Naruto: Fukkatsu!

Chapter 2

The Open Market

Nakaowa Tsumi-chi sighed in her sleep, sprawling out on her bed and snoring loudly. Her dog, a smallish mutt with large, bug eyes, opened a lid to watch her, then decided that it would be too troublesome to do anything but shut it and go back to sleep. That would have been fine...had Tsumi-chi not set her alarm clock, which decided to go off at eight-thirty in the morning. Convenient, as that was the exact time that she had set it...but not the time that she had wanted to get up.

Beep! Beep! "Nani?" Tsumi-chi's head shot off the pillow, her arm and hand thrusting out and grabbing the clock with grace. Without even checking the time, she threw the offending time instrument, its springs and intricate pieces falling apart like rain as it impacted with the wall. Her dog, interrupted as it had been in its sleep, growled lightly, snuggling down in the blankets and tramping up her chest. She glared at it as it poked from beneath her bedspread, so in response, it nipped her nose. "Ja-ne? Stupid dog!" Lifting herself out of bed, she sighed, rubbing a hand over her face in an effort to rid herself of sleep. An errant dog toy on the ground ended any suspicions of a safe and secure day, as she stepped boldly onto it. Her cry of dismay turned into a cry of pain as she face-planted into the floor. "Ouchie..." Rubbing her face in an effort to quell the pain, she sat back up, glaring at the toy. "Dosu! What have I told you about your toys?!" She kicked it, glaring up at the dog, who retired under the blankets. She could have sworn it was looking much too smug.

"Hurry up!" Tsumi-chi blinked as her mother's voice carried from below. Standing, she smacked her head as she remembered the day's errands. She was to accompany her mother to the market in town. They had guests coming, and her mother wanted to make a special spread of tsukimi wan and sashimi. "Tsumi-chi! I said hurry up!"

"I'm...I'm...hn, whatever. I'm coming!" Turning, she ran to her wardrobe, diving in to find a decent attire for her to wear.

As she stumbled down the stairs to the living room, her mother was already giving her father instructions on how to prepare the rest of the meal. Her father was hardly listening, being accustomed to the sort of criticism he received from her. "...and remember to not overcook the vegetables, dear."

"Yes, dear."

"Oh, we should be back in a few hours. Wait to put the water to a boil for when we arrive."

"Yes, dear."

"It shouldn't be too long. The eggs will have to be cooked later."

"Yes, dear."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, dear." Her mother stood for a moment, watching the man before turning and grabbing her keys and purse.

"Very well. Come, Tsumi-chi!" She began to stride to the door, and Tsumi-chi turned, smiling and hugging her father.

"Goodbye, Ootosan!" Her father hugged her back before an exclamation from the doorway sounded out, peevish and high-pitched. Rolling her eyes, Tsumi-chi gave her father one last wave before turning to the door, closing it lightly behind her.

Thankfully, the Traditional Japanese Marketplace wasn't far from her home. It made walking to it a breeze. Entering the hustle and bustle as people walked to and fro, searching for this and that, Tsumi-chi and her mother scanned the rows of stalls. Tsumi-chi yawned, from boredom or sleep deprivation, she didn't know. A tap on her head turned her attention back to her mother, who was frowning at her. "I am not going to have you yawning all the way through this...and aren't you cold?" Her mother shivered slightly, possibly to accentuate her point. Tsumi-chi merely shrugged.

"I'm tired. I usually try not to wake up before, well, noon on a Saturday. As for the cold, it's blistering out here. I don't know how you can stand that coat. You're so weird..." She said the last bit under her breath, hopefully out of range of her mother's hearing.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Tsumi is a good girl. I'm gonna go find the ingredients for your yucky soup now." Huffily, she turned away, losing herself in the crowd. "Now...where is that guy who sells the ginger?"

Aoru Susumu, despite being relatively shy and quiet, all at once knew that the time had finally come for him to show his emotions to their fullest potentiality!

Susumu...sighed.

For the seventh time.

For the seventh time in the last hour.

"Oh, come on Susu-chan. It can't be that bad," his mother said. Susumu glanced over at her from where he sat on the couch. One eyebrow rose up, indicating clearly his thought of 'you wanna bet?' She snorted, rolling her eyes in good nature. "Come on, Susu-kun. You know your father beginning his new promotion is a wonderful thing for us. He's already started, and it will be so much easier since we live here in Tokyo. He won't have to run from work to home all the time. Besides, think of all the opportunities you'll have here? Think of all the new friends you can make!"

Susumu grunted, still not appeased. Oh, sure. Like that'll happen anytime soon! He was terrible at meeting new people. In fact, the friends that he had made he barely was able to keep most of the time. He was awkward around others. He didn't know how to act, so he usually leaned on his back-up plan of confidence. Unfortunately, this brought him around in the wrong way, as he usually was flooded by a cadre of girls who scared the pants off of him. He was still boggled with the fact that they appeared in droves, out of nowhere. How did they do that, anyways? Then, all the guys would hate him for it, and think of him as nothing more than a stuck up brat.

Yes, Aoru Susumu wasn't a people person.

"I was fine back at my old school," Susumu complained softly. "I liked my old friends just fine."

"Oh come now, Susu-kun. I'm sure you'll like it here." The woman just wouldn't take no for an answer, no matter how hard he complained. He just hoped that Tokyo would have lots of perks. Otherwise, he would move back home, his father's promotion be damned!

Midori sat in her chair in her office, watching the time tick by on the clock. It would be another five hours before she would have to endure her co-worker, and boss's, family and attitude, so she was on edge. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have long to wait.

"Oy! Koyuki-san!" Midori's head snapped up, and she blinked as her chief's face appeared in her doorway.

"Oh...hai?" The man smiled, nodding at the realization that she knew someone was talking to him.

"I was thinking, Midori-san. Perhaps you and I could cut out a little early today, hm? It would give you a chance to meet my wife and kid, and maybe get you loosened up a bit. I've noticed you've been on edge recently." Midori sighed. She knew that too. She didn't need this man telling her what she knew already.

"Well...I really shouldn't. After all, I have had quite a lot of reports to get done, and they won't be getting done unless I do them." Within itself, quite the conundrum.

"Well, let's just leave that be our little secret, eh? Tomorrow, you can finish them. Today, we'll just go. It'll be good for us both. After all, between you and Lieutenant Haruki, I don't really know the senior officers all that well. So, let's go, huh?" Midori glanced at the paperwork once more.

Let's see. Should I stay and do work, or go on leave with my boss to meet his family? What to do...

Sounds like a dilemma to me, Midori-san.

Shut up, Itachi! I don't need you telling me what I already know. With another sigh, the woman smiled, looking up. "Right! I'd be glad to cut out early. In fact, it may do me good after all."

"Splendid, Midori-san! I'll go get my coat and meet you outside in the parking lot after a bit. Glad you decided to join me." The man turned, about to leave, before saying, "and don't worry. We'll just take this out of your vacation pay. That way, everything is fine and legal. Ha ha!" With that, he left Midori's office, unaware of the killing intent that leaked from her.

About five minutes later, Midori stood out in the parking lot with her laptop computer in a carrying pack on her side. Tapping her foot impatiently, she stared up at the symbol that stood above the police station. Oy! Itachi. What does that symbol mean?

What do you mean? It was the symbol for the Uchiha Family Clan.

Yeah, I know that. But...what does it mean? I mean, symbols usually represent something...don't they?

Hm, an interesting argument. Of course, one could counter that argument with several examples. Nike, Sony, Nokia. I could go on, you know. Most symbols are just that...symbols. They represent nothing, but are important none-the-less.

Fine, fine. Geez...ask a simple question...Glancing up, Midori spotted the chief striding over to her. "Ready to go, chief."

"Excellent. Fast work, Midori-san. Now, would you rather drive to my place and follow?" He watched as the woman stubbed her toe on the ground, hiding a cringe. "What's wrong?"

"Well, sir. Thing is, I've never needed a vehicle before. I've always just walked to work, and then to the store...wherever. I've never had the money for one either. So..."

"Oh! Well, no problems, then. We can take mine, and I can give you a ride back here after. Come on!" Midori nodded, turning. Her boss took a set of car keys from his pocket, pressing a door lock system. A car beeped down a row, and Midori struggled to comprehend how a police chief could afford a hybrid from Europe. Sitting into the plush, leather interior, Midori sighed, squelching herself in. "Comfy?" Midori simply purred back her answer. The engine started soundlessly, and in no time, they were on the road.

Tsumi-chi struggled through the vendors of the open market. She hated going to the place...but loved it all the same. So many interesting people...that would get in her way, barge her from places, and bar her entrance into seedier tents and back alleys. Of course, she somehow always managed to find good deals on this and that. But right now, her thoughts rested on ginger and herbs, and her feet had brought her to the right place. "Ah ha! Cool!" Walking into the tent, she began rummaging around for odd bits, coming up with a jar of well-preserved ginger candy and a bundle of organic ginger, more for soups and salads than anything else. "I don't normally like ginger candy...but Ootosan does. He'll love Tsumi for getting him that! Tsumi is a good girl!" Going up to the register, she placed her items on the counter, reaching into her pocket. The old lady at the back part of the counter eyed her as she pulled out some coins and a piece of a gum wrapper. Carefully counting out the coins, she smiled, sliding them across. "There...just enough, yeah?"

"That should be fine, my dear." The old lady smiled, reaching over to take the coins from the counter. Grabbing them, she tinkled them into the register, then shut it. Smiling over the top, she nodded. "Thank you for your business, dear." Tsumi nodded.

"Right! I always find the best deals here. Thanks!" Turning, she began to leave, before the old woman beckoned her once more.

"Wait, young lady. Here, this is for you as well." Reaching down below the counter, she grasped something, bringing it back out. It was a small, black bag that clinked as she set it on the tabletop. "Here." Reaching in, she took out a small, pebble shaped candy...one that Tsumi-chi had never seen before.

"What's that?" The old woman cackled slightly before handing it to her.

"A special candy, my dear. Please..."

"Oh...well, I don't really have any more money for it. Sorry," Tsumi-chi said, beginning to hand it back. The old woman merely shook her head, extending her hand and pushing Tsumi-chi's back to her.

"No, my dear. Keep it. He'll like it, I'm sure." Tsumi blinked, and then looked down at the candy.

"Er...thanks. Well, see ya!" Turning, she left the tent with her bundle, the woman's leering grin behind her. Tsumi glanced down at her open palm, wondering to herself. "I wonder what she meant by 'he'll like it'? Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt me." She brought it to her lips, taking a small lick. Grimacing, she stopped, staring at it. "Boy...this tastes horrible." However, the longer the taste stayed upon her tongue, the better she seemed to like it. "Huh...interesting. This thing must just grow on you or something." She took another lick. Her face squelched up, and her palm thrust the thing into her open mouth. "Mmm...soooo good. Mmmmff...shmmmff...good..." She didn't understand how something so vile could taste so delicious later. But, she didn't care.

Midori tapped her fingers on her laptop, humming slightly to herself as the car whizzed past traffic on the downtown bypass. The chief merely watched the cars zooming by, keeping his eye intently on the road. Soon, their expedition led them to a small suburban area, crammed full of large, upstate houses and smaller condos. Midori sighed to herself. Just how much were chief's of police making these days?

"Well, Midori-san. Here we are, home sweet home!" The car stopped in front of a formally painted house, a small, white picket fence stretching around it. Getting out, Midori stretched, realizing now why she preferred running or walking to driving. "Come on, Midori-san. I'm sure you'll enjoy my family. They can be rather...interesting at times."

I'm sure...Keeping a straight face, the woman followed the man up the walk, where he put his keys into the front door. Opening it, they were confronted by a boy, dark hair going down to his ears. His attitude was as dark as his eyes as well.

"This place stinks, Ootosan. I want to go back home!" The chief sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Susumu-kun, you know that we have to stay here for my job." The boy, Susumu, sighed, turning to grab his coat.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm going out, don't wait up." He strode past the two as his father watched him.

"Susumu-kun, I brought my co-worker here to meet you and your mother." The boy turned, eying the new arrival with a distaste only a teenager who was both bored and rebellious could be. "This is Koyuki Midori, my Lieutenant in charge of Electronics around the station. She handles all the paperwork and inputs things into the database. She's pretty gifted, you may get some pointers on those darned video games you're always playing." Susumu sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever." Turning to face the woman, he bowed slightly, reaching out his hand. No longer had she taken it than he retracted it, putting it into his pocket. "See ya. I'm going now."

"Susumu-kun, we have dinner at six, remember?" As the boy stalked out of the house, he bundled his coat a little tighter.

"Like I care..." Striding down to the walk, he turned, heading towards town. The chief sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, I guess we don't have to worry about him too much, then. Come on in, Midori-san." The man turned to go into the house, while Midori watched the boy walk away.

Midori-san! That boy looks completely identical to my brother!

Your...brother, Itachi?

Hai. The one that killed me, remember? Midori blinked as she watched Susumu disappear down the sidewalk, heading into town.

As he walked, the boy couldn't help but feel a sense of dread and foreboding hang over him. That woman...that...that Midori woman. Who was she? Susumu could have sworn that he knew her. That, perhaps not in this life, but maybe another, he had known her intimately. Something about her just didn't sit right with him. But, he would figure that out later. At the time being, he just wanted a distraction to lull him away from life in general. To think that he would have to be stuck in that house forever now. Well, perhaps not forever, but for a while, anyways. Of course, much more obvious than that was the realization of an important fact.

"Ootosan always said that this place would be a land of opportunity," Susumu said to himself, under his breath. He had backtracked for the tenth time in the last hour, and he couldn't deny it anymore. "Yeah, more like the land of opportunity to get lost. Wonderful, thanks dad." Turning down a side passage, Susumu tried zoning out the echoes and chants coming from all directions.

"Get your fresh produce here!"

"Rare trinkets and valuable artifacts! All the way from the far reaches of the planet!"

"American goods! Can't go anywhere without your American goods!"

"Food! Get your warm food!" Susumu sighed, looking down at his pockets. He had forgotten to grab anything for himself before leaving, so now, he was broke, and he was hungry. Well, I'll just have to figure out where I am then, and get home. I'll just bypass that new girl and dad for a while, maybe sit on my computer and do something. Anything is better than this.

"Er...let's see. I went up that way, then back down this way. So, if I turn left here, I should find myself..." Turning left, he beelined over to the next row of stalls, ducking in and around the people in the open air market place. Standing in the middle of the walk, he turned about, glaring. "Great. My new home stinks, my father won't listen to me, my mother thinks I'm a child, and to top it off...I'm lost. Can this day get any better? I submit that it can not!" Sighing dejectedly, the boy put his hands into his pockets, finding the open mind to wander freely about and poke around in some of the stalls. Weird and interesting things hung from pegs, and he examined a stick that had a large, round ball of...something on it. It looked strangely like honey, crystallized onto the head of the pole. "Huh...what's this stuff I wonder?"

"Wondering about that, young man?" Susumu gasped, turning to face an older man who came from behind the stall.

"Oh...yeah. Just curious, I guess."

"Oh, well. That there's called amber. Rare substance to be found here in this part of the world. Most like it is found in deep forest and dry land. Hard to come by, rock amber. Here." Taking the stick down from where it hung, the man handed it to him. "See, there's a little bug stuck in the middle of it." Susumu gazed intently into the globe. Indeed, a small creature of some sort seemed frozen in time in the middle of the substance. The boy blinked, than smiled, nodding.

"Hai. What happened, you think?"

"Oh, well. I'm sure that the little bug thought that this amber would taste good. Turns out, it wasn't. See, amber is just hardened sap, frozen for millenia like this. That little guy probably got stuck and then covered, and then some lucky person found him stuck to a chunk of wood. He's perfectly alright in there, you know. He may still even be alive. I doubt it, but he may. He's just kinda...frozen, as it were. Interesting, how some things can survive time by encasing themselves in something, hm?" The old man smiled down, and Susumu nodded. It was interesting. Highly illogical, but interesting.

"Right. Interesting. Sure. Well, gotta go. Thanks, old man!" The man smiled, nodding as he replaced the stick.

"Farewell, young one. Farewell." Susumu turned, walking into the crowd.

Well, that was weird. Now, I wonder how I can get home from here...Susumu turned about, trying to get his bearings, when something bumped into his back. He had been told by his mother and father beforehand that open markets were havens for pickpockets and lowlife's, so on instinct, he turned, grabbing the hand that had bumped into him. The two stood frozen for a moment as Susumu looked the girl up and down.

"Oh, sorry about that. Ouch..." The girl smiled, wiping a hand against her face. She hadn't even seen the boy coming, much less her walking at him. Looking up, she glanced at the boy's hand holding her own. "Um...can I have my hand back, please?"

"Who are you? Were you trying to steal from me?" Susumu glared down at the girl. Tsumi-chi blinked, and then smiled.

"Nope! Tsumi is a good girl! I'd never do anything like that. Besides, I doubt I'd be any good at it anyways." Susumu spared her one more glance before dropping her hand.

"Sorry. I'm new here, so I don't know how people act. Plus, I guess I've seen a lot of movies where people bump into other people while taking their wallets and stuff." He huffed, putting his hands back into his pockets.

"Huh. That's interesting." Rubbing her hand, Tsumi glanced about. "Hey, do I know you? I feel like I've seen you before or something. Oh! You go to my school, don't you? I bet you do!"

Susumu blinked, taken aback. "Gomen. I haven't actually gone to school here yet. You couldn't have seen me there." Strange, I've got the feeling I know this girl to. Why is this town so weird! What is with this place?

Tsumi-chi raised an eyebrow. He had really looked familiar. In her mind, she shrugged. She lived in Japan, where tons of boys had dark hair. It was probably just coincidence that she thought she recognized this particular boy. "Oh, well, you don't look like you came from out of town. So, welcome to Tokyo! You're going to love it here, except that the weather is unpredictable sometimes...which isn't so good. But school here is definitely super cool, and it's the city of entertainment." After she had gotten done rambling on, she stared at him briefly. "Oy, you lost or something? It's just, you're heading in the direction of the fish market...and you don't seem particularly interested in buying some fish..."

A bead of sweat trickled down the boy's face. Hoping she didn't see it, or the blush that came upon his face, he tossed his head to the side in a huff, staring off into the distance. "...yeah...I'm lost. So?" It was almost painful for Susumu Aoru to admit it to anyone but himself. He almost had to physically bite upon the tail that was his pride.

Tsumi-chi laughed slightly. So, one of those proud people. Are all boys like that here? Geez! "Well, where are you heading? If you do want fish, you're going the right way," she joked. "But this market can be a right pain. There are twists and bends all over the place. If you want to get out of the market completely, then you need to take a left and go straight through the stalls with all the necklaces...but if you're shopping, then they tend to keep food round this area we are in now, and all the clothes and stuff are just behind you." She yawned. Geez, I talk way too much, I could barely understand myself...

"Ok, thanks," Susumu said, blinking in surprise as he processed her words. He gave her a slight wave. "Guess I'll see you around then," he added with a shrug. Hands in his pockets, he took the directions she gave him, hoping to Kami that he wouldn't get lost again. He'd hate to think of what would happen if he ended up in a girl's clothing store...he mentally shuddered at the thought.

It was a while before Tsumi-chi made it back to her mother. She was standing in the middle of the crowd, glancing around...probably for her. Great, here comes another headache I don't need...

"Tsumi-chi! Where have you been, young lady?" Tsumi rolled her eyes, holding up her bags.

"Out shopping for you. What do you think?" Her mother frowned at her, the lines on her forehead clearly visible.

"Well, isn't that a fine attitude. Come on, we need to get you a new skirt for school."

Tsumi-chi mentally slapped her forehead. "No problem. I will go and get it, and since Tsumi is such a good girl...could you please hold these bags? They're killing poor little Tsumi..."

Her mother was clearly not paying any attention to her whining at all. "You aren't getting any taller, Tsumi-chi. Do you think I'm not giving you enough nutritional value in your food? Should you start taking vitamin supplements, you think?" Tsumi scowled.

"Hey! I may be a midget, but it's just genetic...from your side of the family, I might add. It has nothing to with nutrition. I get enough of those yucky soy beans on my plate to feed the country of Japan!"

"School is starting soon, Tsumi. Are you ready?" Again, her mother just wasn't listening.

"Yeah, yeah," Tsumi answered tiredly. "Everything's ready..." I have no idea what to expect this year, anyways, so why ask?

Her mother began to walk off, saying, "we need to buy some baby food for Arata, Tsumi. Come!"

Oh, joy of joy's! The pooping dribble monster needs more food...again...Tsumi huffed to herself, folding her bottom lip in a pout. Great. What is it Tsumi's turn? Tsumi is a good girl!

A:N: The continuation of the series. Chapter 2!

The characters described here belong to random people. Those random people, here on fanfiction, are...

Chosha Kurenai : Susumu

xkawaichiix : Tsumi-chi

Dorothy of Akatsuki : Midori

Next chapter: Hina and Momo decide to take the metro downtown in search of ramen. However, they meet someone else along the path. Of course, Susumu will have his own troubles, as his haunted past resurfaces...to throw his life into turmoil. Next chapter: Chance Encounters Of The Strange!