"So he's clearly in the wrong, right?" I sighed, planting my elbow on my knee and leaning on it. "I just can't believe it. I guess I just expected better from him."
The towering god gave me the most unimpressed look he'd ever given me, and that was saying something. Human, I am not a plank of wood for you to vent your petty little friendship troubles.
I pouted at Enma, who wasn't really being an ideal member of the audience. "Yeah, but you're the only one I can vent to these days. Imiki-nee is barely around, and neither is Kouko, and...I don't really have any other friends. I'm just...worried about Shuu. I don't want him going down the wrong path."
Enma gave me a critical eye, his intense and intimidating features a sight I was more than used to at this point in my life. Why do you mind this boy's personal issues so much? What could possibly be so redeeming about his existence that you waste your own caring about him, sometimes more than yourself?
I blinked at the darkness at my feet. Enma almost sounded genuinely...curious? At least he was giving me an answer, rather than the annoyed grunts and/or silence I had expected from him. "Because he's my friend. My...best friend." It felt like being stung to make such an admission, especially when Shuu and I weren't really on good terms at the moment.
Friendship. Such a mortal concept. Enma scoffed, sitting up straighter and adjusting his grip on the creaky wooden wheel.
"Haven't you had souls coming in to be reincarnated after sacrificing themselves for someone else? Someone they loved?" I mused.
Why mortals choose to end their existences in one world are never my concern, Enma's voice rumbled. Whether or not they choose to end themselves over something as trivial as friendship or love is of little consequence in the end.
"Well...I don't think friendship and love are trivial," I mumbled. "I think...I'd do a lot for Shuu, too. I'd get hurt if it meant the people I loved didn't have to. Even if I died for them, I think I'd move on in peace." This venting session had unexpectedly become a time of self-reflection for me, and I finally came to my conclusion. "Okay. I think I'm ready to make up with Shuu, Enma-ō. Thanks for hearing me out."
Enma did nothing more than grumble disgruntledly before dismissing me with a wave of his massive hand.
That morning at breakfast, I picked at my food thoughtfully. It was one of those rare mornings that Imiki was home, and she'd even prepared me breakfast this particular day—something I definitely wasn't expecting after I'd failed to secure the desired explosive tag paper for her, but then, Imiki had been all sorts of unexpected lately. For one, she didn't even lecture me for not getting the paper! Now, I wake up to breakfast? Couldn't get much better than that. It wasn't much, not compared to what she used to cook for me, but I'd need every bit of strength I could get in order to face my first biggest obstacle: finding and making up with Shuu.
"Hey, Imiki-nee," I mused, something from yesterday still on my mind. "What do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?"
Imiki, standing by the kitchen counter, dropped her chopsticks, the unfortunate utensils tumbling into the sink. "Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Yeah." I nodded, not having the courage to meet her eyes right now. I'd told Naruto he didn't have to be afraid of my aunt and I, and while I'd really like for this to be true, I still didn't know Imiki's actual thoughts on the Nine-Tails attack. Maybe she would be like everyone else and see it as a horrendous attack on her beloved village and demonize a poor boy for it—but I really hoped this would not be the case.
Shuu had the benefit of being a child with no knowledge of the actual reasons the adults of Konoha hated Naruto, and merely reflected the surface of his relatives' beliefs. But if Imiki despised Naruto, there was little I could do. She was a grown adult with fully formulated opinions.
"Why do you ask so suddenly, Futaba-chan?" Imiki replied, regaining her composure and picking up her chopsticks from the sink.
"Well, I met him the other day and the whooole village calls him names like monster." Pausing, I jabbed a chopstick into my rice. "But I don't think he's a bad person. He's just a kid, like me."
Imiki stood there silently for a moment, then wandered over to the table to set her bowl down across from me. She gave me a smile. "Futaba-chan, I'd trust what you have to say over what the village thinks any day. If you and Uzumaki Naruto are friends, then you're free to bring Naruto-kun over anytime."
Relief bloomed in my chest, nice and warm, and I smiled back at my aunt. "T—thanks, Imiki-nee." I caught a glimpse of the clock and sprang up from my seat. "Ah, I gotta go now, Imiki-nee. See you later!"
I then embarked on my quest to find Shuu.
I searched all of his usual weekend haunts, like the training fields near the academy and the playground we clashed at for the first time, but they were all empty. Gritting my teeth in resolve, I took off towards the Uchiha compound, ignoring the confused stares I received from the Uchiha clan members around me.
With as much bravery as I could muster, I stormed down the path to Shuu's house...before I realized I didn't know the way back at all. Before, I'd always had someone to guide me there, but I had a shit directional sense and it didn't help that everywhere in this place looked the same.
"What are you doing here?"
I let out a very un-brave eep and whirled on my heel, eyes landing on Sasuke, who casually nibbled at some snacks with his legs hanging off the edge of the engawa that wrapped around a particularly large house—the house of the clan head, I remembered.
"I—is Shuu around?" I forced out, getting right to the point.
"Nope," Sasuke replied point-blank. "He went out today."
"Oh." Fantastic. More Konoha remained for me to search, so I hastily turned towards the exit. "Thanks."
I tried to suppress the way my face heated up in embarrassment as I stormed right back out of the compound the same way I'd stormed in.
Searching high and low for any signs of that black-haired brat had made me crabby and hungry fast, the breakfast I hadn't even finished this morning barely keeping me going. I felt my eyes droop shut in exhaustion, my stomach emitting a pitiful growl. "There, there," I muttered, patting my stomach feebly. I tried to divert my focus away from my aching stomach and onto the trees towering above me, leaves already shimmering with yellows and reds.
To tell the truth, autumn and winter were my favourite seasons of the year. Though I was born in spring in both lives, I'd always found spring to be too cold and too wet to be pleasant. Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to feel the same about the equally cold and wet autumn and the bone-chillingly cold winter. Autumn was particularly beautiful in Konoha, with all the leaves on the great trees turning orange and vivid red before falling to the ground. I took a deep breath of the autumn air, collecting myself again.
"Alright, let's go," I encouraged myself. Gonna go find Shuu. And then apologize to Shuu.
As soon as I rounded the corner, though, I smacked into someone, knocking an oof out of both of us. I opened my eyes and my mouth to apologize to who I had just bumped into when I stopped abruptly.
Speak—no, think of the devil, eh?
"Shuu!?" I exclaimed in surprise. Shuu looked equally surprised to see me, but it quickly faded into an expression I could only label as discomfort. I started to speak again when something came over me and froze me in place.
It was doubt. What if Shuu didn't accept my apology? What if Shuu wasn't interested on remaining friends with me after I blatantly insulted his respected uncle in death? My doubtful voice was sure making a good case for itself right now.
I shook my head of these thoughts—I couldn't sit by and not do anything anymore. I missed Shuu and even if he was still mad at me, I still wanted to be his friend. "Shuu, let's get food."
He blinked at me, the discomfort replaced once more by immense confusion. "Huh?"
Leaving no time for him to refuse or for me to reconsider—where were we even going!?—I grabbed him by the Uchiha-crested tunic and dragged him along behind me.
"H—hold on, Futaba," he had just managed to choke out when I rounded a corner and collided with yet another unfortunate person as I did so.
I groaned, catching my breath—this seemed to happen to me awfully often—and looked at the poor soul I'd knocked into this time. The bright sunflower yellow hair was immediately identifiable, and his bright blue eyes were an even more distinct indicator. "Ah, Naruto, right?"
Naruto blinked, rubbing his face in pain. Then, his face lit up in recognition. "Eh, Futaba-chan! And..." His face fell when he saw Shuu next to me, tunic still caught in my vice grip.
Not bothering to explain the situation, something occurred to me. A brilliant change in plans. "Naruto, come eat lunch with us!"
Both Shuu and Naruto's eyes widened and they gave me looks of shock of equal magnitude. "Eh!?"
"Shuu and I here," I let go of Shuu's tunic to elbow him in the side, "are going to eat food. And you should totally come. I'll even pay. My aunt just gave me my allowance."
Naruto looked from me to Shuu, eyeing the latter with a touch of wary suspicion. He seemed extremely confused at this point. After a moment of thought, a grin split across his face. "Really?" His speech was still slurred and clumsy, even compared to Shuu or me. Having no one to raise you had disadvantages, such as learning curves. Most kids had their parents' speech to copy. Naruto didn't even have that.
I gave Shuu a meaningful look as I spoke, "Yeah, of course! Right, Shuu?"
Shuu maintained a look of utter bewilderment, caught between looking taken aback and looking strangely...flustered? Eventually, he settled for a begrudging acceptance, and grumbled, "I guess."
Naruto finally allowed himself to look happy. He stood up, patting himself off. He avoided looking at Shuu as he let out a cheerful, "Sure!"
I smiled at this, pleased with how things were going, and linked arms with Shuu so that he moodily trotted at my left side while Naruto strolled next to me with his hands behind his head at my right. "Hey, Naruto, you have any outstanding recommendations? I feel like trying something new today."
Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Actually…"
Ichiraku's was pretty damn good. No zoni, but their ramen was pretty impressive.
I sat between Shuu and Naruto. Naruto still seemed scared of Shuu—for good reason—but seemed pretty eager to talk to me. I was able to respond in kind, his five-year-old charm overwhelming.
"You know, you kinda talk funny," Naruto said at one point, referring to my stubborn slight accent. I could tell it was fading with time, Japanese coming to me quite naturally now, but I couldn't help muttering to myself in English from time to time, and my thoughts were still very English.
"I get that a lot," I sighed, making a conscious effort to speak more clearly. "Hey, come to think of it, are you using those bandages I gave you? Those weren't cheap, you know." I lifted Naruto's arm up to inspect the bruise that had been there yesterday, only to be met with clear, undamaged skin.
"I'm fine now, see?" Naruto flexed the fingers in his hand, showing off how quickly his body had recovered from all the minor injuries of the incident. I could feel Shuu's curiosity; it was almost tangible, but the boy next to me stubbornly stayed silent.
Yes, Naruto sure seemed eager to talk, and talk he did. He talked about everything from his plants, his apartment, the Hokage, to how people treated him—he was so open with everything. I think he was just eager to talk to someone. He even started sparing Shuu glances from time to time.
At one point, I finally learned the reason Naruto hung around the academy so much. He had enrolled early, overzealous to become the best ninja of the village, eager to start his journey to becoming Hokage. I myself was going to be enrolling in the spring session of the following year, right before my sixth birthday, which was just a few months away. I wondered if I'd end up with anybody I knew in my class.
"So you want to be the Hokage?" I asked Naruto, eyebrows raising in interest. Of course, I'd already known this beforehand, but Naruto's bold declaration jogged my memory of something else. "What a coincidence. Seems you have competition, Shuu!" I gave Shuu a heavy pat on the back to bring him to attention, though he'd been sulking and listening in the whole time.
Shuu jolted, shooting me a dirty look. He chose not to comment on this, slurping his ramen noisily.
"Huh? That guy wants to be Hokage too?" Naruto leaned around me to peer at Shuu dead-on for the first time all afternoon. I thought I saw something close to interest spark in his eyes as he did so.
I couldn't help but feel pleased at the spectacle, and I gave Shuu a look conveying my satisfaction. See, Shuu? You two have something in common. He merely kept eating.
The whole thing was a little heartwarming, really, until I almost emptied my entire change purse to pay for the meals. Well, Imiki wouldn't be happy. She'd just started to trust a five-year-old with an allowance, too. I winced.
When we finished the meal and stood to say our goodbyes. Naruto left, dashing off in the direction of the Hokage's office. Though he hadn't told us about his relationship with Sarutobi, the way he spoke about the man made it apparent he held a great deal of fondness for him, even at five years old.
Naruto had an infectious smile, evidenced by the fact I was still smiling faintly after he left. Then I turned to Shuu.
"Shuu, I…"
"I'm sorry, Futaba." Shuu bowed his head to me, cutting me off. "I messed up really bad the other day, and…" Unable to finish his sentence, he looked down at the ground glumly. He looked so prepared for me to lash out or put him down.
I laughed—a silent one, but still a twitch of the shoulders. I opened my arms outward, beaming. "Ah, come here, you idiot."
Shuu sputtered for a moment, finally meeting my eyes, before settling and wrapping his arms around me.
I patted his back as I said, "Thanks for giving Naruto a chance, Shuu."
Shuu's voice from behind my head said, "Yeah, well...I still think he's kind of annoying, okay?"
I pulled away, fixing him with a stern look. "But not evil."
Bashfully, my friend struggled for a few seconds then met my firm look. "Yeah, yeah."
I couldn't help the grin that sprung to my face, just an instinctual upward tug of my lips. "Let's not fight again, okay?"
Shuu nodded his agreement, suddenly looking away from me again. If I looked closely enough, it almost seemed like his cheeks were slightly flushed.
"Hello, Futaba-chan," a familiar voice chirped from my side. "It appears you've made up with Shuu."
I turned my head. "Kouko-chan! What are you doing here?"
She smiled. "I'm here to pick up Shuu. He kind of disappeared from the compound without letting anyone know." She gave my and Shuu's position a once-over, then bent over so she could talk into my ear. "You know, Shuu stopped being mad at you the next morning. He was mopey all day. I bet he was worried you were mad at him."
Shuu immediately turned beet-red. "Shut up, onee-san!"
I laughed loudly, at Shuu's face and the situation entirely, before wishing them both goodbye and heading on my merry way home.
As I contemplated breaking out into spontaneous skipping, which I ultimately decided against in an act of restraint, I hummed to myself cheerfully.
It went well today after all, Enma.
shuu is trying :')
tbh i feel like if you meet someone when they have an accent in a language, it's hard to tell when the accent starts to fade away...i experience this with some of my older friends who sound pretty much fluent now but to me they still sound the same as they always did
anyways, starting from here on, i'll be updating weekly! ideally, i'll have the chapter up every sunday unless uni gets too busy or other life matters interfere! thanks for tuning in :)
