Chapter 8 - A Face That Everyone Knows
Onbara gripped Hana's shoulder firmly. Hana gulped. He didn't dare look at his shoulder. One wrong move he wouldn't be looking at it again.
"Funny seeing ya here... Hana. Don't ya know how dark it is, right now?" Onbara asked while leaning on the back on Hana's chair. "Your folks are probably worrying themselves ill."
"I... I would have gone home if I could, but I got lost," Hana said.
"Oh? And just how did you get lost in the first place, eh? ...were you following somebody?"
Hana's heart sunk so low, stomach acid threatened to melt it. Beniko sighed.
"Still nosy as ever, I see," she remarked.
"What? Me? Nosy?" Onbara put his thumb to his heart. "That gets me right here, Benny. And to think I came all this way just to give you and Old Man Tojiro a present."
Beniko raised a brow. "Present?"
Before she could inquire further, her grandfather came from the back of the restaurant.
"Beniko, it's getting loud up here. Did you bring another-" Beniko's grandfather spotted Onbara, and the lines around his face got more severe. "…why is he here? Beniko, did you let him in?"
"He let himself in, Grandfather. And will you stop glaring?"
"I doubt he will," Onbara said. "If Old Man Tojiro stopped glarin' at me, I might actually start feeling welcome."
To Hana's relief, Onbara released his shoulder to approach Tojiro. To his surprise, no explosive tag had been left in the hand's place. He even patted the area around his shoulder down to make sure, much to Beniko's confusion. While standing in front of Tojiro, Onbara reached into his vest. He pulled out a stack of ryo bills and held them out for Tojiro to take.
Tojiro didn't even glance at the bills. "What are doing?"
"Showing some goodwill. Just think of it as a really good tip-"
Tojiro smacked away Onbara's hand. When he did, the ryo fluttered to the floor like feathers.
"I would sooner beg for change in the streets than take one ryo of your damn blood money. Now, get out."
Tojiro marched into the back of Imperial Majesty without giving Onbara so much as a second glance. The yakuza stood there with his hand still extended, as though he expecting Tojiro to turn around and shake it . After a while, Onbara pursed his lips and hummed.
"Grandfather! You can't just treat customers like that!" Beniko shouted into the back of the restaurant.
"Forget it, Benny. What just happened was my fault," Onbara said while picking up his money. "I should've known Old Man Tojiro wouldn't take a handout. Especially not from some two-bit thug off the streets."
Beniko frowned. "But still... Grandfather is always so cold toward you, even though you're always trying to help."
"Well, he's from a era where men never accepted favors from criminals, no matter how bad the circumstances were. I sorta respect for that. I still think he's a stubborn, old fogey, but he kinda can't help it at his age."
Onbara thumbed through the cash as he walked back to Hana's table. He reclined in a chair next to Hana, and propped up his feet.
"Can you bring something to eat, Benny? All I've been eatin for the past few days is cabbage stew."
Beniko's expression went from concerned to jaded immediately. "All we have is leftovers."
"Leftovers? What's the kiddo eatin then?"
"Uh... Miss Beniko warmed this up for me," a still nervous Hana explained.
"Seriously? Beniko, warm me up something scrumptious too! Preferably with lots of meat."
Beniko rolled her eyes as she headed to the back of the restaurant. Then she glanced back.
"Keep your feet of the table," she said sharply.
Onbara listened until Beniko disappeared. His feet went right back up when she left.
Hana stared down into his miso soup. He could see his anxious reflection in it. His hip started aching again. Hana guessed that it might have been all the walking he did. Though, it might have been because his former assailant was lounging right beside him, whistling the same bizarre tune he had when Hana was following him.
"Hey, kiddo. You never told me how it is that you got here," Onbara said without looking in Hana's direction.
Sweat was dripping from Hana's brow. "…miss Beniko found me like she said she did."
"Oh, I'm sure Benny was telling the truth. That girl doesn't even know that the word 'lie' exists," Onbara exaggerated. "What I mean is, who did you follow into the city. I don't know a lot about you, but when you fought Roba and me on top of that roof, you were barefoot. That means that you left your sandals at home while you were rushing to the Hanimura kid's rescue. So wherever your house is, it must have been close by."
Hana cringed. Onbara had figured all that out just from one obscure detail that even Hana had forgotten about. He was smart. Much too smart for Hana and his easy to see though lies to fool.
Hana lowered his head. "I was following you. I was hoping to find out where you lived or where your hideout was."
"So what happened?"
Hana blushed. "...I got lost."
Onbara snickered while looking away. Hana could tell by how the yakuza was trembling that he wanted to burst out laughing, but he held it in for some reason. Maybe he didn't want to rude and laugh in Hana's face twice in one night.
"Man, kiddo! You're killing me here-" Onbara said while trying to pat Hana's back.
Hana almost fell out of his chair while trying to get away from Onbara's hand. The latter saw the former's fearful reaction and blinked. Then he smirked.
"Don't sweat like that, kiddo. It'll get into the miso soup. And don't worry – I'm not carrying right now." Onbara rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned his vest. "See? All clear."
Hana exhaled in relief. Then he started to wonder. "Why wouldn't you bring explosives with you? Aren't they your main weapon?"
Onbara snorted. "So now you want me to bring explosives? Make up your mind, kid."
Hana watched Onbara button his vest and lengthen his sleeves. "I'm sorry. I was just asking," he apologized.
"And now you're speaking polite to me too? You change your tune way too fast, kiddo. Anyway, I would never bring stuff like my tags into the Imperial Majesty. This place has enough problems to sweat about without me stacking a few hundred more."
"I guess you've known Miss Beniko and her grandfather long, then."
"Nope. Only met em about three years ago. The place was still shabby then too. I haven't been in the village long, just so you know. I'm only been a resident for about five years. Before that, I was just some punk wandering the countryside, jumping from village to village. And before that, I was a smaller punk growing up in some nowhere village you'd need a map and highlighter to find."
Hana blinked. Why was Onbara telling him any of this.?He only asked why Onbara didn't bring explosives. In truth, Onbara wasn't sure himself. He was just in a talkative mood.
He crossed his legs on the table. "Like I said – I met Benny and Old Man Tojiro three years ago. I was real piece of work back then. The kinda scum you would expect to find in the yakuza. Unfortunately, guys like that are typically the first to die-"
"Argh...!" Onbara supported himself on the statue while holding his hip.
It was bleeding. Not enough that he would drop dead immediately, but enough to endanger his life if he didn't get to the hospital quick enough. Those bastards from the Oza clan were stronger than he thought. Sneakier too. Had he not had ignited his tags in time, he would have been dead on the street instead of them.
"Where'd he go?!" one of Oza yakuza exclaimed.
"He's wounded. He couldn't have gotten far. Keep looking until you find him!" another commanded.
Onbara glared at the air in front of him and started walking as fast as his body would allow. He was going to die tonight. He knew he was. He had always been impetuous – picking fights with low odds, but that was why his boss favored him so much, and why in the yakuza he had earned the nickname Kamikaze Onbara; but it looked like this was it for him.
He eventually lost strength in his legs and collapsed at at the feet of another statue. He glanced up. This statue was much different from the earlier one modeled after Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin. This was a guardian lion statue. Sitting parallel to this statue was an identical one, and in-between them was a short flight of stairs.
"The hell? Where did these stairs come from?" Onbara asked himself between deep breaths.
He had never been to this part of the city before. The only reason he was here now was because he was being cornered. What terrible luck, dying in an unfamiliar part of town.
He sighed. "Pathetic... Even Ma got to die in her home..."
"Huh? Who said that?" a feminine voice asked.
Onbara peeked behind the statue. A brown-haired girl wearing a cheongsam dress was standing at the top of the stairs. She held in her hands a container that kept food warm. She must have been making deliveries. She cautiously looked down the steps and saw Onbara peek his head from behind the statue. She noticed how pale he looked.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
"Y-you mean me...? Yea, I'm good." Onbara gave her a shooing gesture. "Just leave me alone. I'm trying to rest."
Onbara had lost enough blood to start losing a bit of his common sense, and the hand he shooed the girl away with was the one that was covering his wound. The girl saw the blood on his hand and every alarm shot off in her head. She sat the container down and rushed to Onbara's side.
"H-hey! What do think-"
"Be quiet!" the girl shouted while pulling up his shirt to see his injury better.
It wasn't severe, but it would be in a few hours with no treatment. She put Onbara's arm over her shoulder and attempted to haul him up.
"Oy! Are you outta your mind, helping some bloody stranger off the street?!"
"If I wasn't out of my mind, I wouldn't be helping you in the first place. Now, be quiet. You're going to make your injury worse."
"Listen... some seriously dangerous people are lookin for me. They'll kill you too if they see you helping me."
"Then shut up already and stop walking with me!" The girl forced Onbara to take a step forward up the stairs. "I don't want to die... but I'm not going to let you die either. Do you really want to die in the streets? Is that what your mother would have wanted?"
Onbara cringed when the girl mentioned his mother. Eventually, he gave up and walked along with the girl. Once they made up the steps, the girl stopped all of the sudden.
"What are doing?"
"Getting my container."
"Are you crazy? Those guys will be on us any minute now!"
The girl looked at Onbara seriously. "No matter what the circumstances, I will never leave behind a fresh meal."
It was the first time Onbara ever showed such a strange face.
Onbara laughed to himself while thinking about his first meeting with Beniko. She hauled him to the Imperial Majesty and tended to his wounds in the back. Tojiro didn't like him even back then, but he still let Onbara hide in the restaurant until the coast was clear.
"Yeah... I owe Benny and her gramps a lot. I'm actually still trying to repay the debt, but Old Man Tojiro never takes anything I give him. Kinda hurts hurt, to be honest."
Hana gazed at Onbara. "So... you were already using miniature explosive tags at that time?"
Onbara gave Hana a beady expression. "Is that seriously the only thing you took from that story?"
Hana laughed lightly. "Well it was my original question so..."
Onbara shrugged. "I've been fighting with explosive tags for a while, kiddo. A lot of people fight using the weapon they're most comfortable with: puppets, kunai, shurikens, swords. Me? I fight using the weapon that I know can do the most damage." Onbara smiled sadly. "Ain't a thing in the world that can destroy lives like a good explosion."
Hana didn't know why, but Onbara's face suddenly got darker. The mood between the two would have been solemn had Beniko not come out with a second bowl of miso soup in her hand. Onbara brightened up immediately.
"Benny~ I knew I could count on my favorite girl~" he paraded.
Beniko blushed and sighed while sitting the bowl down in front of him. When Onbara and Hana both finished their meals, they both got up from the table at the same time. Accidentally, of course, but Beniko didn't know that.
"Oh, are going to walk Hana home, Onbara?" she asked.
Onbara looked at her. Then he looked at Hana. He shrugged. "If the kiddo is going my way, I guess I won't be able to help it."
Hana scratched the back of his head. He supposed that walking with Onbara wouldn't be too bad. He had no explosive tags on him. Push came to shove, he could just run away. There were enough people in the streets for him to lose Onbara in a crowd.
"Onbara, wait. Before you go... I have something for you." Beniko dug into her cheongsam and pulled out a necklace.
Onbara raised one brow and lowered the other. "Benny... are you proposing?"
Beniko blushed worst than she ever had before. "Of course I'm not you dummy! Just... Here! Take it!" Beniko practically forced the necklace into Onbara's grasp.
"Oh... thanks, I guess. …what's this for again?"
"For helping. I know that Grandfather doesn't take your handouts most of the time, but you still try help the Imperial Majesty. In fact, you help out everyone in the district. I know that it's been you who's been scaring away the gangs that used to hang around, and that you donate to the other businesses that aren't doing well. I don't know how you're doing all this... but thank you."
Beniko's face looked like a tomato. She finished talking and walked briskly to the back of the restaurant. Onbara chuckled at her. He looked at the necklace and hid it in his pocket before leaving.
"Aren't you going to wear it?" Hana asked while he and Onbara left the district.
"Nah. I'd feel guilty if I did."
"Guilty? Why? Was what Miss Beniko said about you helping the district untrue?"
"No, she was right. Not sure how she figured it out, though. Somebody must have ran their mouth. Probably that dumbass Roba. But yeah, the reason why I said I'd feel guilty is because I've been lying to Benny for three years. She doesn't know I'm in the yakuza."
Hana made a surprised face. "But what about when she saved you from the Oza clan?"
"She never learned the specifics. She just thinks it was some low-brow gang fight. She has no idea that I'm affiliated with one of the seven most notorious clans in the Hidden Leaf. And I'm in no hurry to tell her."
"But why?"
"Why? Think for a second, kiddo. You really think I can get a girl like Benny involved in this sort of world? I already owe my life, I can't cause Benny to lose her's."
Hana put his head down. He understood, but still, he hated that Beniko cared for Onbara so much, and was still in the dark about this part of him.
"OK~ This is where we part ways," Onbara said while stopping in front of the train station. "You're heading back down to the village, right?"
Hana suddenly looked up. "Oh... Yeah. Thank you, Mister Onbara."
Onbara widened his eyes. "Mister Onbara?"
"You don't want me to say your name formerly?"
"No, I'm just... not used to hearing that. The only time people call me mister is when they're trying to sell me something. …anyway. See ya around, kiddo." Onbara began walking away. Then he stopped and shot Hana a glare. "Don't follow me this time."
"I-I won't!"
Onbara's glare quickly turned into a sadistic laugh as he sauntered off. Hana watched him disappear into the crowd. Then he noticed the train was about to take off and rushed aboard.
When he made it back the village and back to the Uchiha household, he met Sakura at the door who quickly hugged him and thanked God for his safety. Than she proceeded to lecture him on how stupid he was for twenty minutes straight while he still stood at the door. Sarada and Sasuke quietly watched her rant, while Hana made a flustered faces.
Bolt sat on balcony outside his house. It gave him a wide-spread view of the village and a perfect view of the Hokage Monument. He remembered when the city above the monument was still only partially constructed. It looked like thin trees were standing atop the monument. Now the city was a metropolis, and its light glowed brightly every night. The monument almost seemed insignificant in comparison.
"Is that how it's supposed to be...?" Bolt asked.
"Bolt, its time for bed," Hinata said while walking out onto the balcony.
"I'll go in a second, Mom."
Hinata watched her son's unmoving back. He was usually the first person to collapse into his pillow. She walked up to him, and they observed the rock faces together.
"Bolt, did you know that your Dad was really nervous when it was time for his face to be put on mountain?"
Bolt looked at his mother with a surprised look. "Seriously?"
"Mm-hmm. When he was young, he couldn't stop talking about the day he would get his face put up there. When it finally came time for it to happen though, he was more nervous than I ever saw him. He went and asked Ino for special face cream. He never stopped checking mirrors. I think he got his hair cut at least thirty-two times, and each time nobody but your Dad could tell the difference. When it was time for the sculptor to measure his face, he kept acting for retakes like he was film director. It became the longest time between any Hokage being inaugurated and having their head sculptured."
Bolt leaned forward and laughed. He bet that that little fact wasn't going to be added to any history books. Then Bolt stopped snickering and glanced up. The rock face Naruto was so jittery about is obscure in comparison to the city looming overhead.
"I guess Dad didn't have to worry. People probably don't look twice at his face now," Bolt said.
"They don't have too. Everybody knew your father's face before he became the Hokage. Somebody who everybody in the village acknowledges – that's who gets their face put on the Hokage Monument."
Bolt looked at his mother. Then looked back at the Hokage Monument once again.
'Somebody who everybody in the village acknowledges – that's who gets their face put on the Hokage Monument.' Bolt repeated in his thoughts.
Everybody knew Naruto's face, but did they know Bolt's? They probably knew the Hokage had a son, and that that son degraded the Hokage's face whenever he got the chance, but did they really know what Bolt looked like? Had they acknowledged him?
"Mom... how do you get acknowledged?" he asked.
Hinata smiled. "Being acknowledged by everyone is something you can 'get,' Bolt. It's only something that can be given." Hinata leaned in and kissed Bolt's cheek. "Go to bed soon, okay?"
Hinata went back inside, and left Bolt alone on the balcony. Bolt stared at the monument one last time.
"Something that's given, huh?"