Child of the Leaf
Chapter Seventeen
by operadeglace
(We're going to start this chapter off very gracefully.)
Earlier that morning, Shinachiku discovered that sometimes you need to check for a secret step at the bottom of the stairs.
The young ninja had bought some groceries with some of the money that Ino-san had put in his pocket before he left the hospital with Salada.
With the bags hindering his view, he completely missed the last three steps on a staircase that led back to the road to his mother's home.
"Ehhh… that hurt super bad." Shinachiku moans, his back a little sore as he awkwardly tried to protect his groceries, mid-flight.
Above him, a child's smiling face appeared, startling him.
It was six in the morning… why would such a little girl be out on her own at this time of day..?
"Morning! I'm lost."
She says bluntly, in a very cute manner.
Shinachiku straightens himself and his crushed paper bags before kneeling in front of her, a caring smile on his face.
"You're in luck! I can help you!"
He wasn't much help, as he was not from the village.
"Just tell me when you see your house, okay little one?"
He knew little of what was to erupt out of the little girl on they way to finding her home…
"Hey, Oniichan! Look at the birdies! Don't they sound pretty?"
"Oniichan! Look at the flowers! I wanna smell them!"
"Oniichan! You smell funny."
"Oniichan! What's in this bag?"
"Oniiiiiiiichan! I like that girl's hair! It's like a bird's nest!"
"I think I hurt my eyebrow!"
"One time, papa let me eat a cake for breakfast, and mama got mad!"
"Look at that man! He's… tall and short at the same time!"
"Oniichan, I have to pee."
"Oniichan!"
"Oniichan!"
He spent an hour walking around the village with the dark haired girl perched on his shoulders. Luckily, the girl was a very happy, excited kid.
The marks on her cheek caught his eye. They were identical to the ones on his younger brother's face.
"Um… excuse me, kid… who exactly are you?" He asks, realizing he didn't even ask her name.
"Himawari! Uzumaki Himawari! But, mama said I can't say that to strangers-THAT'S MY AUNTIE'S HOUSE!" She kicks her heels into Shinachiku's chest as she points to the Hyuuga complex.
Shinachiku put the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind.
He had another little sister, and here she was…
A dark haired woman appeared at the gates, and Himawari clamoured down Shinachiku's body and hopped into her arms.
"Auntie! I got lost!"
"Himawari! Where have you been!?"
"I thought Oniichan was Papa, so I followed him and got lost."
Hanabi bows in appreciation to Shinachiku.
"Thank you for bringing my niece back to me safely, young sir."
Shinachiku shakes his head and waves his hand in embarrassment in response to her rather deep bow. The woman looked to be of noble descent.
"Can I get you anything to thank you? What is your name?" She rises up with her hands still on the front of her thighs.
"Shinachiku, ma'am. No thanks necessary." He bows quickly before rushing off with the warmth spreading in his chest again, his smile seemingly spilling off the confines of his face.
"Himawari. Salada. Bolt."
His family was growing.
–
Salada rolled off of the couch and onto the floor.
"Ouch… ungh." She groans as she sits up on the hard wood, rubbing the shoulder that braced her body from the impact. Ever since she was a young, she was a restless sleeper and would constantly find herself waking up on her bedroom floor, tangled in her sheets.
She could trace this behavior back to one of the first memories she could remember. One morning, she rolled from her bed, and before she had a chance to open her eyes, she remembered a warm arm lifting her up and placing her gently on her bed. By the feel of his muscles, she could tell it was her father.
Without opening her eyes, she would feign sleep, fearing that if she saw him, her father would disappear.
Even at such a young age, she knew yearned for her father's warmth. These small moments where she enjoyed his presence meant the world to her.
It helped her to not despise her father.
As soon as his heavy footsteps creaked out of the room, she fell asleep with a smile.
Presently, she was changing her clothes in her room when she smelled eggs cooking.
Walking slowly into the kitchen, she found Shinachiku humming happily to himself as he worked over the stove. He turned and favored her with his most glittering smile.
"Hello, Salada-chan!" The sand nin sang as he put a bowl of perfectly rounded rice in front of her.
This time, she didn't cringe when he said her name with such affection.
A moment later, he plated some tamagoyaki in front of her, then quickly began to clean up before joining her. She could tell he was used to cooking the meals in his home back in Suna.
"Itadakimasu!"
Salada thoroughly enjoyed her breakfast.
"This is... good!" She exclaims, her eyes brightening from their normally bored state.
Shinachiku grins, his mouth full of rice.
"Thatsh cush I put ramen broff in ther eggsh." He swallows his food and continues. "When I was younger, all I ever wanted to eat was ramen… so my dad tried to make everything with it. Needless to say, he got pretty creative until he got sick."
Salada felt the air become thick with emotion on his side of the table. Fearing to look over at her brother without a huge grin plastered on his face, she cleared her throat and changed the subject.
"You have any friends in Suna?"
She snuck a glance over to her elder brother to see a grin plastered on his face, followed by a deep flush of color.
"Well… I have a girl that I love named Ayaka."
He begins.
Salada can't help but smile as his smile is infectious to her.
'He must really love her.'
"Ayaka? That's a pretty name." The young Uchiha didn't recognize it, but she was rapidly softening towards her new brother.
"Yeah. She's the bravest, strongest girl I know…"
A sudden hawk screech interrupted his romantic gushing, and Shinachiku shot to his feet, alarming his younger sister.
"Speaking of Ayaka-chan! I think that's Kumo now!"
Salada follows her brother as he slides open the door to the balcony.
"Kumo?" The bespectacled girl asks.
"Yeah, Ayaka's favorite Hawk. She said she would send me a message!" Shinachiku says proudly as he searched for the small messenger.
He was alarmed to find the bird limping on the ground.
Salada looks over to see that the majestic hawk was wounded, a clean slice through half of his wing.
"Kumo! What happened to you?" He scooped the bird into his arms and rushed inside, placing him on his cloak on the couch.
As the bird lay resting, Shinachiku gently retrieved a small roll of paper from the tube on his left talon. His emerald eyes watered as he sadly noted that his claw had been completely sliced off just below the message carrier.
Someone tried to make sure he didn't get Ayaka's communication.
"Don't worry, Kumo. I will heal you until you are all better." He says says reassuringly to the bird. To Salada's astonishment, the Hawk gives out what seems like a small squawk of relief.
He holds his breath as he reads the small piece of paper.
It was dated three days ago.
"Coming to help you look for your parents. Almost there. See you soon.
-Ayaka"
By the state of Kumo and the date of the message, Shinachiku was struck with fear.
Someone was intending Ayaka to never reach him in Konohagakure.
- The End of Chapter 17.
–Story by ODG
Okay, one more chapter coming pretty soon! I hope you enjoyed it!
Remember, the side stories aren't filler. They are stories that can be read to enhance the story with background info. This chapter is closely tied to Ayaka's Side Story. I recommend reading it with this one to glean facts and upcoming events! :)
