….I meant Uzumaki. The sooner I got back to Uzumaki the better.
Even then my eyes were trailing along the top of the jonin's shoulder, attempting to catch sight of the kid's golden mop of hair beyond. He didn't appear to have circled back to me again and it wasn't best to leave him unsupervised in the shop.
"No, I didn't. You're right I was...lost in thought." Even as the lie slipped between my teeth I had to stop myself from grimacing. I supposed it wasn't entirely a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. As much as I didn't like being dishonest in any form, the truth was that friend or not the jonin had no business knowing what had been going through my mind just seconds ago. Maybe if I had acted on impulse and pushed him I'd have more to answer for, but that was not the case.
"I asked if you just came from home?" I blinked at him, my face straight. I couldn't comprehend why he had spent so long trying to get my attention, just to ask such a trivial question. I felt my brow furrow slowly and I stared at his own neutral expression, attempting to ferret out exactly why he was asking. Most ninja, friends with your older brother or not, did not typically ask you trivial questions. Everything they did, by nature, usually had some underlying purpose or explanation. No matter how intense my stare grew, his face remained impassive and I recognized that he wasn't intending to elaborate. We could have stood there all night and he wouldn't have caved.
Getting Uzumaki back in my line of sight was more important than having a fruitless staring contest with the man.
"No, I've been out all morning. Since just before dawn. I have some...errands to run. For work." I noticed a slight twitch of his lower lip that gave me the impression that my answer may have concerned him.
"Oh, alright then. I was just curious." He responded, almost jovially and if anything, I believed less now that the question had simply been trivial. Raido was good-natured but not that good-natured. "Do you still have more errands to run?"
I stared at him briefly before responding, still silently imploring him to elaborate. I knew he wouldn't, but I couldn't help but try. It didn't work.
"A few." I told him shortly.
"Yeah, well take your time." He said, again with an uncharacteristic cheer that made me suspicious. "You know, Kiyoko, you just don't go out enough. Maybe dine out tonight or go get a drink with Morino's woman. Something. You've got to live a little."
I felt a frown threatening to spread across my face. Instead, the corner of my lip twitched. His behavior was making me...uneasy. All my brother's friends had made comments about me needing to 'go out' more except for Raido. In contrast, Raido was always vocal about how he found my quiet personality agreeable. This was mostly because his two kunoichi sisters were particularly abrasive and would torment him daily. He didn't wait for a response, he just turned and made his way to the till. I noticed for the first time that he was carrying a basket with a few fruits and vegetables in it, which meant he likely had come across me by chance at the shop. He hadn't planned the encounter. So, what was he up to? Why the sudden behavior change? Why asking so many not-so-trivial but disguised-as-trivial questions?
He stopped near the end of the aisle and looked at me over his shoulder.
"Oh, Uzumaki is about three aisles over." He pointed lazily to what would be my right and then kept going.
It didn't really surprise me that he knew what my 'errands' had been today. Even if Genma hadn't told him about my new job, there was no shortage of ways for him to hear about it. The only thing that kept ninja from being the best gossips in Konoha was their complete lack of interest in anything not pertaining directly to themselves or Lord Hokage. While I'm sure every ninja in the village ranked chunin or higher had learned through observation that Uzumaki had gotten a new caseworker, few probably cared enough to spread the knowledge any further.
I muttered a thank you but he was already turning back towards where I knew the till was.
"Hey, Miss Shiranui!" I was just beginning to head down the aisle, basket in hand, when I heard the voice of my charge call from the direction Raido had pointed. It took me a few moments to reach the kid and when I did I found him sitting in an aisle, pulling instant ramen containers from the shelf. He was stacking them into towers, squinting at each one before sorting them by what appeared to be flavour.
"I want these!" He told me and I stared blankly at the four little towers of Styrofoam cups.
He must've pulled two-dozen from the self. He didn't need that many and I was hesitant to just fill the basket with instant ramen.
"Why do you want these?" I asked, not entirely sure what answer I was expecting.
"I know how to make these. You showed me, remember?" He told me simply and I bit the corner of my lip. I supposed he had a point. I was certainly willing to invest some time into teaching him how to make certain foods, but he was only six and even if I did teach him, I couldn't trust him alone with a stove. It just wasn't safe. A kettle on the other hand? That idea had some merit. Tamaki had said something about getting a toaster for the apartment yesterday when she went after the furniture. So maybe I could get him some bread to go with that ramen. Some butter, jam and milk. Maybe some baby carrots too because all he would have to do was wash them - he needed something fresh. Some apples too? A list began to form in my head and I decided I would show him how to buy the ramen, so he knew how to read price tags and count the money, but I would also pick up some of the basics for him too. That way he wouldn't just have instant ramen.
I couldn't in good conscious let his cupboards be as bare as mine were.
I was an adult, I had many ways of getting food. He was a child, which meant he didn't have the same food-foraging expertise.
"Okay," I conceded, "but we don't need that many. Which flavour is it you want the most? Or do you just want a few of each?"
"Flavour?" He asked, catching me off guard.
"Yes, flavour. You've sorted them by flavour. Which flavour do you like best?" I asked carefully, trying to remember which flavour I'd had at home. It was probably chicken. Genma wasn't a picky eater but he preferred chicken flavoured instant ramen when he had to have it. When the two of us were home together, I would usually either try and make something decent or order fresh take out. The instant ramen was more for when I was home alone or for when Genma got home in the middle of the night and needed something quick.
"I don't know." He told me, looking confused, "I sorted them by colour. See, red, blue, yellow and green."
It took me a moment to process what he had said.
It couldn't be…?
No.
I slowly knelt on the ground beside him, setting the basket down. We were taking up most of the aisle, but the shop wasn't busy and currently I couldn't have cared less. I picked up the nearest ramen cup to me, a chicken flavoured one with blue packaging and held it towards him.
"Uzumaki," I said to get his attention as it had already begun to wander. His head snapped to look at me again. "What does this say?"
I pointed my finger at the lettering, doing my best to also hide the picture of the chicken printed on the cup.
He bit his lip as he scrutinized the lettering and after a few moments, he suddenly snapped his head away from me and buried it in his shirt. I heard him mumble something, but I couldn't make out what he said.
"What?" I prompted, leaning towards him.
There were more muffled words.
"Excuse me?" I asked with a bland tone, staring at the top of his head.
His response was still muffled, but clearly growing more irritated judging by the pitch and volume.
"Hey, look at me when you speak." I finally said, reaching forward and nudging his shoulder with the tips of my fingers.
I didn't feel the fear I had felt yesterday at the thought of touching him with the bare skin of my hand. In fact, I'd been so intent on getting an answer from him, it hadn't even occurred to me that I should be afraid. All I'd felt was a small tug of unease that disappeared as soon as it surfaced. I didn't have time to ponder it though, because I was determined to get an audible answer to my question.
He looked at me with trepidation and I was surprised with how red his little face was. Small tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. He was frustrated and even a little scared at the prospect of having to read it to me.
"I don't know!" He finally exclaimed, clearly irritated, his little hands fisting in the hem of his shirt. He wasn't yelling but he wasn't being quiet either and now that I had my answer, I had the sense to be self-conscious. I glanced around to make sure no one had witnessed our little scene.
"Do you...do you know how to read?" I asked him quietly. Most children his age couldn't read a novel, I was fully aware of that, but at six, almost seven, he should have been able to at least read the word 'CHICKEN' in bold black font. Or would have at the very least been able to recognize some of the characters. Something. Anything.
I needed to add making sure the kid knew how to read to my list. If he was going to live as a civilian, not being able to read at this age wouldn't be concerning. Civilian school focuses on mathematics, language, history and other such subjects. The Ninja Academy on the other hand, focused on the historical knowledge and specialized skills needed by a ninja. While there was some work on mathematics, being able to read and write with at least some proficiency was an unspoken prerequisite for The Ninja Academy.
This presented a problem but one that, thankfully, I had time to work on. Registration for Uzumaki to enter The Academy wouldn't be until March next year.
It was probably good that I had noticed so soon.
"Can you count?" I inquired bluntly.
"Yes! I can count!" The kid responded a bit offended at the thought that I had considered he couldn't. He didn't realize how much of a miracle it was that he could count, considering he wasn't anywhere close to being literate.
"Count my fingers." I told him, putting the ramen cup down and held up my fisted hand in front of his face.
He let out a great sigh that surprised me, giving me a narrow-eyed stare and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Humor me, kid." I coaxed.
He conceded by finally nodding and began to count my fingers as I held them up. He managed to get to ten, but when my fingers went back to fists and I went to start over he couldn't think of what came next.
Well, I could work with him being able to count to ten.
"Who taught you that?" I asked quietly, not wanting to undermine his accomplishment.
Not having someone devoting at least a few hours a day to teaching him meant that it was impressive he had figured out the concept of counting at all. By all rights, he should have only been capable of one-to-one correspondence; which was being able to recognize when something was equivalent to something else, but not necessarily being able to produce a numerical value for it. Like being able to understand that you had the same amount of fingers on both your hands, but not having a number for it. Which meant someone had to have worked with him, at least a little bit.
"That old man." He told me, and it took me a moment to process the statement.
"Do you mean, Lord Hokage?" I asked, a little disbelieving that he had just called The Hokage 'that old man'. I mean, yes, he was an old man. But you couldn't just call him that. Not aloud anyway.
"Ugggh," he exclaimed, "why do all the grown-ups call him that?" This comment, of course, confirmed that he had, indeed, meant Lord Third. I wasn't about to go into why it was important that everyone, not just grown-ups, respect Lord Hokage's title so I decided to let it slide for now.
I was a little surprised that someone with as little free time as Lord Third had taken a few minutes out of his day to attempt to teach the kid how to count. I hoped that meant that he was aware that the boy wasn't even close to literate and would hopefully be an ally when I started endeavoring to change that.
For now, since he could count to ten, I decided that we would just focus on how to buy ramen.
I began to stand up.
"You can put five of each colour into the basket. Use your fingers to count if you have to. If you get stuck just wait for me because I'll be right back." I told him, flattening my skirt when I reached my full height. With one more quick glance at him, making sure he was doing as I instructed, I began moving around the store as quickly as possible and picking up the other things I had thought of.
When I turned the corner again, arms full of various foods, he was putting the last chicken ramen in the basket. A quick glance and I realized he had successfully followed my instructions.
"Perfect." I stated. "Now I'm going to show you what you do next."
Since my arms were full, I did my best to motion to the basket and watched as he picked it up. Thankfully, a basket full of instant ramen and already purchased clothing wasn't particularly heavy and seemed to be a weight he could manage.
He followed me to the till and I smiled at Mrs Asai, who was staring back at me with what I deemed to be a rather unimpressed expression. Thankfully, she plastered on a phony retail smile soon after even though she kept casting furtive glances at the kid. I could handle that, provided she didn't ban me from the store after this.
I then proceeded to instruct the kid on how to purchase his ramen, which took an excruciating amount of time for all involved. After a few minutes Mrs Asai even pitched in and helped me communicate which ryo were the ones he wanted to use, likely eager to get the both of us out of her store.
When we left, the kid had an accomplished grin plastered on his face and insisted on carrying his grocery bag full of ramen all on his own.
XxX
That had probably been the longest day of my entire short life.
When we arrived at his apartment around 3 o'clock, it was cleaned and full of new furniture just like I had planned for it to be. The kettle and toaster Tamaki had promised were there, along with some folded up brown shopping bags on the counter. I recognized them as the bags I had asked the random chunin I'd met in the first shop to bring over, which meant either the cleaner or Tamaki must have thought to put the items away for me. I instructed the kid to help me put away the groceries and then, as I was putting away his clothes informed him that this was now his home.
He had needed to process that idea for a long moment; but the elation had been clear as soon as he realized what I had meant. He had been into everything. He jumped on the bed, looked under the bed and yelled out the window. He was poking around in the closets, the cupboards, the fridge...he even tried to poke his head into the stove. Thankfully, I discovered that someone had put a child safety lock on the stove and I realized I probably had Yuzuha to thank for the forethought.
There had been a calendar on the kitchen table that I realized must have been an afterthought on someone's part because it was one of those free, promotional calendars that restaurants give away. That particular one was from the Yumehara Teahouse, each photograph being a picture of a beautiful woman in a traditional kimono. I flipped through it once to double check that all the pictures were appropriate. They were. I hadn't been expecting them to be inappropriate, since the Yumehara family were rather conservative and would never condone promotions that sexually objectified the women that worked for them, but I'd felt the urge to double check.
Once I determined it was safe, I had used the calendar to show him what days of the week I would be coming to check on him (which would be all but Sunday) and encouraged him to place an 'X' when he went to bed every night. I also did my best to mark important days on the calendar with a circle. The most recent one was next week, on Thursday. Every time he bought something, he was supposed to get a receipt and put it in Gama-chan, then once a month (next Thursday this month) I was going to look through the receipts and make sure Gama-chan was full. I'm not sure he fully understood what I was talking about, but I was going to be seeing him six days a week, so I figured it was okay if he didn't understand right away.
I helped him make a cup of ramen, then showed him how to make some toast, encourage him to eat an apple and told him to go to bed when the sun went down. There wasn't much more I could do, so I made sure he locked the door behind me and assured him I'd be back tomorrow morning.
It was now 5 o'clock, the calendar had me thinking and I had stopped at The Yumehara Teahouse on the way home. While they specialized in tea, they had diversified over the years to offer a very nice lunch and dinner menu. My server, Izo, was the owner's twelve-year-old daughter, a current Koba Academy student, and was a serene child that I got along with quite well. She was the youngest of eight children and the only girl. Her father and all seven of her older brothers were ninja. It shocked many that Akira Yumehara owned a teahouse, since he was an abrasive jonin of impressive stature who looked like he would sooner wrestle a bear than enjoy sipping tea. Surprisingly, he had a passion for unique tea blends and offering people award winning customer service.
Since the tea house was quiet, we'd had a chance to speak leisurely about how school was, how her brothers were and tea. Simple things, but they helped me take my mind off Naruto's sad, falling face when I had left him alone at his apartment.
No...not Naruto...Uzumaki's sad face.
After paying and saying my thanks to Izo for the delicious meal, I left and ducked through the alleyways to get back to my apartment, my head down.
Genma hadn't given me an estimated date of return when last I saw him but usually his missions would be over around this time and he would be on his way back. I would likely be seeing him within the next few days if he wasn't going to be home later tonight.
When I got to the street just outside my building, I stood there for a moment and pondered whether I should stop at The Asai Grocery again and pick something up just in case Genma came home. I was still standing there in indecision, when a flicker of movement caught the corner of my eye.
My attention was drawn up to my bedroom window on the third floor, where the light was on. I specifically remembered turning the light off this morning. Was Genma home? If he was home, why would he turn my bedroom light on? Why was he even in my room? Genma never went in my room and he certainly didn't go in without asking. He told me once that now that I was a young lady he was scared about what he might find. It had been meant as a joke but there was a kernel of truth in the statement. There was a flicker of movement again as a shadowy figure passed by the window, then a split second later another went by in the same direction.
There were multiple people in my room.
And I had a feeling none of them were Genma.
I started running towards the apartment, not sure what I would find as I climbed the first and second flights of stairs in record time. When I reached the top of the third flight I was panting, and I had to stop for a moment to catch my breath. When I recovered I turned the corner and made my way down the hallway at a run.
There were three or four ninja in the hallway directly outside my apartment and my breath caught when I saw the four-pointed star with crest of the Uchiha clan embedded in the middle on their flak jackets. The Konoha Military Police were in my apartment.
I staggered, my pace slowing significantly at the sight.
I couldn't help but fear the worst.
Where was Genma?