Sorry for the late update ya'll. No good excuse this time around. I legitimately forgot what day it was, but here's another chapter. This one's dealing with Tatsuo and Kasumi's side of the arc. If you hadn't caught on, that's how I'll be dealing with this arc by hopping between the two groups. Not much else to say really, so let's just jump right into it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 38
"Alright," Shizune nodded after finishing whatever it was she'd just filled out on her clipboard. "That should do it. You can probably come by and pick her up in an hour or so, is that alright with you, Tatsuo-kun?" She turned her eyes to him and gave him a pleasant smile.
"How's her recovery coming along?" the young Uchiha couldn't help but ask, twisting his neck around to work out a few kinks. "Any idea how long before she can walk again?"
"Well, if things go well…" the Hokage's assistant mused, looking over her sheets once again. "She should be able to stand and move a bit after today's session. We'll probably assign you responsibility for getting her accustomed to walking again; you'll be making sure she doesn't overdo it."
"Good to know," Tatsuo replied, nodding to the woman before turning around. "I've got something to look into real quick. I'll be back to pick her up by the time you all are finished." As he walked away, Shizune couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow. This was a first. For every session prior to this one, the teen had made it a point to wait for the girl at the hospital. She wondered what he had in mind that had him leaving this time around. Shrugging her shoulders a few seconds later, Shizune turned around and made her way down the hall. It wasn't her place to judge. Besides, she had to go make sure her mentor's work was in order. Just because the woman was responsible for Tayuya didn't mean she got to use it as an excuse to slack off on all her paperwork.
Haku leaned casually on the railing behind him, his eyes gazing up at the bright blue sky. He stood upon the rooftop of the hospital, listening to the serene breeze. Taking a quick moment to dart his eyes around, he let his gaze linger upon the person next to him for another moment as he'd done so for the past ten minutes. Kasumi had her eyes locked upon the entrance of the hospital below. She was clearly taking her self-imposed mission of shadowing Tatsuo and Tayuya seriously. In the past two days, she'd managed to figure out where they'd been residing as well as what they're routine was when Tatsuo left their house alone or if the two of them left together.
A small part of Haku couldn't help but be disappointed in the fact that the red-haired kunoichi had barely paid him any attention over their time together in monitoring the duo. But he took comfort in knowing that she'd chosen to come to him over the several other choices she had.
Kasumi for her part was trying very hard not to let her attention constantly wander over to her associate. He just looked so cool leaning against the railing next to her, all carefree and stuff. It should have been a crime to look that handsome. Mentally shaking her head to clear out those thoughts, she brought her focus back to her current task. Making sure to keep an eye on the hospital entrance in case something changed. As it was, Tatsuo and Tayuya would leave in about an hour and head over to some restaurant. They'd order takeout and then head back to their shared living arrangements and that'd be that. Kasumi and Haku would then spend another thirty minutes or so surveying the house before heading off for lunch. After that, it'd either be time for them to go their separate ways or maybe hang out for a bit more and just chat. Kasumi liked the latter occurrence more than the former in that case.
"Huh?" the redhead couldn't help but blurt when she caught sight of something. Or rather, someone. "Why is Tatsuo leaving alone?"
Having caught his attention, she noted Haku turn around and follow her gaze. It was indeed something unexpected. Tatsuo usually waited for Tayuya's procedure to finish at the hospital. He didn't usually leave on his own. "Should we follow him?" he asked out loud, looking over to his accomplice for input.
"I'll follow him," the Uzumaki girl responded, nodding to herself. "You stay here and watch for Tayuya. If he doesn't end up coming back here before noon, we can meet back up at Ichiraku."
Before he could even respond, the girl rushed off in a hurry. He watched her go, leaping off to the building beside the hospital, covering an immense distance in a single bound. Haku couldn't help but watch her go, her crimson hair flowing angelically in the wind. The effeminate boy could only sigh when she disappeared from sight. Resigning himself to his lonely task, the boy turned back around to stare up at the sky.
"Jeez, you've got it bad, don't you?" the voice had him let out a terrified yelp, before he stumbled forward in shock. Spinning around, his eyes landed on the bemused visage of none other than Tatsuo. "Otherwise, you'd have noticed me a lot sooner."
"But what ab-" Haku began, only to be interrupted by the dark-haired boy who was now seated upon the railing.
"Shadow Clone," he offered, those two words a perfect explanation of what had occurred. "You might have figured it out if the two of you weren't so distracted by each other."
Blushing at the implication, Haku crossed his arms and tilted his head at the Uchiha boy. "So you've known?" he questioned, genuinely curious. "I thought we'd been doing a pretty good job."
"Oh you were," Tatsuo relented, shrugging at the thought. "Even the ANBU assigned to watch over us didn't catch on until yesterday."
"I see," the older teen uttered, sighing at having slipped up. "I suppose I have been rather distracted lately."
"If that's what you want to call it," his friend fired back, a knowing grin on his face. "I don't care if you're keeping an eye on us. But I've got one condition you have to meet; otherwise I'll inform the Hokage."
"And what might that be?" Haku inquired, quirking an eyebrow. "I can't imagine you'd blame Kasumi for wanting to make sure you're safe."
"Nothing of the sort," was the lazy boy's immediate response. "All I want is for you to be responsible. Make sure Kasumi doesn't go overboard and does something that'll get everyone in trouble, will you?"
Haku for his part couldn't help but blink. It took him a few seconds to process the request, before he gave the boy a small smile. "I'll make sure she doesn't cause any trouble," he stated, before witnessing the boy before him burst into smoke. He blinked a few times, trying to get his head around what had happened. "Well, how cheeky of him."
The jingling of bells echoed through the otherwise quiet shop when he entered. His eyes traced over the many different instruments framed and set up around the quaint little place. As he took a few steps in, allowing the door to close behind him with a gentle thud, he took note of the woman who occupied the counter at the back. She was old, probably in her sixties. She had her arms crossed over the desk, with her head gently resting atop them. Part of him wanted to leave, just so he wouldn't have to disturb her. But he wouldn't get another chance like this for at least a week. And since he'd already made the effort to come all this way, there was no real point in it all going to waste.
Walking up to the counter, Tatsuo eyed the small bell next to the woman. Now that just seemed cruel. Tapping the counter lightly with a finger, he hoped he wouldn't startle her too much. "Excuse me?" he offered, his voice gentle and low.
The woman stirred almost immediately, before darting up with eyes fluttering. "Apologies, apologies!" she proclaimed, her voice genuinely worried. "Oh dear me, I fell asleep again. I really do need to stop staying up so late." Once she regained her bearings, her eyes came to rest upon the dark-haired boy before her. "Ah, welcome young man." Before she continued, however, she took a moment to squint at him. Reaching under the counter, she pulled out a pair of spectacles before awkwardly fumbling with them as she tried to put them on her eyes. "My, I know you. Tatsuo Uchiha, was it?"
"Have we met before?" the young shinobi inquired, not sure if he recalled ever having been acquainted with the woman before.
"Oh dear, I'm afraid not…" she placated, giving him a motherly smile. "I saw your performance in the chunin exam. That pot trick of yours was certainly a sight to behold."
Realizing what she meant, Tatsuo couldn't help but chuckle. That had been the single dumbest idea he'd probably ever had. Shaking his head to help regain his composure, he looked up at the woman with a small smile. "Well I'm glad someone enjoyed the show," he stated, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. "And who might you be? I'm afraid you know my name, but I'm missing yours."
"Ah, where are my manners?" the elderly woman chided herself, bringing her hands up to fix her graying hair. "I'm Etsuko. Etsuko Hagiwara. It's a pleasure to meet you young man."
"Likewise," the Uchiha boy replied, nodding to the woman as he offered her a polite little bow.
"But all the introductions aside," Etsuko continued, quickly sorting through the few flyers on her desk. "What can I help you with today?"
"Well," Tatsuo began; a tad nervous now that he'd finally been brought back to why he was here. "I was hoping to find a flute."
"Certainly," the woman replied, swiftly rising up and making her way out from behind the counter. "Flutes are right over here. We have a wide selection to choose from depending on what you're looking for."
Tatsuo couldn't help but gulp. He had no idea what exactly it was that he was looking for in the first place. He'd just thought he'd look into getting something for Tayuya before he left. And seeing as she'd made more than a few mentions of how she had loved playing the flute, at least until she'd lost it recently, he'd thought he'd go ahead and look into getting one for her to celebrate her full recovery when the time came. Unfortunately, he had little to no knowledge of musical instruments. And asking the girl what she preferred was quite evidently out of the question.
As he was led to a quaint little corner of the shop, he came to a halt next to the elderly woman and eyed the shelf before him. Upon it, stood several different rods. They were exquisitely carved out, with a few bearing intricate markings. Some were made of wood, whilst others looked to be crafted with porcelain. There was even a pair that looked to be forged using metal. Some were longer than the others, whilst some looked a bit stubbier. And all in all, it made him feel all the more unsure of what he was supposed to be getting.
"Did you have anything specific in mind?" he heard the woman question, snapping him out of his reverie. Looking up to see her giving him a gentle smile, he gave his neck a slight rub.
"I'm not sure," he replied, looking over the selection once more. "I don't really no much about flutes other than the person I'm getting it for really enjoyed playing it."
"A gift for someone is it," Etsuko chimed in, tapping her chin in thought. "Well, let's work through our choices then." She took a step over to the shelf and starting running her gaze over the different instruments. "Did they tell you anything else about the type of flute they had? What type of melodies they liked to play?"
Idly scratching his cheek, Tatsuo ran through his memories. "If it helps at all," he began, recalling a certain detail that had come up during one of their conversations. "She used to use her flute to cast genjutsu."
"Genjutsu?" the woman inquired, raising a surprised eyebrow. "Now that's something quite rare. I used to know someone that utilized a custom made Tonkori to cast genjutsu. They usually played high-pitched notes, so I'd presume that would translate over to flutes just as well." As she traced her fingers over the shelf, she sent him a sideways glance. "The most likely choice would be the shinobue, because it has an inherently high-pitched tone."
"Then that should be good, right?" the Uchiha questioned, tilting his head a tad.
"Well it should," the woman began, straightening up and letting her eyes travel across the shelf once more. "But you shouldn't gift someone a flute just to assist them with their ninja techniques." Moving over, she picked up another flute and eyed it, gently twisting it around in her hands to look it over. "If you really want to give someone an instrument such as this for a gift, it needs to be something more. Music is more than a tool. It's an art."
"But we don't have anything else to go off of," Tatsuo stated, crossing his arms and giving her a confused look.
"Of course we do," Etsuko replied, twirling the flute in her hands around her fingers with practiced ease. It was actually quite shocking how good she was at it. "If that girl of yours can cast genjutsu using a shinobue flute, she is incredibly talented. Get her something she can really have fun with."
"Any suggestions?" the lazy teen offered finally.
"I believe I have something in mind," the woman stated, straightening herself out before putting back the flute in her hands. "Would you like me to add an engraving to the flute? Maybe a name or a message?"
"Well," rubbing his chin as he spoke, Tatsuo thought through the idea. "Now that you mention it."
Kasumi watched as Tatsuo exited the shop. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Why in the world would he go to a music shop? There were a few options. One of them being that Tatsuo had developed a rather abrupt liking for music. That was rather difficult to accept, given that the boy spent the majority of his free time asleep and music would most likely give him a headache. The other option was that he was there to buy an instrument. That seemed a tad more likely, however that left her with two implications. Either Tatsuo was there to buy an instrument for himself, unlikely given his lack of interest in putting effort into anything else, or he was there to buy one for someone else. And if he was indeed there to buy an instrument for someone else, the most likely culprit was the Sound kunoichi. Which led her to believe he was getting a flute for the girl to replace the one she'd lost.
Kasumi's eyes narrowed when she watched her teammate leave the shop, offering a polite wave to the woman who let him out. Following after him discretely, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, she made a note of the shop and to see if she could potentially get some information out of the shopkeeper later on.
She watched him stroll through the village streets, in the direction of the hospital. He seemed lost in thought, but it certainly seemed like he was happier now after having visited the shop. Kasumi didn't really doubt his happiness, but she did find it hard to believe that Tatsuo of all people was enjoying taking care of another person. Then there was also the thought of him getting the girl a new flute. He had no idea what kind of horrid things she could do with it either. But then again, she didn't have access to her chakra so there was also that.
Either way, she wasn't going to stop tailing him over the course of the week just because he seemed to be doing fine. That was something she'd decide for herself when she was properly satisfied with her analysis of his situation. With one final leap, she came to a skidding halt atop the hospital building. "I'm back, Haku!" she proclaimed, noticing the boy look over at her upon her arrival. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
Thinking back on his little chat with Tatsuo, Haku shook his head and gave the girl a sigh. "Nothing interesting on my end," he replied, giving her a nonchalant shrug. "How was your day?" And with that, the two continued their surveillance in one another's pleasant company.
And that's that. A bit short, but that's how the cookie crumbles. But anyways, not much else to say on this one. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
As always, thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my work. Hope ya'll have a lovely weekend and I'll see you next time.