Enchantress
Chapter 13 – Existence
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of mangaka (comic artist) Masashi Kishimoto. This story implies nothing about the characters nor does the plot of the story have any effect on the manga volumes (or the anime) themselves. This story is pure fiction.
A/N: More or less the second half of Chapter 12 – "The Third Soul."
——†——
Disbelief, anger, denial…all of the emotions that came out of her were both overpowering full of ire.
"NO! NO!"
Minako fell to her knees as she clutched on to the side of her head, sincerely hoping that the action would remedy this sudden, unexplainable, and seemingly horrid truth.
"This can't be true!"
"I'm afraid it is Naruto." Masato knelt down next to the fallen girl and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "As strange as the truth may sound…it is still the truth nonetheless."
Minako slowly raised her head up and glared at the circular frame hanging on the wall in front of her, not even bothering to acknowledge Masato's comforting gestures.
"Why…?" Minako slowly stood up and made her way over to the platinum frame. The blonde's body movements were slow yet sinisterly fluid, appearing as if she were ensnared in a trance. She forcefully slammed her hands against the wall on either side of the mirror and angrily glared at the glowing white shard before her, silently cursing at the remains of this infamous mirror.
"Why does my life have to be the one that SHE decides to screw up?! Why do I have to be the one that she possesses?! Is she ALSO the reason as to why I look like THIS?!"
Just then, Minako's present form began to dissolve. The girl's physical appearance gradually blew away like dust until it revealed the man behind the mask: Naruto.
"Having a demon living inside of me is bad enough but now I have to live with the soul of a dead girl as well?!" Naruto made a sarcastic laugh "How could my life get ANY better?!"
Naruto was still unsure of the reason as to why he was so angry at this startling revelation. A part of him was so determined to believe that all of this was just some pointless nightmare that was meant to be forgotten in the morning. However, the better part of him was too overwhelmed with such pressure weighing down on his shoulders to even think straight; and Naruto was more than familiar with the unpleasant feeling of heavy burdens. Living as the human host for the fabled Nine-Tailed demon Fox, the absolute necessity of officially graduating from ninja school after multiple failed attempts at simple technique exhibitions, the Chuunin examinations, his promise to return Sasuke home after his defection from Konoha, the constant occurrences of Kyuubi's possession and his subsequent repression of the demon's domineering power – the list was endless.
But in all of those other past cases, Naruto had always been confident that the end was foreseeable. Regardless of how he went about accomplishing each trial, his faith in the idea that "the end was never too far in sight" was what had kept him going all along. But this time, perhaps because of the sheer complexity surrounding the situation, Naruto had lost his confidence. He had to admit that there was no easy end to either his gender change or his apparent "possession by Michiko," if any. For lack of a better phrase: a bomb a really been dropped on him, and he hated it immensely.
"Although I am uncertain as to how comforting this may sound to you, but in a way, Michiko's soul has not conventionally inhabited your body as compared to that of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox for example."
Naruto raised a sceptical eyebrow at Masato's odd emphasis on the word: "conventionally."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked with slight bitterness.
"Well…," Masato sighed before looking towards the circular mirror frame himself, "Michiko has not completely possessed your body per se as given by the continuously strong presence of the Kyuubi still resonating from within you. Rather, the priestess has simply dominated over the better part of your own soul in response to foretold and approaching events. Technically speaking, a body can only be considered "possessed" if the external dominating spiritual presence is completely foreign to the host."
Naruto once again looked back at the old man in disbelief and confusion.
"What I am trying to say is that rather than viewing Michiko as some wandering spirit that had simply decided to inhabit your body one day, instead, think of her as a formerly dormant portion of your own soul that has now awakened due to a shift in the cosmic balance of the universe."
The pieces started to come together and yet even with this whole new angle to approach the vague concepts of souls and possession, Naruto was now left with even more questions than he had before. Once again, Naruto's eagerness for uncovering the 'truth' behind his whole female fiasco had been overshadowed by a strong sense of resentment after realizing that his desired answers were not all that he had hoped for.
"Wait…so you're telling me that Michiko and I…are one in the same?"
"To put it loosely, yes. While the specifics of souls are still a widely unknown concept to understand no matter where you are in the world, all that I have learned thus far – which is still fairly limited mind you – is that very few souls are ever considered belonging to one individual in a given time line; but that's just a general interpretation."
Naruto's eyes squinted ever so slightly in continued irritation.
"What IS all of this crap that you keep talking about?"
The old man ignored Naruto's mild cursing.
"Reincarnation: the cosmic phenomenon of a single soul undergoing a myriad of rebirths throughout the entire duration of its existence." (1)
It was then, when Naruto began to calm down a little bit. While all of this nonsense about souls being reborn as well as the probability of him being the current "Michiko" continued to both confuse and irritate him, his initial levels of anger began to drop with every slow and passing breath. He had a feeling that absolutely none of this would make sense to him anytime soon so for the time being, he just decided to give in and begrudgingly accept it out of spite.
"You mentioned something about a soul's rebirth a few days ago when the two of us had that one-on-one about the Age of Anarchy didn't you?"
Masato nodded. Naruto scoffed shortly afterwards.
"You knew all along about me didn't you? You knew that I wasn't the curious blonde girl just passing by your store with her friends."
"Indeed. The spiritual powers that I felt emitting from your body upon your mere entrance into my store immediately sparked my curiosity. No ordinary human should have been bestowed with the types of energies that I felt resonating off of you, they were just that powerful. While the demonic presence of the Nine-Tailed Fox was nonetheless present, I continued to feel two other spiritual powers resonating from within your body." Masato shifted his gaze forward and scanned over the majestic forms of the three mirrors that were located just behind Naruto, who held a slightly sour look on his handsome features. "It was from the energies of both your own as well as Michiko's, most notably the priestess', that I was able to determine that you were much more than just another jinchuuriki, as given by presence of the Sand Village's current leader."
"Gaara?"
Masato nodded. "Had you been in your original body, your spiritual identification as a biju host would have been more or less the same as the young red-haired Kazekage. But as you have been informed, that is no longer the case."
Naruto spent a few moments in silence, gazing back and forth between the three mirrors of his own, the Kyuubi's as well as the one that was presumably Michiko's. His gaze lingered on the shard of Michiko's mirror before slowly turning back to look at Masato.
"Well…while we're still on the topic of souls and spiritual energies," Naruto gave the old man a weary look, "How about you? Whose soul or whatnot has inhabited your body? Or do you even have one?"
Masato closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them back up and presenting Naruto with a light smile.
"I am quite surprised that you haven't been able to figure it out as of yet."
"W-what's that supposed to mean?!"
Masato's bodily form, if one could call it that, began to convert into countless specks of light blue sparkles before engulfing him completely in their shine and dissolving down towards the ground like dust. The sparkles billowed around in a small pile before blowing away completely, revealing none other than Koki the fox pup. Instead of appearing in his normal, all-white disguise, he now presented himself in his original form; the form that Naruto had seen from the moment they first laid eyes on each other. The black stripes, black patches, and even the forehead jewel have now been restored to their former glory. While part of Naruto was only slightly surprised at the realization that the old man was fox pup all along, the rest of him sort of had the feeling that the two were also one-in-the-same. There was just no real reason to assume that the two were completely unrelated to one another – given the recent turn of events. Seeing all of this unfold right before his eyes only confirmed his minor suspicions. He looked down at Koki and sighed.
"Figures…" Koki sat down obediently.
"I can only imagine the amount of frustration and confusion that all of this may have brought you Naruto, but please try to understand. The life that you have been living for the last few weeks was no mere accident. There is a reason as to why all of this is happening to you specifically and at this particular moment in time."
Naruto scoffed and leaned back against the wall just to the left of Michiko's mirror, crossing his arms and his feet to further emphasize his indifference.
"Yeah, yeah I know…reincarnation and all that crap. You've made me well aware of that idea quite a few times for the last little while and frankly, I don't believe it one bit. I may accept it to a certain extent but that doesn't mean that I truthfully believe it as well."
Koki stood his ground. "You may deny it all you want Naruto, but I believe that in time you will realize the error of your ignorance and finally open your eyes to the truth."
Naruto made a sour face at Koki's use of the word ignorance. "Of course I will…" Naruto said sarcastically.
"Naruto…for almost 500 years I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. In a vision that I have received all those centuries ago, I have been instructed to wait until the time came for the Enchantress to rise and walk among the living once again. You may recall from my tale as Masato that during the Age of Anarchy, I was killed by a human sometime during the Black Lotus War."
Naruto was surprised at the sudden change of topic as well as the notable heaviness in Koki's tone. He watched the fox pup close his eyes and slightly hang his head down in shame. Koki's defeated appearance jolted a slight pang of guilt in Naruto's heart the longer he continued to watch the small creature.
"Even to this day…I can still remember it so vividly. I can still hear the shouts of resentment and the cries of bloodthirsty madness. I can still feel the wounds, the bruises, and the marks from the blunt trauma that once littered my body."
Naruto unconsciously pictured the kind of pain that Koki might have endured, based on his description, and gulped in great discomfort.
"I could still remember the final breath that I took before death took over me completely…even now I am still uncertain as to how I can be alive even after that horrifying experience," Koki looked back up into Naruto's eyes sternly, "While my reason may be unexplainable, my purpose, no matter how vague it may seem, remains clear: and that is because of you."
Naruto found that he couldn't quite respond.
"You aren't the only one who wishes to find answers in this life Naruto. I too wish to uncover some untold truths of my own. How was I brought back to life? Why is it that I was chosen to be reborn while all of my siblings remain dead? How is it that you, a single human being 500 years after my time, possess the same presence and warmth as both my former master as well as my mother?!"
Naruto was dumbstruck. He had completely forgotten that Koki was one of the Kyuubi's offspring…at least from what he had been told from the pup's guise as the old man, Masato. The pup's eyes held a determined look but they also held the faint beginnings of sad tears.
"Koki…"
"Naruto…you and I are connected in more ways than you could even fathom. There is still that chance that neither one of us may ever truly know the answers to all of our uncertainties but we were brought together for a reason: to prevent the world from plunging straight back into the Hell that it once was all those centuries ago."
Koki's ever determined tone continued to surprise him. Despite the calm and gentle voice that the pup had been previously known to possess, this fierce and almost angry tone that he had recently showcased greatly emitted the idea that the creature was dead serious in his speech.
"There is still so much that I don't know with regards to this worldly duty that the two of us share. But the only thing that I do know, which may or may not be of any real use to us, is that that I only had 500 years to ally with you until death would have taken me a second time…"
Naruto's eyes widened.
"W-wait…your life was on a time limit?!"
Koki nodded. "Days turned into months, months turned into years, and years turned into decades. There were times where I actually wanted death to take me again just so that I could spare myself the agonizing loneliness and the timeless waiting that I had to endure if only for the sole purpose of meeting up with you. Spending half a millennium waiting for an individual who may never even cross my path or even exist for another 500 years for that matter," the pup made a hollow laugh, "was a burden that I alone, had to bear. I wavered in my faith time and time again. There were even moments where I believed that 'hope' was nothing but a mere word. But through it all, I managed to convince myself that everything, including my rebirth, my objective and my temporary immortality, happens for a reason; that nothing was ever left unaccounted for."
Naruto was left stunned once again at the pup's words.
"Had you waited to meet me only until tomorrow, my second death would have been eminent."
It was then that Naruto had a thought. "Wait a minute. Just assuming that all of this is true, which by the way is still passing way over my head even as we speak, how is it that your so called second death would have happened tomorrow if we first met up like three days ago? I mean, why is it that last night was the precise moment when your 'countdown to death,' for lack of a better term, was lifted as opposed to Monday?"
Koki spent a few moments thinking to himself before answering. "My guess would be that last night was actually the very first time that the two of us had physical contact with one another."
Naruto thought back to the moment when he saw Masato heaving on the floor, seemingly in immense pain.
"Oh yeah…I touched your shoulder just when I was about to assess you. But then…I was flung back, I saw a lot of bright light, and then that weird vision or whatever, happened."
Koki slightly tilted his head to the side. "Vision?"
"Yeah…" Naruto tried to recall what it was about. "There was something about a Union Assembly and the three clans of the Yata, the Kusanagi and the Yasakani…or something like that."
"Is that so…?" Koki spent a few moments thinking to himself. "This vision of yours happened immediately after you touched my shoulders right?"
Naruto looked back at Koki. "Well…not immediately but it wasn't very long until it actually happened."
"Strange…it seems as though you were not the only one to experience some sort of effect from our encounter.
Naruto's interest became piqued. "Really…?"
Koki nodded. "While I didn't succumb to a vision such the one that you have mentioned, immediately after you touched me, my disguise as Masato completely vanished and before I knew it I was back into my original form."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And…that was surprising to you?"
"Well, yes. In fact, my disguise as Masato had been permanent for the last 500 years. Up until last night, I was unable to willingly alter my appearance."
"Really?!"
"Indeed."
Naruto and Koki shared a few moments of silence until Koki came to a deduction.
"My guess is that somehow all of this, including your 'vision' per se, may have something to do with that…"
Naruto followed Koki's line of sight until his eyes landed on the incomplete mirror that supposedly belonged to Michiko, the apparent dominant half of Naruto's own soul. Naruto looked back at the frame and the shard in slight disdain.
"You think so…?" Naruto asked in curiosity with a slight hint of sarcasm.
"What other possible explanation could there be? When you think about it, why is it that Michiko's mirror is the only one out of the three within your subconscious left incomplete? Further more, why is it that hers is of a notably different shape compared to the other two?"
The pup did bring up a good point.
"It's just like I said Naruto. I believe that in time, everything will become clear and fall into place. Even though I am still uncertain with the specifics regarding my duty as your guardian, or even my own existence for that matter, I promise you that I will do everything that I can to help you…and stay beside you along the way."
Naruto felt the genuine concern and compassion emitting through the small creature's icy blue eyes.
"All we can really do for the time being is to just put our trust into each other and see how our lives unfold from now on."
Even though Naruto was still in disbelief, deep down inside knew that there was no other way out of this mess than to believe all that Koki had said to him for the last little while. While he was now presented with a more plausible explanation with regards his infamous gender change – as opposed to simply waking up to a bad joke gone wrong – Naruto still had a sinking feeling that reverting back into his original body was not a near-future possibility. He had no actual proof to back up his assumption, but his gut instinct was usually correct for complex situations such as this; and boy was it ever complicated.
"There is still much for the two of us to understand but I think that we have extended our stay here long enough. Let us depart for the time being."
And in the blink of an eye, the entire room vanished as the pair exited out of the astral plane and back into reality.
——†——
Naruto opened up his eyes slowly and noticed that he was back in the real world, in his female form, still sitting on the bench underneath a cloudless sky, on the rooftop of Sunagakure's General Clinic. Gently nestled on top of Minako's lap and loosely held within her hands remained the untouched contents of her bentou box which she had intended on consuming during her well deserved lunch break. She simply sat in her place in complete silence, not even remembering that she had company seated right next to her. Had it not been for the gentle touch of Koki's soft paw resting on her forearm, she would have continued to remain in her silent trance for an undetermined amount of time. She glanced over at the pup and noticed that he too had also reverted back into his real world disguise, into his all-white 'normal looking' fox form.
"I cannot guarantee an easy road ahead for either of us Naruto," Minako faintly smiled at Koki's use of her real name, "But together, I am confident that we can make it through alright."
Minako gazed back into those warm blue eyes and found that she couldn't bring herself to despise the enigmatic creature. The truth, regardless of the context, was normally never a pleasant thing to experience, and her particular situation was downright uncomfortable. But even with all of the uncertainty, the confusion, and completely farfetched "answers" – so to speak – left hanging in the air, Minako knew that she had no choice but to believe in Koki's every word. Part of her did it out of spite. Part of her did it because she had no other choice. The rest came from her unexplainable inability to label the fox pup as a liar.
"We just have to be patient…"
Patience…was something that Minako had to submit to if she ever wanted to get her life back on track. Not saying that things were going terrible as of lately but if she ever wanted the whole truth, her original body and the normal life that she had grown so accustomed to, she would just have to continue on this indeterminate trail with diligence and drive rather than simply waiting for things to come to her. Minako pulled out her pocket watch and calculated that her entire subconscious episode with Koki, from start to finish, had only lasted for just under 15 minutes, which meant that she still had a good 40 minutes left until her lunch break was over.
"Mina…"
"Hmm?" Minako glanced over at Koki.
"I-if you don't mind me asking. I-I mean, i-if it were possible…would I be able to speak with my mother, just for a bit?"
Minako gazed into the pup's large and hopeful eyes.
"I…I'll see what I can do." Koki wagged his tail in anticipation.
Minako closed her eyes and began to establish a connection between herself and the Kyuubi,
Well…you heard the little guy. Are you going to talk to him?
A few moments of silence passed. No…but it will happen eventually.
Minako was slightly surprised. Why so hesitant?
What did I tell you about questioning my decisions human? The demon responded with slight irritation.
Okay, okay. Sheesh! No need to bite my head off. I was just wondering why you wouldn't since…well…the two of you are Mother and Son after all. Um…right?
Not everything needs to happen immediately brat. Patience is a virtue that you have yet to handle appropriately. Minako slightly cringed in annoyance. Delicate situations require time. Learn that before you decide to think with your mouth instead of your head.
And just like that, the connection was severed. Minako opened up her eyes and glanced back down at Koki who was still waiting with eagerness. She gulped down the slight nervousness that had found its way into her throat and addressed the pup shortly following.
"U-um…not this time little guy. It's uh…kind of complicated but she can't really speak to you right now. Sorry…" Minako watched Koki's eyes go downcast while his ears drooped down a bit in defeat.
"I see…" Koki nodded to himself a few times before looking back up into Minako's sympathetic eyes. "Thank you for trying though Mina. I appreciate the gesture." Without even a moment's notice, Koki jumped off of the bench and began to walk away.
"H-hey wait, where are you going?"
The pup stopped in his tracks and looked back over his shoulder towards Minako.
"Just…around. I'm sure you'll need a bit of time to yourself to let all of this new information regarding our acquaintanceship sink in, am I correct?"
Minako felt slightly pained at the sight of the pup's obvious attempt to cover up his disappointment.
"W-well yeah but…"
Minako was quite aware that sometimes, actions were more appropriate than words. Rather than try to reason with the pup's departure, the blonde made her way over to the pup until she was right next to him. She got down on her knees and gently rested one of her hands on top of Koki's head and gave it a gentle scratch.
"Hey…you know what never fails to cheer me up?"
Koki looked up at Minako. "What is that?"
"Good food." Minako repositioned herself until she sat down cross-legged beside the pup. She set down her bentou box on the ground between the two of them, removed the lid, unclasped her chopsticks and held out a piece of tamagoyaki (2) in front of Koki for him to consume. The pup gazed back at the delicious morsel in both uncertainty and hunger.
"Go on, eat up! It's alright."
Koki slowly inched his snout towards the omelette roll until it was barely touching the tip of his nose. The moment he got a full whiff of the fried egg that tempted him so mercilessly, he downed the offered treat in one quick bite; happily chewing on the wonderful combination of rice and egg with vigour and savouring the faint taste of soy sauce that made his palate sigh. Minako couldn't help but laugh at the fox's cute antics.
"Well…aren't we hungry today?" Minako said playfully. "I've got plenty more in here just waiting to be eaten so feel free to help yourself."
"Mina…" The pup looked into his new master's eyes in genuine gratitude. "Thank you…"
Minako nodded back and gave Koki another pat on the head.
"You're welcome…"
It was a strange feeling. Even after she was bombarded with the whole revelation of being the reincarnation of Michiko the enchantress (sort of) to which she still didn't quite 100 percent believe, for a brief moment, Minako had completely forgotten about all of the inner turmoil and simply basked in the peace and comfort that she was currently sharing with her so called "guardian," Koki, among other things. It was in this moment where she felt the faint bond of friendship, a heart-felt connection; silently form between the two of them.
Prophesied or foretold destinies aside, Minako was actually able to view the pup as a friend and companion as opposed to her "guardian" (as he claimed to be), just another talking animal or even as a potential pet. The two of them had to overcome fairly difficult hardships to get to where they are now and in a sense, have also experienced great loneliness in the process. Perhaps it was their commonalities that made the blonde see her new animal companion in a completely different light. Whether or not their meeting was ordained by higher powers Minako will never know, but she had a feeling that something like this could only happen once in a lifetime. And besides, who was she to turn down friendship?
"Did you make this yourself?" Koki said with a mouthful of onigiri (3). Minako couldn't help but laugh again.
"I attempted. The tamagoyaki and the onigiri are my own recipe. The rest were store bought."
"It's very good!"
Minako wasn't quite sure how Koki was able to breathe, let alone talk, with so much food in his tiny mouth but either way, she found it comical, endearing, and only slightly disturbing. The pair spent a few more moments in silence simply enjoying the shared meal between them. Minako's lunch was almost completely consumed until a new voice had broken their moment.
"Minako-chan. I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch break but I need you to head on down to Ward 1-C immediately. It's urgent."
The serious yet concerned voice of her supervisor emitting from Minako's communicator had surprised the blonde to say the least. Dr. Kimura was a highly reserved woman and she carried herself with dignity. Medical Care was her passion so she always seemed calm even when the situation seemed dire. Hearing the slight waver in Dr. Kimura's voice from her unexpected announcement made Minako lower her brows in suspicion. Without even bothering to inquire her supervisor for further details, Minako responded to her orders promptly.
"Of course. I'll be down there shortly."
Minako looked down at Koki who was happily eating away at the last few scraps of her lunch. The pup looked up into her eyes as he quietly chewed on an octopus sausage (4). A little bit of the "tentacle" was hanging out the side of his mouth.
"An emergency call. Sorry Koki but I gotta run."
The pup swallowed the last of his meal and nodded in return.
"Not a problem Mina. I'm all finished here."
"So I see…" Minako lightly cleaned up the area around their eating place and gathered up her bentou box. She paused for a bit and looked down at Koki before departing. She was about to give her goodbye but Koki was the one that spoke up first.
"I…I can't thank you again Mina. As…as small as the gesture was, it…really did cheer me up. You truly are kind."
"Well…I don't really know about being truly kind but," Minako knelt down and gave Koki one last pet, "what kind of a person would I be if I turned a blind eye to a friend in need?" The blonde smiled down at the pup who continued to nuzzle her much welcomed hand appreciatively.
"So…I guess I'll see you around?"
The pup nodded and smiled. "We shall…take care Mina."
"I will…"
Minako watched on as the fox pup gracefully made his way off of the rooftop and into the depths of the village. The blonde spent a few moments to herself simply recapping her newfound revelation in the budding relationship that beginning to form between her and her "guardian," Koki. As the gentle summer breeze blew threw her golden hair, if only for a moment, Minako had almost completely forgotten the burden that she had been bestowed with not too long ago.
——†——
After placing her empty bentou box into her work locker and spending a few moments in the near by washroom cleaning and prepping herself for her afternoon shift, Minako made her way on over to Ward 1-C on the main floor of the General Clinic, as she was instructed to. The sight of her supervisor and 3 other medics carefully tending to two patients – two hospital personnel per patient – made her raise an eyebrow in confusion. For most minor to moderate injuries or maladies, there were usually only 1 or 2 medics for an entire ward – each ward had a maximum patient occupancy of 8. Seeing 4 medics, one of them a doctor nonetheless, tending to only two patients seemed a little out of the ordinary.
Minako cleared her throat. "I'm here Kimura-sensei." (5)
Dr. Kimura glanced over her shoulder. "Ahh Minako…you've arrived."
"So…what's going on? It seemed urgent."
Dr. Kimura stood up straight and turned around until she was directly facing her young subordinate.
"You…might want to brace yourself."
"W-why…what happened?"
With dignity and professionalism, Dr. Kimura stepped to the side and finally revealed the identity of her patient. The sight that had greeted Minako struck a sharp chord from within her.
"K-KAKASHI-SENSEI?!"
TBC
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A/N: A little bit longer than the last chapter but I'm actually quite glad how this one turned out. Chapter 12 was a little rushed on my part and I apologize for that so I hoped that you all enjoyed this chapter a little bit more.
I know it'll probably be a while before my story can achieve its former glory among you readers, as given by my year long hiatus without prior notice, but this time, I'm keeping my promise of bringing life into this story and have it continue on as it was intended. Hope it still keeps you all interested! Stay tuned.
(1) Kind of gives a sort of Valkyrie Profile feel to it, don't you think?
(2) Tamgoyaki – A kind of Japanese omelette that's made up of multiple layers of egg and rolled up into a nice compact rectangular shape. It' can be additionally fortified as a sushi topping in which it is placed on top of a pillow of rice and fastened with a belt of seaweed. Great with soy sauce! Mmm…
(3) Onigiri – The general name for a typical Japanese rice ball.
(4) Octopus Sausage – It may sound weird but it's NOT octopus mashed up into a sausage-like form. It's actually the end piece of a regular sausage (typically a hot dog) with the bottom part cut into slits and curved until it sort of resembles an octopus. It's simply just a cute and creative way to bring life into an ordinary hot dog.
(5) The "sensei" honorific isn't just limited to the traditional master/disciple relationship. It is generally given to figures of authority which include teachers, professors, and even professionals such as lawyers, political representatives, and (in this case) doctors. But I'm sure you all knew that already right?
FYI…this story made me hungry as I was going through it.