[[Ya'll are far too kind to me. I'ma cry. I hope you enjoy this quick update. For those who've read the old version will notice the major differences in the old versus the new. Which I hope is a good thing. Remember your Reviews fuel me to update more often. So tell me what you think! ~ Ginzan]]
"Everything was perfectly healthy and normal here in Denial Land."
-Jim Butcher, Cold Days
Waking up the next morning, was almost calming. Opening my eyes everything was quiet but bright enough to invite anyone to wake up and join the world. For the briefest of moments, I had forgotten the horrible night before. I stretched my arms above my head as I sat up. The sun rays came through the window in tiny rays and shown around my room. Rubbing my eyes, I slid out from under my warm covers and walked to my mirror and took my brush and started to absentmindedly deal with the mess I knew would be waiting for me.
With each pull, the memories of last night flooded back into my mind. My enthusiasm faded with each thought as it passed through my mind. Using my Kekkei Genkai was the low of the terrible night, and then there was the man who had caught me at my lowest. What was his name again? Something wit think. I paused what I was doing to try and recall it. I had only looked at it for the briefest moments. Shaking my head, I knew it was pointless. Asking a nurse to remember a patient that she only took care of for a few minutes was impossible. I couldn't remember any of the names of the people that I took care of, and if I was going to remember one, his would have been it.
With a sigh, I turned my attention to the task at hand. I had managed to get the left side free of knots and now I had to get through the right side. As I worked through the pain my door creaked open and a small brown puppy came bumbling in like a drunk old man. I smiled in the mirror as I watched it do its best to navigate my room and find its way to my feet. Having finished with my hair I bent down and picked up the small animal.
My parents had gotten me this little guy as a present when I finished the last of my class. Mother told me that they had been looking for the perfect present when they happened upon a box with a few puppies in one of the shops, and when she saw this little guy she knew he was perfect for me. I'm not sure what gave her this idea but I was grateful. He was a bright spot in my life. One that would never dim and would always be there for me. He would never be a ninken but he would always be there when I got home. I smiled at the thought and loved on the pup. I was rewarded with tiny puppy kisses.
Setting him down on my bed, I changed out of my sleeping kimono to a calming green one with a yellow sash. By the time I was ready to head down for breakfast Haku had managed to find a loose thread on my covers and was in the process of pulling it out. "Hey!" I raised my voice enough to spook the pup and catch his attention. "Stop it!" I laughed and picked him and loved on him some more. Another barrage of kisses.
Heading down the stairs I set the pup down and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. My room was located in the back of our small family compound. It took a few minutes for me to leave the house or even reach the main parts of it. Though I didn't mind, I enjoyed being more secluded then my brothers. It was the spaced I craved. The hallway was on the far side and was an open-air hallway that opened up to our backyard. A few steps led you down into the yard from the hall. I had just passed them when Haku had bounded onto them and into the grass. I stopped and sat on the edge of the floor and waited for him. He jumped around and chased a butterfly before deciding his need to pee was more important and quickly found a spot that suited his fancy. I laughed at the small creature. He was a good distraction.
"You not coming to breakfast? Too good for us now?" I looked up to find my middle brother walking toward me. He was already dressed in his Chunin attire, ready to head to work after he ate. He sat down next to me and watched Haku with me as the pup found the pond and was testing the rocks to see if he could walk on them without falling in.
"Pff too good my butt. We both know Ikari is the pride and joy of this family, and you're not far from him Kariko," I pushed him softly with my shoulder as our eyes were on Haku who almost fell in the water. I wondered what the koi thought of this invader.
Kariko was no less strong than our older brother Ikari. Though with him being the oldest, he's had the most time to accomplish his goals and he wasn't slowing down. He was in the ANBU Black Ops and he grew stronger every day.
We all garnered some sort of shade of red for our hair from our mother who had dark red hair. Mine matching the closest to hers. However both my brothers had gotten dark emerald eyes from our father while mine was a much paler green. We were a misfit family but I couldn't ask for a more perfect one. I loved them all from the bottom of my heart. I only wished I was as strong as them. To be able to protect others not be the one protected. I shook those thoughts out of my head for the moment.
"Damn straight. Watch it, one day I'll be Hokage and I'll be ordering him around and he'll have to listen to me," He laughed an evil laugh, loud enough to spook Haku who promptly fell into the pond scattering the koi. We both stopped, then burst out laughing as the pup jump out and started to softly growl at the scary koi that must have booped him while he was in the water. We both laughed hard as we did our best not to cry. I wasn't sure why this was so hilarious but it was a good feeling to laugh like this.
"Can you both not? Some people like to have a quiet peaceful morning," An annoyed Ikari appeared in the doorway of the hall closest to the main buildings. He also was already dressed for work but left his mask off. He had his hair pulled into a ponytail and he just glared at the both of us. He was definitely the most obedient and normal of us but the most boring as well. I scratched the back of my head and just smiled at him while Kariko stuck his tongue out at which only annoyed our brother more.
Before either of us could react, he threw a medical pack at Kariko and it landed perfectly in the middle of his forehead. He didn't wear his headband on his head so he took the hit, head on. Leaving a red mark where it had landed.
"OUCH," Kariko held his head and I just laughed at him. As long as he was the one Ikari threw things at and not me, I wasn't going to complain. Kariko picked up the pack and threw it back at him, hoping it would do some damage but it was in vain. Our elder brother only caught it and put it back in its place in one of his many pockets.
"Stop playing around and let's get something to eat," Ikari softened his tone and smiled at us both as Haku came bounding up the short stairs with some difficulty. I rubbed his head and nodded as I got up. Kariko followed fashion as the three of us made our way to the kitchen.
The kitchen was located in the main building just off the entrance. Perfect for grabbing something when in a rush. As we walk through the doorway, Ikari pushed the curtain out of the way. Father was already at the head of our table reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. He was quite a large man standing above the 6-foot mark. He might look scary to someone who had just seen him but if you ever talked to him, he was a giant teddy bear. He sported short choppy black hair and a large scar across his face. It started from left temple and ended on the right side of his chin. Though my mother didn't seem to mind it.
Mother was humming as she fluttered around the table and kitchen setting everything up for us. She stood closer to the 5-foot mark, same as me but I was a little taller but not by much. She smiled at us all as we came in, "Good morning everyone." we all greeted her with great respect along with our father.
I had only sat down next to Kariko when my father locked his eyes on me with a huge grin, "So how was your first night? Have to better than when Kariko started. If I recall he bumped into a cart of meds and knocked it over spilling pills everywhere," the bombing laugh from my father was one of the best qualities he had. He was such a genuine person, that I refused to believe anyone could hate the man. Kariko pouted from being reminded of his first night. I giggled at him and thought about my night.
"I wore blue scrubs instead of pink and the head nurse Nala got mad at me. I'm pretty sure she hates me," This only caused my father to laugh again and slap the table a few times.
"Nala is still alive? She must be really getting up in age. Also, don't worry, she is always like that. Even when she was your mother's sensei, the scariest woman I have ever met, but she is very protective of her people. I remember when I first started to court your mother, she would throw me out for sneaking in to see her. Then one time when I pretended to be hurt so that your mother could take care of me, Nala took care of me instead and put me through hell. She fed me this nasty medication that made me want to puke my guts out," Father made a face like he might throw up from the thought and we all burst into laughter. Ikari only smiled but you could tell he enjoyed the story as much as the rest of us.
"To be fair back in the day your Father didn't give good first impressions. When he first met Nala he called her granny and I'm pretty sure that is why she hates you. You always reminded her that she was old," Mother teased him even more as she placed a bowl of rice on the table and took her place next to Ikari. Father pretended to cry at all the memories where Nala had done mean things to him but quickly recovered as we started breakfast.
The talking dwindled as we enjoyed our mothers cooking. This was my family, we weren't perfect but I couldn't ask for anything better.
Mother fed Father a piece of broccoli with him protesting only for a second before reluctantly eating it off her chopsticks. They were so in love that sometimes it hurt. My love life was few and far between. I had dated a few guy's while I was still a genin but besides that, I had very minimal experience. Ikari was engaged to a very nice civilian. Sari if I recalled was her name. He proposed about half a year ago and she accepted without a second thought. I was always curious what our parents thought of him marrying a civilian but they showed nothing but happiness for the engagement.
Kariko, on the other hand, was special. He prefers other guys rather than girls. He had dated a few of the girls when he was younger but somewhere along the way, he changed his preferences. He was currently dating the adopted son of the Aburame clan, Torune. He was already Jonin and from what Ikari told me, he was going through the process to become an ANBU. And then there was little old me. Single and most likely always going to be that way. My thoughts wandered back to our parents. What did they think of our pack of misfit children? The heir marrying a civilian. The second being gay and not producing any children. The last one who was a hopeless mess. Though they would never say something, I was curious if they worried.
Haku pulled me from my thoughts by scratching at my leg and looking at me with pleading eyes. I stared down in horror as this little puppy had already mastered the powerful puppy eyes jutsu. I was powerless as I grabbed my plate and put it on the floor so the little guy could finish off my breakfast. It wasn't much but he was happy to get the treat either way. I watched him happily eat in his victory. One day I'd have to put my foot down and not let him beg, but today wasn't that day.
Ikari was the first to leave the table to head to work. Father followed a few minutes later then Kariko. I told Mother I would take care of the dishes. Grateful she kissed my cheek and told me to have a wonderful second day at the hospital. With those words, she was off to her own job.
"And then there was one," I said to myself as I started to clean the dishes from that morning. Haku barked at me as if to contest what I had said. "Ok fine, one and a 1/7th." I stuck my tongue out at the small pup who seemed satisfied with my words. Finishing up the dishes, I thought over what I should do for the day before I headed into work. Work. Ew. Everyone but me started their day at a normal time while mine started a few hours before they finished theirs.
Haku stared at me while I contemplated my plan, which helped. I needed to get him some dog food and some toys to keep him happy while everyone was away. As well, we could use some more food in the house, we were getting on the low side.
So it was decided, I would do some shopping before work. Nodding my head in the resolution I had reached. I headed to my room and quickly grabbed my wallet. My headband caught my attention on my side stand. I wore it on my forehead like most did. However, the cloth on it was black instead of the normal blue or green.
Though, for the moment, I didn't want to be a ninja. I was a normal adult woman doing some shopping. Retrieving my wallet next to it I headed to the front of the compound. Haku followed my steps till I got to the entrance. We had a double door with a sunk in area before you entered the main part of the house. This was where we left our shoes. Sitting on the edge I put some comfortable sandals on and loved on Haku before getting to my feet. There were a few baskets on top of the shelves for the shoes and I snagged one as I headed out.
This was one of the few things I enjoyed doing. To go out and be "normal". If you looked at me while I walked alone with my basket, you would see a normal civilian girl. I showed no signs of being a ninja or that I could be threatening in any way. Though to be fair, I don't think I was very threatening as a ninja but semantics.
The food market wasn't too terribly far from my home but my first stop was the Inuzuka compound. They had a shop where they sold ninken food and other supplies. They were the most knowledgeable about anything animal. They were a little further out but I didn't mind. The day was nice and walk would do me some good. I would be spending lots of time in the hospital and I never wanted to forget the beauty that our world held. My thoughts were interrupted by a yellow-headed kid running in my direction with a paint buckets in his arms. I quickly noticed he was running away from the Hokage heads that now had graffiti on them. I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to keep from laughing out loud at the sight.
I recognized the blur has he got closer as Naruto Uzumaki. The child that had the nine tailed fox sealed in him. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about him. We were all raised to hate him but as I've gotten older, why hate him? He didn't ask for this to happen to him. It is not his fault that he had the creature that almost destroyed the village. We should be happy that he helped saved us. He dropped the cans on the other side of a cart and quickly hid behind a large bush. I looked at him curiously until a Chunin came running looking for him obviously. He took a few gasps of air before noticing me staring at him. He thought me nothing more than a civilian and I was pleased by this.
"Excuse me, young miss, have you seen a kid with yellow hair and covered in paint?" He continued his scan of the area while he asked me his question.
"Oh I think I saw someone like that a few minutes ago," the Chunin got excited by this small fact and waited for me to tell him where Naruto had gone. "He went running that way I believe. Saying something about training grounds 7 I think." He thanked me quickly before jumping off in the complete opposite direction to where I was heading. I smiled as I watched him, "He's gone you can come out now." Naruto came out from his bush with his hand behind his head-scratching his yellow hair nervously. Smug that he got away.
"Thanks, Big Sis, you're the first person to not give me away. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to be our next Hokage!" He smiled wide with his eyes closed. He was an adorable kid, how could people hate something this cute.
"Well Mr. Future Hokage, it wasn't for free. You have to carry my basket for me and help me shop." I stated sweetly and laughed as his face fell and he pouted like a five-year-old. I simply giggled at him and handed him the basket.
"Big Sis you were so cool before you made me do work," He sulked as he walked next to me on the way to the Inuzuka compound.
"Hey, I think I'm still pretty cool. How about, after you help me I treat you to something to eat? Got anything particular you enjoy?" I didn't know how big of a mistake I had made by offering the kid food. He suddenly seemed like nothing in the world could stop him from helping me as long as he got fed.
"RAMEN! YES!" He jumped in the air and clicked his heels together, now has happy as a little puppy. "I love ramen. Have you been to Ichiraku Ramen before? That's where I love to eat. They have so many flavors. Like pork and beef. When I'm really lucky they'll even throw in come octopus," His mouth started to water and droop start to drip out of the corner as he fantasizes of ramen. Such an odd thing to love but, who was I to judge?
"I haven't eaten there, so you will have to show me. I personally love octopus and eel. So maybe we'll get that and see how good it is." His eyes got wide with happiness and did another jump in the air. He was so energetic, it was almost refreshing compared to how my brothers acted. Sure, Kariko had the most energy out of the three of us, but it paled to Naruto. I don't think anyone could have his amount of enthusiasm.
Naruto talked non-stop as we walked. He talked about everything under the sun. He didn't require much input from me so I listened to him. He talked about his schooling and about how he was about to graduate to genin, with the next step being Hokage. How Iruka sensei was always so mean and made him do lots of extra work but normally treated him to ramen so it was ok. Iruka was only a few years older than I was. If I remembered correctly Kariko was in the same class as him. Though beyond that I didn't know much about him.
"Oh speaking of class, do you not have class today?" I asked curiously, we had long since passed the academy and were almost at my first destination. He should be in class right now if I recalled. It had been a moment since I'd been in the academy but they didn't get many days off.
"Oh well, um about that…" He stammered and looked away. His mood doing a 180 as he tried to find the right words to tell me he was skipping. He was scratching the back of his head and didn't really wanna talk about it.
"NARUTO!" Iruka showed up and grabbed Naruto by his ear and instantly Naruto was trying to escape the skilled Chunin. He had dropped the basket he was carrying for me. "You are supposed to be in class right now!" He yelled and Naruto made a face like he was going to puke. He needed to be rescued however I doubt I would be of any use.
"I'm sorry Iruka, I had found Naruto and he owed me a favor. So he was carrying my basket for me. I should have known he should be in school. My apologies," Mother taught all of us to always be polite and respectful. Iruka finally noticed my presence and looked me over. He seemed to recognize me but couldn't seem to put his finger on it until it hit him, "Oh your Kariko's younger sister, yea?" He had loosened his grip on Naruto's ear and he quickly escaped his grip. However, Naruto's curiosity was more important at the moment then escaping and rushed in front of me.
"Big Sis you know Iruka Sensei?" Iruka made a face at big sis but I wasn't paying much attention to him at the moment. I had a small child demanding answers.
"He graduated with my brother. I don't know him personally but I know who he is. I think he even took the Chunin exam with my brother." Stars were in his eyes as he looked at me with excitement.
"Does that mean you're a ninja too Big Sis?" He had his hands clenched in fists in front of his chest. He was getting a little too excited for my liking but I didn't know to fix this except answer his questions.
"I am. I am a Chunin," He nearly lost it and started talking so quickly that I couldn't understand him. I caught a few words but nothing worth much. He was halfway through his second barrage of questions when Iruka grabbed him again.
"Sorry to cut this short but I need to get Naruto back to class. Sorry if he bothered you," And before I could respond they were gone. I stood there quietly for a moment then just giggled. I can see why people would be turned off by that amount of energy. I could see myself getting turned off on a bad day, but for the moment, it was almost endearing. He looked at me with so much enthusiasm and joy that it was hard not to have a weak spot for him. However, I had to finish my shopping before I had to change and go to work. Ugh, work.
Continuing my journey to the Inuzuka compound, my spirits were a bit higher thanks to Naruto.