"And they should continue to accept it that way," I said tonelessly. Conflicting emotions showed on Naruto's face. He didn't seem sure how to handle the situation. And to be honest, neither was I.
"Haven't you been back to the village since then? I mean, you don't just live here in the forest, do you?" I bit my lip. Truth or lie? Which would I choose? I decided on the half-truth. The blond would never know about my activity as a thief. Besides, I still didn't know if I could really trust him.
"You're right. Every now and then I actually come to the village." "And no one has seen you?" Naruto seemed unable to believe it at all.
"No. I'm small, you know. I don't stand out. Besides, to people's eyes, I'm just a streetwalker. Who looks at someone like that more closely?" My counterpart nodded slowly.
"Yes, that sounds logical. But wouldn't you just like to be back in the village for real instead of roaming the alleys?"
I nodded slightly. "Of course. But what choice do I have? I'd be recognized immediately." Naruto furrowed his brow. "I'll think of something." His stomach grumbled, reminding me of the reason I had actually set out. I reached into my fanny pack and fished out one of the two apples.
When Naruto saw the red fruit, his eyes began to gleam, but then his pair of blue eyes darted in my direction. "And you?" I smiled. How sweet of him to think of me, too. But I shook my head. "I have another one of my own." A relieved sigh followed and Naruto bit heartily into the apple. Fortunately for me, he didn't ask where I got it. As he sat there in front of me, looking over at me with shining eyes, a feeling came over me that I hadn't had in a long time. I felt comfortable and strangely safe.
Not far from us in a dark room, a man sat in front of a large glass sphere. It showed the image of two children happily sharing some apples. His eyes began to narrow slightly as he continued to look at the girl. Somehow the young thing looked familiar to him. Furrowing his brow, he watched her for a while longer before finally leaning back and running his right hand over his face. "Can't I trust my own eyes anymore?" He shook his head. "I have to find out if it's true." Then the man turned his head toward the window. A tall figure stood there. It was a tall, slender man in raven-black clothes. But more than that, was not visible in the darkness. "Do me a favour and keep an eye on them." A slight rustle sounded as the man moved. "Are you sure you want me to guard a child?" A smile slid across the other's lips. "I suspect she's more than that. I have a feeling."
We had sat there talking like that for quite a while. I had learned a few things through Naruto. At school, just like two years ago, his strongest opponent was Sasuke Uchiha. Although I had tried to dissuade him from this competition, he had vehemently resisted. He would not let Sasuke win and that he could then show everyone that he was worthy of becoming Hokage. Finally, I had given up with that. Once he had set his mind on something, it was difficult to get the blond slob to stop. So basically, he listened to no one, except himself. A characteristic that he would hopefully eventually lose by time or someone in his life appeared, which he would really respect.
When the first crickets began to chirp, I suddenly realized how late it had become and how long I had been sitting there with Naruto. Certainly, three hours. How time passed when you were having fun with someone. Fun... I smiled sadly. Yes, it had been really good to be able to talk to a person again. "You know Tora ... that was really fun. It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to someone so nicely."
I nodded. "I feel the same way. For me, it's been two years since I've even really had a conversation with a person. And this today ... I really enjoyed it. Thank you for that." Smiling, I looked at him. "This wasn't supposed to be a goodbye, though." "How?", confused, I looked at him. A little embarrassed, he scratched his head.
"Well, ... I mean, we could meet here more often, or even go to the village together, like I said earlier." When I opened my mouth to protest, cuz someone in the village might recognize me, he waved it off. "I've already thought of something. It's simple, we'll make your hair shorter, so you look like a boy. You're already wearing the clothes to go with it."
Naruto was right. My clothes really didn't look like a girl's. All I had on were dark brown three-quarter pants, a long-sleeved green shirt, and black sandals. Even more, I had no real feminine curves. Those probably would come in the next few years. Another advantage I could use. I almost always had my hair braided into a pigtail so it wouldn't get in the way when I ran. In fact, I had considered cutting them off at one point, as they were quite a hindrance at times.
"Well, we don't have to cut them off completely," Naruto broke through my thoughts. "I just mean so that people just don't recognize you as a girl anymore." But I shook my head. "If we're going to do this, let's do it right." Naruto's eyes began to gleam with anticipation. "And I'm going to do it, not you," I said firmly. The blond pulled a face. "Don't even think about it, my friend. Who knows what kind of pattern you'll snip into my head." He began to grin at the last sentence. "Now that you've given me the idea."
"Oh no, definitely not." I laughed. "Otherwise, you'll be rid of me faster than you can say Hokage." Apparently, it had done some good. Naruto seemed to be getting off the idea of carving a piece of art into my hair. Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, now I have to go, it's getting pretty late." Faster than I could look, he had gotten up and stretched. I nodded. He was right. I had to get back to my cave, too. Raising his hand, the blond turned and walked away. But halfway there, he turned around again and looked at me. "You know Tora, it would be nice to have you as a friend. You're such a nice and open person." Those words caused a small twinge in my heart. I hadn't told him the whole truth after all. But I had to be careful. I hadn't known him long enough to trust him completely. So I just nodded, "That would be nice Naruto."