Having effectively ruined one of my two friendships, I spent the next day walking through Konoha, alone again and maybe forever, sullenly looking for something to do.

I hadn't seen or talked to Shuu since the incident yesterday, and neither was I particularly ready to. The anger I felt was still fairly fresh and I just needed some time to myself to sort things out for now. I didn't think Shuu was ready to see me yet, either.

In reality, Imiki had sent me out with a list of errands to run, including replenishing our stock of bandages for any chakra incidents, buying some groceries, and placing an order for a very specific type of explosive tag paper. Yeah, I didn't know what the difference was, either.

As I strolled by shops, though, one caught my eye in particular with its brilliant display of flowers of all colours, shapes, and sizes. That reminded me—today was as good a day to visit the memorial stone as any. Eyeing the coin pouch Imiki had filled up for me, I decided that I could make a small allowance for a couple flowers.

I wandered into the shop, noting the vague familiarity of the place. That was the problem with the current state of my memory; I could always feel when people and places were important, but could never put my finger on why. What I could recall from my prior knowledge of this series was getting fuzzier and fuzzier. There was this tingling sensation whenever I thought about the Uchiha clan, though, and this unease that filled me whenever I bumped into Itachi while at the compound. Something big was going to happen. But what? This Uchiha conundrum was still scratching at the back of my mind, but the recent...development with Shuu had soured my mood towards the Uchiha clan as a whole (sorry, Kouko) and I hadn't put much thought into it since.

But luckily, this was not one of those puzzling cases. In fact, I got my answer to why this place felt so important as soon as the shopkeepers turned around, a little blonde girl with clear blue eyes manning the cashier and an older man I assumed to be her father fixing a flower display to the side. I held my breath.

Little Yamanaka Ino and her father, Yamanaka Inoichi. Right, they owned a flower shop. Stupid.

They had seen me now, though, so we were past the point of no return. I swallowed the lump in my throat and accepted my fate. "U-um, hello?"

"Hi! Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers! How may I help you?" Ino greeted brightly.

I gulped. Why was I so nervous about talking to a five-year-old kid? "Uh...I was wondering how much uh...two poppies cost?" That could've gone better. Two poppies? I had planned on getting a bouquet when my stupid mouth decided I was incapable of asking for more!

"Two poppies?" Ino asked curiously. She hummed. "I think that's 20 ryo. Tou-san, can you get two poppies?"

I got my ryo ready timidly, approaching the tall desk. I could barely reach over the top. Ino seemed to notice my discomfort and went around to my side to collect my ryo. "Thanks," I said, reddening.

She smiled. "No problem." Ino was a nice girl, her sunny smile genuine and kid-like. It was surprising to me because I couldn't actually remember what Ino was like in the series at this point, her most outstanding qualities being her rivalry with Sakura (over Sasuke, of all things) and her intolerance of bullshit from her teammates (which I could respect). But all of that didn't seem to matter at the moment, because right now, Ino was nothing more than a kind girl with an impressive knowledge of flowers that would someday fall for a dumb moody duck-butt.

As I exited the shop with two nicely-wrapped poppies in hand, I evaluated my encounter with my third canon character. It was an overall success. I hadn't made any lasting impressions (I think) which was alright until I had a plan.

I found the memorial within minutes, having visited it with Imiki many times before. To my luck, it was deserted. I supposed this time of day wasn't a popular time to pay your respects, and school was still in session.

I set the poppies down by the stone, feeling a little pathetic about my meager offering when fanciful bouquets sat right next to it. My parents' names were engraved right beside each other, glinting with a grim freshness. As you went down the rock, the names were fresher and fresher, a sad reminder of how regularly shinobi died on the job.

After taking that break to pay my respects, it was back to work, and I ventured into the marketplace in search of the items on my list.

I found the bandages fairly easily, buying an extra roll just for good measure. The storekeeper seemed to find me struggling to put my coins on the counter amusing, the jerk. When I finally grew taller, I'd come back and show him.

Grumbling to myself with a plastic bag in hand, I exited the store and identified a market of fresh fruits and veggies just a few yards down the road. I headed there next, swinging my bag idly as I went. I'd put in the order for the explosive tag paper last.

"Hmm, let's see here…" I mumbled to myself, squinting to decipher the note Imiki had scribbled for me. "Eggplant, cabbage…" I navigated the market with ease, my small size coming in handy whenever I had to squeeze between baskets, people, and boxes of vegetables. I picked up an abandoned basket off of the floor, dropping my plastic bag into it, and began to load it with the desired vegetables. Then, my eyes fell on the next entry on the list and instantly narrowed. "Tomatoes. Ew."

Something that unfortunately had carried over from my past life was my distaste for tomatoes. Raw tomatoes were probably among my least favourite foods in this world, accompanied by mushrooms. Still, what Imiki wanted was what she got, so I headed over to the tray of tomatoes near the front of the market begrudgingly.

As I approached the stand and reached for a tomato, I noticed someone else doing the same. I turned to see who it was out of habit and nearly did a double-take, suppressing my groan.

Another detail my brain conveniently had forgotten was Sasuke's love for tomatoes.

It was too soon to interact with an Uchiha again, I decided, fully prepared to grab the tomato I had in my hand and make a beeline straight for the cashier. Before I could, however, Sasuke's voice stopped me.

"Asagiri Futaba." Wow, he actually remembered my name? Impressive.

I turned around, forcing a polite twitchy smile onto my face. "You caught me."

"You weren't at the compound yesterday," he continued, eyebrows drawn into a frown that told me he wanted answers to his unspoken question. The frown was a lot less intimidating on the face of a five-year-old child, though.

That was right. I usually went over to the compound with Shuu after school on Wednesdays to have dinner and play games, but yesterday was...well, different.

"Nope," I said instead, piling tomatoes into my basket at the same time. "I'd better get going, now—"

"Why?" Sasuke asked, and I knew what he was directing his question to.

"I wasn't feeling well." That was an understatement. "So, anyways, I'll see—"

"Shuu was upset when he came home yesterday." Damn it, was this kid going to ignore everything I said!? "You two got into a fight, right?"

"It's not of your business," I bit out, mood fully soiled at this point.

"Michiko-obaa-san thought we'd done something to you. She was worried."

"Alright. Okay."

"Are you going to make up with Shuu?"

I didn't reply, feeling my arms grow dangerously warm with irritation. "I don't know. It's none of your business, Sasuke."

Sasuke still looked dissatisfied, and for the life of me, I couldn't tell you why he was so curious about my matters with Shuu. Unless...he was actually worried about his cousin?

Mikoto suddenly appeared, basket in hand. "Sasuke, no more tomatoes! We already have some at home." After she'd gently seized the arm of her pouting child—boy, did it feel strange to see a pout on Sasuke's face—she finally noticed me. "Oh? Is this a friend of yours, Sasuke?" She beamed brightly at me.

"No," Sasuke replied bluntly. I felt my eyebrow twitch.

"He accidentally bumped into me and was saying sorry," I fibbed. I made to leave right after finishing my statement, my basket much fuller with tomatoes than it had been before.

As I left, I could feel the dark-eyed stare of Sasuke, and I faintly heard Mikoto's voice before they were out of earshot. "Oh? My, my, look at her basket...It seems like she likes tomatoes just as much as you do, Sasuke!"

After checking out, the only thing left I had to do was to find the shop Imiki had told me to go to place the order. Imiki had also failed to realize that giving me the name of the shop wouldn't exactly help me find it.

So I was stuck wandering aimlessly through the marketplace, eyes narrowed at store signs in hopes of finding my destination. I had been passing by a snack shop when I saw a familiar head of highlighter stumble out of the doors of the shop, tripping and falling into a heap at the doorway. Three in one day, was my first weary thought, but I stopped anyway, frowning as passerby soon stopped themselves to gather and stare at the scene. A man in an apron stormed out of the shop, making sure to hold a broom in front of him almost defensively.

"No monster is going to shop from my store!" he yelled. His form quivered just a bit. I felt a surge of anger. Why weren't these people doing anything?

Naruto looked up at the man fearfully as a bag of chips he held in one hand was ripped from him. In his other hand he held his frog change purse—he was about to pay for those.

"Scram, you beast!" the man barked. He then stormed back into his store.

I heard the murmurs around me commending the man for his actions, condemning Naruto for his. "What a monster," they whispered. "Why can't the Hokage just get rid of him for good? He's a danger to this village."

Naruto didn't move, his eyes darting over the crowd with a sort of panic and sorrow that no five-year-old should ever have. Then, he cast his eyes downward in shame. I noticed a fresh bruise on his arm, maybe from when the shop owner had handled him when he threw him out.

In that moment I decided that these people were monsters, not Naruto.

That same strange instinct I had acted on yesterday compelled me to act again today, and I pushed between two women whispering to each other about the spectacle. I rushed to Naruto, helping him up. "Are you okay?" I asked urgently. "That man shouldn't treat anyone like that. How horrible, he's lost a customer in me today!" Never mind the fact that I wasn't a customer before this, either.

Naruto looked up at me, and at that moment I discovered the eyes were, in fact, the windows to the soul. His blue eyes were so hopeful, so confused, and so lost at that moment that I couldn't help but extend a hand towards him to help him up. He paused, looking at my hand, then took it. He continued to stare at me in a sort of awe as he answered, "Y—yeah, I'm fine."

I gave him a doubtful look. "Sure...well, if you say so."

"You're the girl from yesterday!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at me like he'd just realized it. "The one who helped me!"

It just hit me how visible us and our conversation was, as the gathered passerby had yet to leave and were now watching us like we were oddities to be observed. "This isn't really the best place to talk," I murmured. "Come on, if you're hungry," I jabbed a finger over my shoulder, in what I hoped was the direction of Shiro's Soups, "I know a place we can get some food."

Naruto didn't reply, my words seeming to shock him even more as his eyes grew impossibly round. I decided not to wait for me to come to my senses and realize how impulsive I was for approaching him so boldly in front of everyone, and simply took him by the arm and led him away from the crowd, which was already beginning to disperse. I could feel the stares following us, and I resisted the urge to glare at them all as I stormed away with Naruto in tow.

Some ten minutes later, I watched as Naruto eyed his soba thoughtfully. I chewed the sticky rice cake in my own soup and swallowed, racking my brain for a way to break the ice. "Are you sure you're alright? That guy was a jerk."

Naruto blinked out of whatever trance he had been in. He put on a false grin. "Yeah! You don't have to worry. I'm used to it." He rested his head on his hand. "Well, that guy in particular's never liked me. Most shopkeepers don't."

I frowned. "That just makes me more worried, you know." I slurped some more noodles. I decided to take a risk. "Why do people call you a monster?"

Naruto's face fell briefly. He quickly regained his composure, though. "I don't know. But I know it's a load of bull, 'ttebayo!" He spoke with a fire I was used to seeing in the anime. There he was. "It's...it's not a big deal, okay?" I had a feeling Naruto was purposely trying to steer away the conversation from this topic, the hope that had shone in his eyes earlier still unwaveringly shining in his eyes now.

My expression softened as something in me broke looking at the boy. "Alright," I said reluctantly. "If you don't care, I won't either. But if you get hurt again," I gave the bruise on his arm a pointed look, "don't be afraid to find me or my aunt. We'll help you."

"I heal fast, don't worry," Naruto assured me, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "But thanks!"

I smiled, the tension between us starting to fade. "It's a little late for introductions, but I'm Asagiri Futaba." I held out my hand for him to shake because I believed in business-style introductions.

Naruto eyed my hand before taking it enthusiastically. "Uzumaki Naruto!"

His enthusiasm was contagious, and I smiled back with more energy. "Nice to meet you, Naruto."

We continued to scarf down our meals and talk about things ranging from the weather to how good the food was (Naruto insisted he knew a place that was even better) until I looked up at the sky, swallowing the last bit of soup in my bowl. Judging by the shadows, it was long past noon, the pinkness leaking into the sky further supporting this.

"Well, Naruto, I should probably get going. Imiki-nee will be expecting me." I stood up, fishing around in my plastic bags for something. When I found it, I grabbed it, pulling it out. After eyeing them thoughtfully for a moment, I handed the extra roll of fresh bandages to him. "Take these, just in case something like this happens again."

Naruto took them wordlessly, sending me an appreciative grin. It may have been just me, but his eyes seemed to shine a bit as he looked down at the bandages. "Thanks, Futaba-chan."

Naruto's infectious enthusiasm lingered with me even as I walked away from the soup shop and the boy was long gone. I had to suppress the urge to smile at his natural sunniness, and—

Oh, no.

My smile suddenly slipped off of my face when I was just about halfway home.

I had spent the last of my money paying for our food and had failed to get the last thing on Imiki's list.

The explosive tag paper.

Imiki was going to kill me—or, better yet, order the explosive tags herself and blow me up with those.

My mood back in the pits, I sighed and continued on the path leading home, reviewing today's many eventful encounters as I went.

kiddie naruto deserved better