Chapter Ten: "Determination over everything."
Naruto was working day and night now.
It had only been three months since he entered the shinobi academy, and it was a lot harder then he had expected. There was so much to remember and to do- Midori did her best to help him with his studies but he wasn't exactly the best at retaining knowledge. If there was one thing he could do, it was punch something. So, that's what he was determined to do. He would leave the academy as soon as he could to train.
Why wasn't everyone as accepting as Midori? The thought weighed heavy on his mind as his fist made contact with wood. He thought he might be able to make friends at the academy, but nobody seemed to want to bither with him. Everyone treated him as they always had, and he was desperate for a friend, for attention from people that was positive.
Nobody seemed to care no matter how hard he tried. His fist made contact agin, and then his foot. Recently, he had begun to cook up some pranks on his sensei that got him in trouble but made everyone else amused. The laughter seemed rapturous and positive so he eat that up, and pretended like everything would be fine. On occasion, he found he could skip class with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji, they didn't seem to mind him much but not enough to hang outside of classes.
He took what he could get.
He flopped over onto the grass as he caught his breath. The sun had set already, and Midori would not be happy about that. She liked him to be home befire the sun set entirely, something silly about how she worried about him being out at night. He didn't like worrying her, and he didn't like the current situation but what could he do? She was always going out of her way to brave things that were hard, and he could too.
Naruto pulled himself back off of the ground, and went right back to it once again. He qould prove himself to everyone.
Tsuki was always... well, Tsuki. She had been raised by her aunt and uncle, and her best friend as child had been their household cat, Koizumi. If there was one word that could be used to describe her it would be: happy. She never had a frown on her face, and she had never truly felt like she had experienced any kind of turmoil or unfortunate mishap ever. But for many years of her childhood, she had felt like she could do better... but she never knew what she could do better.
She was lost for very long.
Her first choice as a child had been to become a kuniochi, but with the war going on at the time, and her aunt fearing she would become canon fodder- she was sent to the civilian academy to learn and grow. She wasn't sad that she couldn't become a ninja, just... lost. If she couldn't do that for her village what could she do?
For so many years she had never been sure what to do with her life. She could join her aunt at the tea shop and work there, or she could have joined her uncle on his route with other merchants. But those two paths never felt right despite how hard she tried both of those paths to work.
She was too forgetful with orders, or she would never understand how to haggle prices for the best option. Her aunt and uncle had the right paths for them, but Tsuki had not found what she wantsd yet. There had to be something that she could do, certainly somewhere in the village she would be needed.
After heing booted from another apprenticeship, she found herself on the streets late at night when a rainstorm broke out all of a sudden. She rushed for any cover, any dry place and she found cover underneath one shop nearby. She caught her breath in the shiver cold and slid down to the ground. "I don't know what to do..." Tsuki felt frustrated for the first time in her life. "If I can't hold down a job then I might disappoint my aunt and uncle."
"If you don't know what to do, why don't you come inside instead of freezing to death out here?"
Sato Mayumi offered her hand at that moment. Her hair was tucked back into a bun, and her brown eyes said a million things at once. Behind her was a child, younger then Tsuki herself, almost a miniature version of the woman except for the green eyes that she possessed.
Tsuki, a lost teenager stared at her with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Something about this woman told her that this was a crossroad in her life's path and she had to make the decision for herself right then. She took the extended hand and followed Mayumi like a lost puppy.
"Hey, Tsuki-chan, are you alright?"
"Huh?"
Masami was in front of her, a stack of fabric in tow as she stared at Tsuki from the other side of the counter. "You seemed lost in a daydream or something, I know you're officially a master now, but if Mayumi-sensei caught you like that you know she would whack you with a broom."
Tsuki waved that off, laughing at that idea even occuring. "Masami-chan, she only did that once when I was your age and it was because I wasn't listening to her command." She said. "Oh, is that the set I ordered for Koyuki-san? Finally! She's been stopping by a lot just itching to see it. Now she'll calm down and let me finish the pieve, haha!"
"Uhuh! That's what I got, and a few new sample pieces as well." Masami grinned. "I can't wait to work with some of these myself."
They continued with their work for a few moments before Tsuki couldn't help but to speak up again.
"Masami, I hope I'm not imposing on your personal life, but how are you and your mother lately?"
"Better, my mom is doing a lot better lately, actually. She's started to bake again- oh, remind me to bring you something before I leave today, we have an overflow of baked goods right now and I'm willing to share before mom floods the house." Masami explained. The kitchen had been well, loaded with various options for many days now. On her way to work she would usually drop off different things to people she knew because certainly she and her mother couldn't eat everything! She set down her stack and sighed. "She needs to get out if the house though, before I drown in cakes. How are you doing? Oh, and your family is well I hope?"
"I'm great. My aunt has been having trouble pulling in customers though, her shop has fallen into a funk lately. I've had to help out on my days off from there to make sure things are alright there." Tsuki made a hm noise, wait, she had an idea! "Why don't you mention to her that she could come into my aunt's tea shop, they could use some new menu items... and that would help her and my aunt!"
Masami blinked. She never would have considered something like that! Tsuki was amazing! "Oh! That's a good idea, Tsuki-chan!"
"With Naruto not around I can think clearly." She laughed. The lack of noise was strange, to be honest, the loud kid had become a normal thing and now that he was gone it felt a little strange. Though, being able to think clearly again was a miracle.
"I kind miss having him shout in the morning, though." Masami admitted. She had grown close to the kid, and now she was rooting for him to become a stronger shinobi then her brother.
"...Ah, me too."
"Naruto, I know you want to train all the time now, but I can't heep wrapping you up ebery other day because you overdid it, again." I scolded him for coming inside with more bangs and bumps. I knew he would heal up quicker then other children but I hated to leave him without some coverings. "You're going to look like a mummy if you keep this up, and my mother will scold me for not scolding you enough. And you know how that is."
Naruto didn't say much, but he did mumble an apology.
"There, all done." I stepped up and rubbed my hands together. "If you're going to keep doing this, then you'll have to let me show you how to keep from breaking your bones."
I felt his eyes shift back onto me. "How would you know?"
"You don't know what I've done in the past." I had two influences in my life that lead me to where I ended up, dead. A old woman who genuinely cared but died without leaving a plan for her adopted child, and an abusive boxer who wanted money more then a kid. "I know more then you think."
"Don't sound mysterious it doesn't make you cool." He gave me a look, the one I usually gave him whenever he said something stupid. Waving that look away, I smiled. "I am the coolest mother do not even go there, sunshine."
Naruto hopped out of the chair I had made him plop in when he stumbled through the front door of our apartment. "I have to study," He grimaced. "Iruka-sensei assigned a lot of stuff to go over, it's so boring." He had genuinely been trying to read through and learn things, but it was proving tough with his attention span. He was more excited about fighting then learning, but you had to have a balance of both to be a good student.
"I could always help you," I offered. "I know how to make learning much more action packed if that's your problem."
He shrugged, helplessly. "...I know, but I've been trying to help myself lately."
I frowned. "...Is something else bothering you?"
"No, I'm good." He reassured me and headed down the hall to his room. I knew better then to let that slide, but he wasn't ready to admit the problem to me just yet and I had to respect that. He would tell me- or I would find out on my own. It was only a matter of time.
...
The next morning, I set out to do some shoppimg after I dropped Naruto off at the shinobi academy. My mother usually brought by food these days, and I hardly ever had to cook much unless Naruto wanted me to cook something specific. I had the same few shops I would visit, that being only two, because they were the only ones that would allow me service. One was a elderly woman who pitied me, and the other was owned by one of my mother's friends.
Masami had decided to join me, she wouldn't be scolded for being late to work since the shop was closed today. She was telling about her mother, and how she had accepted to work part time at the tea house that Tsuki's aunt owned. "It's working out very well. My mother is smiling again!"
The loss of Shinobu was hard on her, so Masami had explained to me. I was glad to hear that she was doing better. "I hope it works out for everyone." I offered her a smile.
"Me too," She replied. I set my basket into her hands, and nodded my head. "Hold onto that for a moment, I need to pick up some of my mother's favorite fruit. It's all she'll eat when she has a cold." I grimaced. I entered the shop witg Masami in tow, when a voice called out to me.
"Midori-san! It's been a while!" Called out Watanabe Ryouta, the son of the shop keep. He was a bit older then myself, but he had a kind smile that I appreciated. I believe he had been out of the village for the past few months, so he might not have known what I had been up to.
"Oh. Ryouta-san, it's nice to see you again." I greeted with a small wave. I was only being polite, as Mayumi always insisted. It was important that I kept my reputation right as rain. "How is your father?"
"Grest, great. I'm running the shop now, he's out on a run for a bit. I am excited, actually, he trusts me enough to leave me in charge! What about your mother, I heard she is a bit under the weather." Ryouta smiled, he pulled a basket of apples out from behind his desk. "I figured you would drop by sooner or later, so i got you the best picks all ready."
That was kind of him. "Thank you, Ryouta-san, my mother will appreciate this."
When we left, Masami burst into a fit of giggles. It was silly, and I had never seen her act like that before. "He likes you," Masami teased.
I glanced at her. "Well, of course he does, we've been acquaintances for years, so there's no malice there."
"I mean... man, are you dense Midori-chan?" Masami said, to which I blinked. She was implying that he liked me romantically. "Oh, you mean... Ah, that way. He's just an acquaintance, Masami-chan, I don't like him like that."
"Well, he likes you like that." She countered.
I stuck out my tongue. "He's not my type, Masami-chan, plus, I'm too busy focusing on Naruto right now to just- date." There was somebody I was interested in, but that would not a possibility and I was serious about having my total attention on Naruto so that meant I would be dedicated to him, not worrying about something silly like that!