The Remnant Sun
Chapter Eight: Flood
A/N: Here's the eighth. Hope you enjoy!
X X
*drip.. *drip
"Hnggh…"
A thin drop of water fell to the boy's forehead in a repeating pattern, irritating his senses.
The boy's blue eyes opened tiredly to a thick veil of darkness.
"W-what time is it?"
Opening his mouth he let out a powerful yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Standing up from his bed he jolted, a sudden cold wet sensation soaked through the cloth of his socks.
"W-what the?!"
Looking down he saw green water trickling along the floor.
Naruto paled as he heard the sound of water rushing through the walls of the darkened room.
"Did the water pipes burst... Kazu-nee isn't going to like this."
Reaching behind himself attempting to use the bedpost to help himself find his position in the room, he lost his balance as the bed he tried to lean on was nowhere to be found.
Falling over, he felt a cold wet sensation around him as he landed butt first in a pool of water.
"Woah.. c-cold.."
He brushed the wet bangs of his blonde hair out of his face, mildly upset about the water pouring down his body.
"I need to find a lightswitch."
Standing up he grabbed the legs of his navy pajama bottoms rolling them up, and trying to ring some of the moisture out.
When he realized they were soaked through he sighed in indignation, pulling them off so that he was wearing only his orange fish cake patterned boxers.
Folding the pants under his arm he left the room, looking around as his vision adjusted to the darkness, he noticed the hallway looked different than he remembered.
"H-huh, what's going on?"
He felt a tinge of trepidation in his shaking throat.
Anxiety crept into his chest as he began to realize that there was no way this was his house.
'Where am I?'
Cautiously he considered retreating to the room he had been in, but he knew standing in the cold water for a long period of time would cause him to get sick, or worse.
Careful of the noise he was making he craned his neck trying to get a grip on the hall which he was standing in.
It was long and had high ceilings, the distant passage seemed to spiral into darkness as it continued on for who knew how long.
Luckily for him, it only went in one direction, and the large pipes on the wall which faintly hummed seemed to have a slight glow to them, reflecting the little light of the hall.
Swallowing his fear, he pressed forward determined to find a way out.
'Where are you Kazu-nee… how did I get here?'
He walked for a considerable distance, clinging to the miniscule light, and focusing his vision to try to make out the faint outlines of the walls.
The water which pooled beneath him began to warm; something he welcomed at first, until as he noticed steam filling his nostrils, the water temperature began to sting his feet.
'It's like an Onsen…'
He felt his breath hitch, as the limited space of the halls was filled with O2 from the steam.
The density of the oxygen made him feel lightheaded, and he considered if he fainted and drowned here, would he ever be found.
The thought caused his heartbeat to quicken, and he began to move quicker through the flooded hallways.
To his relief, the temperature began to lower, as the heat was focused in certain areas where the humming was strongest.
Most of the water was room temperature and his feet began to cool.
Another relief was he noticed the first structure that let him know the halls weren't an endless maze.
A prison caged door, which was askew and led into a smaller hall.
Within the hall small pocket-alcoves were lit with torches, and the light made him feel a sense of relief.
'Perhaps the way out is close by.'
He noticed the sconces had ventilation holes above them, which allowed the smoke to escape outside somewhere but the holes were roughly the size of his fist; Impossible to escape through.
Sighing, he stepped through the doorway and into the second hall.
He walked for a few minutes and noticed the humming which had been intermittent throughout the earlier hall, was constant here, and he worried about the hot water scalding his feet.
Luckily it seemed the water had been filtered in these halls, a series of channels ran parallel to the hall, which the water spilled through and drained beneath the floor.
A strong pressure began to fill Naruto's senses, and he felt a sense of urgency to get out of the complex.
Speed walking, he heard his now bare feet slapping the stone floor with every hurried step.
But as he approached the end of the hall the feeling only grew stronger.
Something was there, it's presence was immense, and it filled him with terror.
The torches began to dim, and he worried that he might be forced to travel once more in darkened halls, but a smell dashed his attention.
"*sniff* *sniff* Sulfur, it is like an onsen."
Naruto's eyes narrowed at the reeking scent, but he knew from his sister that a sulfur scent indicated water of deeper depths, as the chemicals took longer to expose to oxygen.
Paling he bit his lip.
"That means, there might be a path which leads further down."
Trepidatiously, he stepped through the threshold, and he realized that he must've reached the end of the hall.
It opened into a room much larger and wider than any he had seen so far.
"W-woah, so big."
Looking around his eyes caught the light reflecting in the water, what seemed like moonlight.
Glancing forward, he noticed a giant cage door, closed with a paper seal.
"Seal?"
He examined the kanji and noticed that the door was the only thing in the room.
Turning to look back at the way he had come from he noticed the torch light from behind him had vanished, the doorway was a swirling blackness, one he would fall through if tried to pass.
Gulping, he turned back to the cage which was faintly lit with the light of the "moon"
He saw the bars were all spaced in such a way as to where he could fit his entire body between them.
"Maybe it's the way forward?"
Stepping forward he lost his footing as his foot hit a drain.
"U-ugn."
He caught himself, but the motion caused a large and loud splash.
And Naruto paled.
A sound reached his ears.
Like the wind, but slower, more rhythmic.
And then.. A slight scraping.
The humming in the pipers grew louder as the water began to heat and bubble.
And the light of the "moon" began to expand as a second "moon" seemed to appear.
Looking up Naruto's eyes widened as he began to take in the sight before him.
Two colossal eyes looked down at him, with crimson irises.
The faint light of the room which was caught in their lenses and reflected back out by the whites of the eyes was what lit the room like artificial moonlight.
He heard more scraping now, the sound of claws stretching across the floor as if to grip the ground.
Then a loud rumbling as a large figure began to move.
He heard a low pulsating sound, which he soon realized was his own terrified heartbeat.
'W-what is that thing?!'
The massive beast stood completely and a loud slam of the ground knocked Naruto over into the water;
He could see faintly lit a massive orange paw had struck the ground, as the beast stood up.
Wincing from the heat of the water against his skin he stood up shakily and stared up at the creature which was now glaring down at him, baring towering fangs which reflected silver.
Opening it's large jaws, Naruto's eyes closed and he covered his ears as a roar vibrated his very body;
It was a sound like a thousand lions in an endless valley, or as if the mountains themselves could scream.
This was the sound of power, fury itself, a god.
Opening his eyes he could feel trickling down his leg, as he fearfully urinated down his leg.
The creature seemed to be smiling, in an animalistic way, it's crimson eyes watching him like a large cat with it's prey.
It's mouth parted and the soundwaves touched every bone in Naruto's body with a slight tickling sensation as it vibrated his flesh.
"You runt.."
A restrained growl escaped the beast's throat as it blinked it's eye in frustration at the boy.
"Why have you come here?"
Naruto tried to speak, but the words couldn't escape from his tightened throat.
"*Grrr you look just like him."
The beast's tongue flicked with distaste at the last part, as it's red eyes narrowed detestfully.
Naruto heard slight whooshing and felt a strong wind pushing him back and peeling the surface of the water.
Looking up he saw multiple tails flicking in the air.
He saw the large ears of the creature bent back in anger.
He recognized it as the form of a massive fox with multiple tails.
"K-Kyuubi.."
Naruto began to feel a cold sweat along his neck and chest as his heart seemed to try to cut it's way out of his chest with repeated sharp beats.
"Step closer, spawn of the Yondaime."
Naruto against himself felt one of his feet take a half step closer, as the fearful part of his brain didn't know whether to obey the beast or keep his distance.
Quick as a whip, the Fox tackled the cage door slamming one of his paws through the cracks.
The claws came within inches of Naruto's face, but with a loud ringing the fox growled in pain and frustration as a trail of blood leaked down it's head.
"Damn this accursed cage!"
It let out a roar as it flicked it's paw wildly trying to catch the boy with its claws.
Naruto fearfully stepped back staring at the massive claw which had nearly impaled him.
"I will rend the flesh from your bones, I will savor your flesh between my teeth, you damn runt *arragggh!"
The fox roared with fury, it's crimson eyes flickering with the mania of rage.
Naruto felt the water around him heat, and his stomach began to spike with pain.
"O-ow!"
Leaning over Naruto saw his buttoned blue pajama shirt burst open, a spiraled mark on his stomach appearing before his eyes.
'T-that's a seal… like the one's Baa-chan makes..'
The skin around the seal turned red and burned, like a severe sunburn, and the mark began to glow whitehot.
"Let me out of here urgh Yondaime you bastard!
Naruto's eyes widened, as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place within his mind.
'T-tousan, sealed the Kyuubi.. Eight years ago… the same year I-'
Naruto stepped back further so that his back was just against the edge of the abyss.
The Kyuubi growled, and slamming it's paw sent a wave of water crashing towards the boy.
"A-aggh!"
Naruto closed his eyes, raising his arms defensively as the water pushed him back first into the abyss.
As he began to fall a sudden rush slammed him, and with a gasp and labored breathing his eyes shot open.
Sunlight met them, and he saw the familiar surroundings of his bedroom.
"W-was it a dream?"
Looking down he instinctively touched his chest, and wincing he felt his fingers burn as they touched the tender skin near his navel.
A black spiral mark appeared and Naruto paled.
Within his mind he could feel the Kyuubi closing one of its eyes as it laid back into the shadows of its cage.
'Just wait runt.. One day you'll feel my claw pierce your heart… I will have my freedom.'
Naruto gulped as he felt the energy of the beast recede into his mindscape.
'I-it's real… The Kyuubi.. He's inside of me.'
Naruto felt a lump form in his throat.
'S-so that's why… some of the villagers… and their children… are afraid of me.'
Looking down Naruto saw faint microscopic bubbles of orange chakra receding into his feet, where his socks had become wet in the vision.
His feet stung and removing the socks he saw them emitting faint steam as the red skin of his feet healed.
He didn't have time to reflect on this as he heard the front door open to the compound, and in the room next to his he heard Kazue stirring from her sleep as she heard it as well.
Running out ignoring the slight pain in his feet, he saw the familiar face of his grandmother stepping in.
Seeing him she smiled through her laugh wrinkled cheeks.
"Baa-chan!"
Naruto gave the red-haired woman a big hug which she accepted ruffing his blonde hair.
It had been almost a month since she had been deployed to the Earth border on a long term mission and the boy had missed her dearly.
The older woman was wearing the standard Konoha infantry flak uniform, with a large red scroll tied to her back.
Her crimson-brown hair was tied up in a librarian's bun behind her head, and her chestnut eyes radiated warmth.
Kazue stepped out half asleep in pink pajamas with chibi pandas, half of her long red hair in a spiky bedhead and she was still wiping sleep from her eyes.
"Kurimi-baa, you're back."
Kazue smiled faintly at the woman.
"Sarutobi-sama said I could have the next few weeks off, I'm sorry I was gone for so long."
The elder woman gestured for Kazue to join the two of them in a group hug.
Kazue happily obliged her, walking over and wrapping her arms around the two.
Kurimi placed a kiss on her granddaughter's head, holding Naruto close to her side.
"How did your first mission go, Kazu-dear?"
Kazue stiffened, as memories of the ordeal flooded in her mind.
"...It went well, we completed the objective."
Kurimi could tell something was wrong but didn't press the girl.
"Come on kids, I'll make breakfast, how do waffles sound, I picked up fresh blueberries from the market this morning."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically with an ear to ear smile.
Kazue couldn't help but smile at the scene, it reminded her of when her parents were still around.
Looking down she noticed her grandmother was nursing her hand, the skin on her knuckles were split, and blood was dried on her hand though she was trying to hide it.
'W-what was her mission?'
Kazue's eyes widened.
Kurimi seemed to notice her gaze, but smiled it off tucking her hand into the pocket of her green flak jacket.
"Just let me wash my hands, Naruto dear, could you set the table."
The blonde boy nodded enthusiastically.
"Right baa-chan!"
Kazue tried to shake this from her thoughts, focusing instead on helping her grandmother with the groceries.
The woman handed her a wicker basket filled with glistening blueberries, and Kazue began washing them off in the sink.
Grabbing a box of pancake batter from the pantry she poured it into a large pastry bowl, and began mixing it with a wooden batter spoon.
When it was mixed with milk, sugar, and butter they spread it out on a pan, dropping a precise number of blueberries in each pancake, then with a waffle iron, they pressed them into shape.
Putting it in the oven, they waited for the sweet smell of fresh cooked waffles to fill the room, pulling them out and setting them on three plates.
Kazue took the plates and set them in place on the tables, taking a seat and waiting for the other to join her.
When they did they all said a quick thank you for the food and began to enjoy the meal.
Kazue couldn't help but smile with each sweet crispy bite.
Looking at her grandmother she saw the woman was smiling as well, and it gave her a feeling of relief.
'Maybe, maybe she's ready… for the way things were…'
Kurimi seemingly knowing where Kazue's thoughts were gave her a comforting smile.
"It's alright Kazue, I'm okay.. I won't leave you or Naruto-kun, I'll be here for you, for as long as you need me."
Kazue nodded, biting her lower lip and tearing up slightly, though she tried to hide it with a dramatized bite of her waffle.
"I-I know.. Baa-chan.. I love you."
The woman gave her a smile which reminded her of the one her mother used to give her.
"I love you too mago, Kazu-chan."
The three ate their breakfast in relative silence, the occasional small talk was the only break, but the aura was of warmth and tranquility.
Kazue ran to the hospital, having dropped Naruto off at the academy, and fetched some supplies for her grandmother from the shinobi supply market.
It had been two weeks now since Tanjiro had awoken from his coma, and she had visited him every day.
He was supposed to be released today, and she wanted to be the one to help him out for his first couple weeks learning to move around with a wheelchair.
When Team 2 had been discussing how best to assist him, Akira had taken dibs on helping with his physical therapy;
and Aoba-sensei was helping Tanjiro keep up with his mental studies and Ninjutsu training.
That left Kazue with helping him day-to-day, a task which she was more than happy to take as it gave her the chance to hang out with her best friend.
They were all moving forward with the assumption, that somehow, no matter what, he would get better… he had to.
As she saw the hospital building approach she saw, Tanjiro waiting for her smiling, he gave her a wave.
"Hey Zee-chan, there you are!"
Running up to him she smiled.
"Sorry Tanji-kun, I had to make a last minute delivery, oh- who's this?"
Kazue looked up and saw a beautiful woman with curly brown hair smiling down at her, Kazue blushed as she noticed the woman's well endowed figure testing the limits of her grey sweater.
"This is my Kaa-san, she wanted to see me leave the hospital, since tou-san was busy today."
The woman gave Kazue a smirk.
"Oh-ho, so you are Tanji-kun's friend, he didn't mention you were a girl, especially such a pretty one."
Kazue blushed bright red.
"Me - p-pretty?"
Tanjiro rolled his eyes.
"Kaa-san don't embarrass my friends please."
Chuckling she looked down at the boy adjusting his wheelchair over a bump so that he could sit comfortably in the road.
"Right, though, are you saying you don't agree?"
Tanjiro blushed.
"W-well.. I mean yeah, Zee-chan is pretty, beautiful even."
Tanjiro looked down clearly embarrassed by the situation.
Kazue hearing the compliment turned red, lifting her green scarf to hide her blushing face.
'T-tanji..'
The only one not flushed by the moment was Tanjiro's mother who smirked internally at the chaos she'd sewn.
"Oh my- does my little Tanji-kun have a crush?"
Tanjiro seemed mortified by the scenario, clearly regretting the fact that he didn't have working legs to run away.
"I-I"
Giggling to herself the woman ruffled his curly hair.
"I'm just playing sweetie, come on Kazue-chan let's take Tanjiro home, I'm sure he'd be more comfortable in his room."
Kazue nodded in agreement.
"R-right."
Kazue politely asked to take the handlebars of Tanji's wheelchair, helping him maneuver over obstacles until he had a better grasp of it.
After a short trip through the upper district of Konoha, the trio arrived at the small clustered section of houses near the river.
Just west of the market district, and north across the bridge near the Konoha entrance gate.
It was a cozy little district, where many of the less wealthy civilian families, and shinobi not belonging to a clan resided, children of the village would flock to the nearby park to play.
Tanjiro's house was closest to the river, near the maze of clotheslines and drying sheets, in the distance, the fence which blocked off the shinobi training grounds was visible.
The Kitamura residence was a stark white Edo-period style home, with a beautiful closed garden in the front yard, and festival lanterns sitting on the front porch.
Miss Kitamura ran ahead to unlock the gate, while Kazue wheeled Tanjiro over the step.
Tanjiro looked back at Kazue and smiled slightly.
"Well, you finally get to see my home, I'll admit I've been looking forward to it."
Kazue nodded admiring the beautiful garden which was split into flowers, herbs, and spices.
"It seems nice."
Tanji nodded with a bit of pride.
"My mother is a botanist, she helps cultivate rare flowers for the shops around town."
Miss Kitamura smiled and stepped over.
"Kazue-chan I'll get Tanji-kun the rest of the way, please go on in."
Nodding, Kazue bowed to the woman and stepped onto the porch, removing her sandals she stepped inside.
Immediately she was taken with how nice it was, the entire place was decorated with wall scrolls, colorful and exotic flowers sat in window sills, and beautiful tatami mats sat on the floor.
The kitchen was filled with top of the line utilities, and the counter was cut red marble.
The Namikaze compound was a wonderful home, as it had once been the Hokage estate, but the Kitamura residence despite it's humble facade, put even it to shame.
'I didn't realize Tanji's family was well off like this.'
Kazue blushed suddenly, second guessing whether she should have dressed up for the occasion.
In the presence of the lavish decorating she felt almost raggedy in her brown denim shorts and green sleeveless shirt.
She was snapped from her thoughts by the sound of the wheelchair being set down on the floor, Tanji dropped his sandals from his hands, setting them on the floor.
He eyed his legs with frustration as if willing them to life.
"Tanji-kun, welcome home, I'll tell your father, Kazue dear, please take a seat anywhere."
The woman smiled and bowed to the girl excusing herself she disappeared into one of the hallways of the home.
When she disappeared Tanjiro let out a sigh.
"I love Kaa-san, but she babies me too much."
Kazue chuckled.
"I think it's cute."
Tanji's eye twitched slightly but he shook it off with a grimace.
"Yeah well, with my injury I feel like she's going to be coddling me even more for awhile *sigh* I just want to get back to training."
Kazue ruffled his hair smirking down at him and he tried to look annoyed but blushed up at her.
"Uh, Zee can you help me… over there."
He pointed to one of the Tatami mats near the window.
Kazue nodded.
"Yeah Tanji-kun."
Reaching under his arm she let him wrap his arm over her shoulder and lifted him out of the wheelchair.
Walking with him over to the living room, she helped him down where he adjusted his legs manually with his arms, and took a seated position on the mat.
"Thanks Zee.."
It was clear he was still embarrassed at his situation, but trying to be positive about it.
Kazue folded the wheelchair, carefully setting it next to the coat rack.
She took a seat folding her knees underneath her and sitting in a traditional way.
A few moments later Miss Kitamura returned with a man Kazue had never seen before.
He looked like an Older Tanjiro with long straight black hair, a pointed goatee, and silverish-blue eyes.
He was tall and Muscularly built, he wore an onyx kimono with a sword tied at his side.
'T-that's Tenji-san?!'
Kazue remembered reading her mother's diary, where she discussed her teammates; she'd always said Tenji was a scrawny sensitive boy, who would sooner run than lift a blade.
But this man, he had an aura of regal authority, nothing like the boy she had described.
"Ah, Kazue-san, you look just like her…"
The man's eyes rippled with some unknown emotion, then he bowed stiffly.
"I've longed to meet you, your mother was like a sister to me, and your father was a good friend."
He cracked a slight smile, and she saw the resemblance even more, Tanjiro had his father's smile whenever he would get prideful or excited about something.
"Megi dear, please fix us some tea."
Tanjiro's mother nodded and left for the kitchen to prepare a pot of tea.
Tenji took a seat across from his son and gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement.
Tanjiro stiffened in his presence and it was clear the two had a very specific relationship.
"I hope my boy hasn't been too much of a pain, I tried to instill some discipline in him but he has too much of his mother in him, always a brat."
Though he said it with a cold tone, it was clear in the man's eyes that he said it endearingly.
The Kitamura patriarch lifted one of his arms from the inside of his kimono and untied it, folding it down around his waist, underneath he was wearing a grey sleeveless shirt.
Kazue noticed a red mark tattooed on his shoulder, one she recognized from her mother's arm when she was small.
'ANBU black ops, that's why..'
She realized the reason the family was so well off was likely due to S Rank mission payments, though an ANBU operative was in constant deployment;
They were paid well above standard infantry rates and specialized in high value assassinations.
Megi, Tanjiro's mother returned and handed each of them a saucer of rose colored tea, taking a seat next to her husband, she smiled at the girl.
"I heard from Tanjiro-kun that you like Sakura tea, I tried to grab some fresh petals, but there weren't many due to it being fall."
Kazue blushed realizing Tanjiro and his family had likely planned in advance to greet her.
Looking over at him, he adjusted his collar with a slight nervous smile.
He gave her a look which said 'Sorry, my parents are old fashioned like that.'
Kazue bowed, thanking the woman for her hospitality and took a sip of the tea.
It was sweet with a pleasant floral scent and went down smoothly soothing her throat.
"So, Tanjiro speaks of you often, it seems.. You made quite an impression on him, his grades improved drastically after meeting you."
Tanjiro blushed hiding his face in his tea cup.
Kazue looked up surprised.
"R-really, I hadn't realized, I know Tanji-kun improved a lot in our time at the academy, but I didn't think it was on account of me."
Taking a sip of her tea she looked at her curly-haired teammate who was flushed red.
"Y-yeah well, I just didn't want to be deadlast is all…"
He looked away still blushing aware of how obvious the lie was.
His parents both smirked subtly at the young teens, sharing a knowing look.
Kazue sipped more of the warm sweet cherry beverage, gratefully setting her empty cup on the handkerchief in front of her.
"The tea was wonderful, thank you Miss Kitamura."
She half bowed from her seated position.
The pretty older woman smiled.
"Thank you dear, I'd be honored if you wish to come over for tea again."
Kazue nodded politely unconsciously glancing at Tanji for a split second.
"I would like that very much."
Tenji stroked his beard with a subtle smile on his face.
"Kazue I have something for you, it belonged to your mother, but she entrusted it to me many years ago."
Reaching between his black kimono and his blue robe he pulled a teakwood scroll from between the two fabrics.
Setting it down on the floor, he unrolled it with a satisfying clack of wood.
On the aged parchment was a kanji for 'store'
Forming a one handed seal he pointed his two front facing fingers at the scroll and it popped with a small cloud of smoke.
A large red and gold trimmed scroll was inside, it was almost as tall as Kazue and could fit between her outstretched arms.
Attached to it was a brown leather strap to carry it on someone's back.
Kazue's eyes widened.
"Is that?"
Tenji nodded.
"It's a summoning scroll, Kushina-chan asked me to protect it until you came of age, please take it."
Kazue looked at the scroll with wonderment, grabbing it carefully and setting it at her side.
'A memento… from Kaa-san..'
As she softly felt the leather binding of the scroll's outer layer, Tanjiro's parents stood up and bowed to the girl.
Tenji began to tear up slightly, his cool facade replaced with a melancholic smile.
"Forgive me Kazue, but I want to thank you in your parent's place, Minato-kun… and Kushina-chan, they sacrificed themselves for all of us,"
The man placed a hand on her shoulder bowing to the girl.
"It's a burden too heavy to bear, and your family deserved better, but… they saved us, all of us, that is what makes them heroes."
Kazue felt herself stiffen, as she stood suddenly, grabbing the scroll and tossing it over her shoulder.
"I.. I have to go!"
Tanjiro reached out with his hand attempting to stop her.
"Zee- wait!"
But he fell forward unable to move after her as she ran outside.
Kazue could feel a million emotions like a crashing coast inside of her.
Tears began to well up in her eyes, as she ran barely throwing on her sandals as she ran in no particular direction.
'D-damn it… heroes,'
Running her hand over the side of her face, she felt the warm liquid trail her skin.
Looking up through blurry vision she stared at the stone face of her father over the village.
"I never wanted you to be heroes, I just want you to come home!"
Crying out, she felt her throat tighten from the scream.
Closing her eyes with tears running down her face, she began to run again, but crashed head first into a figure.
Sending both of them crashing into the ground.
"W-what the-"
Looking up mortified she saw an older man with spiky white hair and red face markings.
"Don't you know how to watch where you're- … Kushina-san?"
The man's eyes widened in surprise for a moment.
Kazue gritted her teeth standing up and dusting herself off.
Giving a brisk apology she went to run again.
"Kazue wait!"
Turning back in surprise she stared at the older man.
"Y-you know who I am?"
The man sighed stretching to pop his back as he stood up and dusted himself off.
"I should hope so…"
The man sighed looking at her with his world-weary gaze.
"After all, your father was my cherished pupil."
Kazue's eyes widened.
"You-you're Jiraiya-sama…"
The man nodded.
"Looks like a conversation is in order, come on, let me treat you."
Raising his thumb over his shoulder, he pointed to a tea shop behind them.
"R-right."
Kazue nodded absently and followed the sagely man, through the red cloth entrance into the building.
X END X