If she could ask for one wish and have that wish granted... she would surely wish for something greater than all the worldly vices in existence. It would be something stronger than strength, more than wealth, greater than power and higher than fame. It would be something that even she did not know of.
But would it be something she yearned? Absolutely.
The word 'complicated' would not come close to describe the woman that was Yukinoshita Haruno. While it was a fact shared with some people out there, she liked to think that she was not an easy person. Who would want to be thought as such anyway?
For a woman who almost reached the ripe age of twenty, she had learned more than what her generation had accumulated in their earlier years. With a mother like hers... no one could blame her if she said that she was foreign with the concept of things like mercy and fairness.
Mercy was a grace that no one deserved, and fairness was an illusion set up by the weak.
That was what her mother had carved into her mind ever since she was old enough to count to ten and even she herself wondered how she did not end up an exact replica as her mother.
Ah, but she knew why.
Unlike her cute, foolish but nonetheless lovable little sister...
...she did not fail.
"Ojou-sama, we have arrived."
Her rogue colored supple, juicy lips smacked in anticipation as the limousine came to a halt. The smoke tinted windows of the vehicle shielded its occupant from the glaring sunlight outside, but all in all, the weather was good. Opening the door by pulling on the knob, she stepped outside with her left foot touching the ground first. Now outside, she stretched her arms upwards.
Haruno's eyes sneaked around, noticing the not-so-subtle stares that people were giving her. She had no reason to hide it. Like any other women, she loved attention and would appreciate any given her way.
"I'll call you when I'm done here, Shigure." Haruno told the driver.
"Yes, Ojou-sama." Haruno saw her driver tipping the driver's cap with a gloved hand, acknowledging her reminder.
After receiving a wave from a smiling Haruno, the driver stepped on the gas pedal, engines humming, before eventually driving off to disappear on the corner of the street.
"Alright, now, let's see... is he here yet..." Checking her phone, she browsed through her recent SMS logs. "Oh, looks like he's here. No surprise there, ufufu." Even as she was talking to her stare, she received nothing but admiring looks.
And jealousy, of course.
Dressed in a blue satin blouse which was gleaming underneath the sunlight, the collar was left undone to show the jeweled necklace around her neck. The blouse was tucked into a pair of baggy crop pants kept together with a red skinny belt. Her cork wedges high heels provided her with an addition two and half inches of height, but she managed to move without any hint of difficulty.
"It should be around here somewhere... aha, there it is!" Quickening her pace, she walked merrily, holding her handbag with her.
Reaching the destination, she entered the establishment, pushing the front door open. The chime of bells signaled her entrance and Haruno was greeted by the serene pub-cafe hybrid atmosphere. Surveying the interior quickly, she was quite impressed with what she was seeing. She did not know that a place existed, looks like she had been missing a lot ever since her departure.
"Oh there he is!" Her eyes brightened when they spot a familiar tall, male form sitting at the corner of the cafe.
"Itachi-kun!"
Said man opened one eye, watching as his caller made her way through the serving aisle, avoiding waiters and waitresses as they tend to the others.
Even seated, one could immediately tell that he was of a tall height. Dressed sharply, he looked like a character out of a Shoujo manga. Handsome, wealthy, composed... he could easily be the main love interest of a Shoujo manga protagonist. But unfortunately, he was no such things. He was-
"Mou, Itachi-kun, you could've said 'hello' or something." Itachi was mildly amused by the pout that Haruno was making. It brought him a sense of nostalgia and comfort.
"I'd rather talk when needed." His answer made Haruno pout harder. "So, now that you're here, let's talk, shall we?" He smiled as the woman took her seat opposite of him.
The pout was erased. Poof. As if it was never there. It was replaced by a wide smile, one that did not look forced and was easy on the eyes. "Alright then, so, mind telling me why did you choose this place for our meeting?"
The ponytailed man's beady black eyes showed a flicker of amusement. He was expecting her to ask him that very question first things first.
"No reason, it was simply the closest one from where I was recently." answered the black haired man, his voice as crisp as the acoustic audio speakers playing inside the establishment.
"Oh, was it a job?" asked Haruno.
"Yes." Itachi nodded. "A quick one, fortunately." he shifted his position so that he could reach for something from underneath.
Watching the gesture, Haruno saw her friend pull out a brown paper file, placing it on the table before them. A waitress stopped by, placing the free cold iced tea, an act custom to most food establishment.
"This is to be sent directly to your father." Itachi instructed Haruno. "We would have done it ourselves, but I figured that I might as well have you deliver it for us since we're meeting here."
"Oho?" Haruno eyed the document with interest. Crossing her arms, she asked, "Is this relating to this deal that your higher ups is offering us?"
The black haired man nodded. "Yes, but it's best to not talk about such things here." warned Itachi.
"Sorry, sorry." Itachi was skeptical of her apology. "So, I'll deliver this to father later then. Now, back to us," Haruno leaned forward, perching her chin on her palms, which were supported by her elbows. "have you been busy lately, Itachi-kun?"
Realizing the casual nature of their topic, Itachi allowed himself to relax, bringing up a hand on the table. "Things have been going rather swimmingly for the past few months... I'm glad that it's been that way."
"Ah, I see." Haruno nodded a few times. "You got your masters degree from Todai in less than a year and now you already have a stable job." There was no admiration, just plain facts. "It's surprising that you're not someone just yet."
"You could have graduated early too." Countered the stoic man, reaching for his glass. "Was it a good idea to stay there longer?"
Being asked that particular question, Haruno's smile slipped off her face. She looked down, lifting her face from her palms to look at her toe.
"Well... you know, I still want to enjoy whatever freedom I have now." Melancholic was the only thing that came to Itachi's mind when he heard her voice. "But when the time comes, I'll be ready. We're all expected to, anyway."
Itachi might not show it, but he agreed with Haruno.
Yukinoshita Haruno was not a stranger to him, yet she was not exactly someone he could say he had an intimate relationship. They were close, yes, but nothing more than just a pair of college friends. Beyond that...
"But, really, shouldn't you be going through the same things I'm going through right now?" The pout returned, this time fueled with slight envy. "Must be nice being allowed to work for another company other than your own, huh?" She let out an exaggerated sigh.
"The Uchiha Conglomerate sure is something, letting the successor of their family business roam around like this."
Itachi closed one eye, but everything else still remained in their normal listless state. He reached for his tea, saying,
"Believe me when I say that you're allowed more room than I do." Itachi retorted calmly. "I may be independent, but my independence is something that is allowed to me. And I still help the family business from time to time, and I'll even say that I've contributed more than you."
"Oh? The Uchiha Itachi is joking? My, is the world coming to an end?" said Haruno with a playful wink.
Shrugging, the man could only utter a very curt "Hn."
"So Uchiha-like of you, Itachi-kun. Ufufufu."
While the two friends are catching up, a customer sitting two tables adjacent to them was idly stirring on his cup of cafe latte. He was sitting still with his back straight and not touching the chair's back rest. His left hand was stirring the drink, while his right one was busy scribbling down words on a notepad with a pen.
The tan colored cap worn on his head shielded the upper portion of his face, and with the way he was casting his head down, he was not giving anyone a clear look on his face. The black and orange shemagh coiled around his neck gave him a rather foreign feeling, and him being an actual foreigner did not help.
The pen held between his fingers burn through the notepad's content, filling in every empty white space with small, detailed and concise scribbling of words.
This went on for tens of minutes, twenty even. When thirty minutes had passed from the moment he began writing, he was already about to finish his notepad.
"Well today's been fun, Itachi-kun, thank you for the parfait and cake."
"Don't mention it."
The oldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family giggled at her friend's lackluster response. "I'll be taking my leave then, my driver's already outside. Bye bye, Itachi-kun~"
"Hn."
After hearing the exchange, the cap wearing customer placed his pen down, relaxing his fingers after a long period of jotting down important information from the pair he had been eavesdropping on ever since the start. His ears twitched, and a quick peek confirmed that the black haired man had exited the establishment.
Despite his objectives no longer present, he waited inside for another twenty minutes or so. This was done so that he could avoid meeting them when he finally left, getting found out after eavesdropping on your targets was a very lame way of failing an assignment.
Standing up from his seat, he set aside the empty glass containing the cafe latte he had consumed until the last drop next to the other empty glasses from his previous orders. Taking out his wallet, he left several bills on the table, just enough to leave the shop with a pretty amount of tip.
Checking out his surroundings, making sure that he didn't leave anything behind; he then finally exited the shop. Once outside, he pulled out his phone and brought it to his ear.
"What did you get?"
"She was meeting someone called Uchiha Itachi."
"...hm... that's... alarming."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... at least nothing solid just yet, though the director's not going to like this... well anyway, you're cleared for the day. We'll brief you for another assignment when we're finished here."
"Hm."
The call ended on an ominous note.
What was the recipe that Professor Utonium had originally chosen in order to create the perfect little girls?
Sugar, spice and everything nice...
…what a load of bull.
"Oi Hikigaya, you better start doing our homework and have them done by next week. Otherwise, your little secret's not going to stay secret forever!"
Under the wolfish jeers of her classmates, a dark green haired girl slowly picked up the books scattered around her that were thrown by her classmates. She did not say anything as they laughed, keeping her gaze down on the ground.
"Look at her, she's not even fighting back. Ain't that pathetic?! Hahahaha!"
"Hahaha! Totally!"
"Laaaaame~!"
"Eeew, she's like, so gross!"
They were all girls. All of them. Most of them were pretty, sure, but 'nice'? Not so much.
Aside from gathering the scattered books around her, she did nothing. She stood up, cradling the thick bundle of homework with her to her table, before placing it on the desk for her to carry later. Her classmates left the classroom all the while insulting her and calling her names. After making sure that they had properly left the area, she breathed out in relief.
"...whew, I'm beat." she sighed. 'Well, not literally, but, oh well.' She made sure that the proper number of books were present, as she did not want a repeat of what happened when she 'lost' one of them.
It's a good thing that they didn't share that picture they took of her to the rest of the students.
"...eight... nine... ten. Whew." She used the sleeve of her uniform to wipe the sweat that threatened to trickle down her eyebrow. "I'm sure that there were only five of them last time..."
Despite the fact of knowing that there were indeed only five of them last time...
"Oh well, no helping that I suppose."
This was her daily life at school. Attend classes, get decent grades, eat lunch quietly and do five to ten people's homework and have them ready when they are due... this was completely normal for her.
But it was probably not normal for other middle school girls.
After managing to, somehow, fit all ten books inside her already jam-packed school bag, she left the classroom. Walking through the quiet and evening tinted halls, she hummed a little tune for her. Normally, it was not a good idea, as other students would stare at her for humming an unfamiliar tune. It was a foreign song after all, an English song.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night..."
Her voice was not one made for singing, but she still sang regardless of knowing that it was not that great.
"Take these broken wings and... learn to fly..."
Her voice trailed off, disappearing. Shortly, she giggled, her left fang poking out as she hopped through the empty hallways of the school.
If only someone would lent her wings in the first place.
"So, so, Yumiko was like-"
Naruto easily tuned out Yui's rambling by putting more focus into his homework. It was supposed to be a homework, but he ended up doing it at club since he had nothing to do. Since THEY had nothing to do. It had been decided – mostly by Yui herself – that Yui was now a member of their merry little club, explaining her presence within the room.
He had finished his sciences, finding them to be easier than the geometry homework he was currently doing. But looking at the leftover pages, he could finish them in another ten or fifteen minutes.
"It seems that you're rather close with Miura-san, Yuigahama-san." Yukinoshita commented after pouring a new, warm batch of tea into her mug.
"Hm, hm!" With childlike innocence, Yui nodded her head. "Yumiko is like one of my closest friends! We've known each other ever since our first year here!" then she made a thoughtful expression. "Say, Yukinon, you and Hayama-kun know each other, right?"
Naruto, who was listening very carefully to what they were talking about, stopped writing, as if he had just switched his focus from his homework to the girls' conversation. Rudeness be damned.
Yukinoshita fidgeted on her spot, obviously uncomfortable from being subjected to a question related to certain blonde haired prince, but she still retained the same calm composure she was known for.
"That is true, Yuigahama-san." Yukinoshita confirmed, but she could not help asking, "Why? Do my name appear often in your group's conversation?"
The pink haired girl's response was a combination between a set of nods and a reply altogether. "Totally. Like, there was this one time when Tobecchi and the guys were talking about girls, but at some point, your name came up! And, and, Hayato-kun was all, like, 'Yukino-chan's a nice person once you get to know her' or something like that."
Instead of the usual nonchalant response Yui would receive from the black haired girl, she received a straight, disgusted scoff. "...that person... who does he think he is..."
Sensing that she had just stepped on a landmine, and unknowingly so, the pink haired girl backed away. "D-Did something happen between you two, Yukinon?" Yui mentally cursed herself for prying even further. 'Dang it me!'
"It's..." Yukinoshita hesitated. Whether it was due to her reluctance of not wanting to share the information or was it due to something else entirely, Yui did not know. "We are childhood friends."
Naruto's ears perked up.
"Eh..." Yui awed. "No wonder he referred to you so familiarly..."
"Yes..." The black haired club president sighed. "I would like it if we avoid talking about that person, Yuigahama-san. Talking about him makes me feel... uneasy."
"A-Alright."
'A relationship with Hayama Hayato from my class... bad blood perhaps? Or was it something else...?' The blonde pondered to himself. 'Hayama has direct ties to the Yukinoshita's; that is confirmed. But it's not just from them being childhood friends... is it?'
"Ne, ne, what are you doing, Naruto?"
At Yui's question, he swiftly shut off his thoughts, paying attention again to his homework. "I'm doing homework." was his listless response.
"Eh, homework?" Yui seemed surprised.
"...don't tell me you forgot already?"
"O-Oh yeah! Sciences and Geometry!" She forgot. "But, like, why are you doing them now instead of at home? It's called homework after all."
'...is she insulting me?'
Naruto closed his notebook, finally finished with the last batch of assignments. "I do them here because I don't want to be bothered with them later. I'd rather do things now rather than later, that way I'll suffer less."
Yui's eyes blinked like an owl. "Suffer less?"
"It means that Naruto-kun would not have to them later, thus burdening him with more work than what he already had initially." Explained the club president herself in Naruto's stead. "But I'm curious, Naruto-kun, what do you mean by you'll suffer less?"
Halfway from putting his books inside his bag, Naruto looked up to look at Yukino in the eyes.
"It's not suffering if you ask for it."
Yukino's eyes widened by a fraction upon hearing his answer, the warm mug on her hand suddenly felt cold to the touch. Soon, the senses returned to her again, only this time, she was answered. She leaned back on her chair, crossing her legs, placing her left leg above her right.
With fingers on her chin, she looked to be pondering Naruto's answer.
"But..." Yui's voice drew the two's attention, causing their eyes to turn to her. "If you're... burdened, then, it's still suffering, isn't it?"
Rather than resuming her thoughts from where she left, Yukino was more interested to hear what the whiskered blonde had to say. He who now had finished packing his book inside his bag, shrugged his broad shoulders.
"You don't have the right to call it 'suffering' if you brought it upon yourself. I would not allow an alcoholic to call his addiction as a form of suffering."
His composure was completely calm, much like the black haired princess sitting quietly nearby.
"But a person who has been blinded ever since their birth..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "I cannot say anything."
Yet there was this edge in his voice that carried out his message loud and clear.
"...I... eh..." unable to find any response, Yui could only lower her head.
Yukinoshita watched the exchange, unable to say anything herself. There was a weird air that had descended down into the club room, one that she was not familiar with. But if she had to compare it, it was similar to her past experience when she had to talk privately with her mother.
There was nothing but truth in his words and Yukinoshita could find herself agreeing with what he said. Just who was Naruto? He had been nothing more than a huge web of intrigue for her ever since their first meeting, despite her prior knowledge of his presence at school.
She shuddered to think what would happen should he meet a certain she devil from her family.
More than aware of the air he had brought down from his exchange with Yui, Naruto could only diffuse the situation by doing one thing. His chair made creaking sounds as he dragged it out, allowing for him to stand. With his bag slung over his shoulders, he turned his face towards the direction of the only exit in the room.
"...I'll excuse myself."
Those were the only words he uttered before he left the two girls alone inside the room.
"Are you sure that it was him?"
"Yes, chief. Naruto said that it was him."
Tsunade blurted out strings of endless curses, causing the Nara opposite of her to wince from some of the words she let out. Her fingers were busy massaging her head, recuperating from the initial headache that hit her when Shikamaru told her the news earlier today.
This follow up meeting was set up by her so she could talk more privately with the young handler. There were, undoubtedly, details that Shikamaru purposefully left out during the report session that was meant only for her.
"If..." She started. "If Uchiha Itachi is involved in this... we will have to completely rethink our entire plans, after throwing our current one into the trash, of course."
Shikamaru gazed pitifully at his boss. As much respect as he had for his seniors in the organization, the Chief had it hardest. "Hopefully, that wouldn't happen. My guys have had run-ins with several people from the Uchiha, so I share your pain, boss."
"It wouldn't be the same, Shikamaru." Tsunade breathed out through her teeth. "Itachi Uchiha is up there on our blacklist. Though his case differs greatly from our blonde merc, he's still as dangerous... if not more with his family's influence in Japan."
"Last time I check, the Uchiha Conglomerate was third when it came to influence." Shikamaru recalled, relaxing his standing form a little bit. "There's the Yukinoshita at the top, Senju at the second-" he did not miss his boss's glare. "-and finally the Uchiha themselves."
"...true." The director's voice was more subdued, for obvious reasons. "But even so, we will still be hindered a lot if he is to be a rust on our gears."
With the solemn way Tsunade ended her sentence, Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. "Boss, you're not suggesting..."
"What? No." Tsunade went wide eyed, reeling back from realizing the sheer ridiculousness of Shikamaru's conclusion. "No, hell no. No."
The pineapple haired boy relaxed visibly.
"I am not going to send a kill squad after Uchiha Itachi." she said, glaring at the boy. Leaning forward on her seat, she changed her demeanor. "Do you know the amount of shit we're going to be in if they found out that we so much as lay a hand on the Uchiha heir?"
"...I have an idea, but I'd rather not say."
Tsunade sighed. "...aside from monitoring him, there's nothing we can do." She shook off the tired expression from her face. "Shikamaru, assign someone from Jiraiya's people to spy on Uchiha Itachi."
"Wouldn't it be faster to tell him that yourself?" It might sound unprofessional, but Shikamaru could not help wonder.
"Hah." The busty woman scoffed. "That idiot's probably at a hostess club somewhere in Ginza as we speak."
Shikamaru could not say anything against that conclusion.
"Anyway, keep on monitoring things with Naruto." Tsunade fixed her position, letting her chin rest on the back of her palms. "The last thing we want is for him to go against us."
"...you're not suggesting that we get some leverage on him, are you?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Sure, let's threaten him with closing down every ramen shops in Japan if he won't cooperate, see how that'll work." she scoffed. "I may be cranky, but I'm not dumb, Shikamaru. I'm not ready to die at the hands of a war seasoned mercenary who's known for leading sieges all across the Baltic region."
"Well, interestingly, when we first met, Naruto specifically threate-told me that he'd put us on top of his 'people I will hunt down' list with me being the first person he 'hunt'."
Tsunade looked at the boy incredulously. "And you didn't piss yourself after hearing that?"
Shikamaru looked away. "...good thing I went to the restroom moments before he arrived."
His master would always gruel him the importance of training. There was not one day in his mentoring period when Kakashi did not beat his ass to the ground. That one eyed psycho was a monster on the battlefield, and that same monster had turned him into something similar.
Suffer. Suffer more. Suffer even more. That way, you'll be ready for everything in life.
And Naruto suffered. He remembered the way Kakashi would always drag his unconscious body to the medical ward after every training session. If their training happened during one of their long term jobs, then Kakashi would be the one to stitch him.
The concept of 'easiness' or 'comfort' was not in Kakashi's dictionary. Everything that he did was anything but those two... but he was never careless. Even though Kakashi would stop at nothing to make his exercise a boot camp straight out of hell, the man would never stand there and let him suffer alone. During all those times, he would go through the same he did.
At one point, Naruto doubted that he had been given mercenary training at all and even brought that topic up with his master. And Kakashi confirmed.
What that man had been putting him through was not mercenary training, but something else entirely. Until now... he never did tell him what manner of training it was, other than the fact that it was one meant to test a person's endurance.
Whether there was a deeper meaning into it, Naruto was clueles.
"Whoa, there brother, take it easy on the punching bag. You'll rip it off its hinges."
Naruto's finishing blow did not connect with his faux stationary opponent. His body was sweating all over, and his muscle shirt could definitely go use some dry cleaning later. He watched as ten percent of the gym's customers were giving him intense looks.
Looked like he needed to tone down a little bit.
Backing off from the punching bag, he retreated to his post for a short break. He observed that everyone was more or less still giving him looks, but it was not in the same intensity as before.
"Say, son, those were some mean punches you threw there. What's on your mind?" Looking up, Naruto saw a large, dark skinned, buzz cut man approaching him wearing a sleeveless green muscle shirt and brown shorts.
Large was not an exaggeration. The man was around six feet tall with the body of a professional wrestler. His bicep was almost twice the size of Naruto's thighs and every skin visible on him seemed to possess muscle that could snap a person's neck like toothpick. But despite the intimidating build, the smile he had on his face seemed natural.
The large man approached the blonde, taking a seat on the empty bench press right beside the one where the blonde was sitting on.
Naruto wiped his face using a clean towel from his bag. "...just some thoughts about home." he replied in the same language that the man used when asking him.
"Hah, no one's ever vent off that hard. Especially when they're getting a little bit homesick." The taller man laughed. "So, anyway, what's on your mind?"
"It's about home, Terry." Naruto answered, twisting the cap off his water bottle.
"'zat so?" the other man murmured, eyes narrowing. "Say, you're from the States, ain'tchu? That's what you wrote on your registration form when you first applied here."
Naruto nodded, putting his bottle bag inside his bag after he finished his drink. "Yeah. And you too, if I'm not mistaken?"
Chuckling, Terry flexed his arms. "Yeah, that's right. Was born in '82, moved to Japan at '05. Been living here ever since, attended lectures at some third rate college, opened up this gym... then I got married to Chiaki." He snickered. "Le'mme tell ya', son, if you wanna find a girl here, make sure you don't scare their parents when you come to visit them. And get'cherself a stabler income too."
Naruto cracked a grin, and they shared a short laugh.
"...was thinking of... family." The blonde revealed, head cast downwards to the wooden floors of the establishment. "Got no clue where he's at right now. Could be dead for all I know."
"...your father?"
"...you can say that."
Terry leaned backwards, and at first, it was as if he was going to do some presses. But no. He sit back up again, smiling. "Then just wait for 'im, son. Family's tight, no matter how far apart y'all are, they'll always be there for you. I should know. Ma' was against me moving to Japan, but she still send me e-mails and stuffs from the post office."
The blonde allowed himself a chuckle. "I feel like this is his way of testing me. A part of me wanted to go out there and find him myself, but another wants to stay here and keep on doing what I'm doing since that's what he'd hoped to see."
"Well, son, when in doubt, you can always come here and give those punching bags a good beating." He reached sideways, slapping the blonde on his back, hard.
"...heh." Naruto flinched when the impact connected. "I'll keep that in mind, Mistah T."
"Don't mention it, ki-hey, just cuz' I'm black 'dat don't mean I'm a motherfucking Mistah T!"
Terry was the owner of the gym he frequented from time to time. He was a nice person and spoke Japanese very well. Naruto's first time here was not very relaxing and comfortable as now. He would find a quiet place and begin his work out and then leave when two hour was up.
One day, Terry approached him. The man spoke to him in Japanese, but he replied back in English. From that point, their relationship started with him being a frequent customer. Terry also got him to make a membership card. Terry praised him for knowing what he was doing at the gym, something the man did not seem to see much from high schoolers like him.
It was not surprising, Terry said. Most high school boys like come and go the gym so that they could gain a little bit of muscle to impress girls. Terry thought that while it was good to want to work, they were all doing it for the wrong reasons.
While Kakashi had this psuedo-make or break philosophy, Terry wanted people to work out not for the sake of impressing girls or things similar to that. He wanted people to be serious in working to improve themselves.
Naruto felt that he could respect a man like that. In this world where virtue and chivalry was no longer considered alive, Terry's view was the closest thing and most honest thing he could compare to that.
"Well I'll be going now. Gotta see how the others are doing, can't let'cha be the one improving on your own, now can ya'?"
They exchanged a wave, with Terry parting to oversee other people's training. Immediately, Naruto could hear the sound of Terry's booming voice as he scolded a guy for slacking off in Japanese.
"Hm?"
He felt vibration from his bag. Naturally, his hand reached inside to grab the instrument. Noticing the name displayed on his phone's screen, Naruto brought the device close to his ear.
"What is it?"
"We have an assignment. Be ready, details will be sent shortly."
After the very short exchange, Naruto dropped his phone back into his bag. Standing up, he made his way towards the entrance, said goodbye to Terry, and then leaving the gym to return home.
Truth was often said to be stranger than fiction because fiction obliged to stuck to possibilities, while truth was not. But it also suggested how much more engaging real life could be than ideal, fictional tales. It was true.
Real life was much more engaging than fictional tales, but only because it forced people to engage in the first place. Unlike fairy tales where most endings tend to end with a happily ever after, real life was not so rewarding.
The sound of thumping coming from downstairs could be heard getting louder, to the point where the bedroom floors vibrated.
Muffled shouting could be heard. Two different voices, two different wavelengths. A loud cry was followed by the sound of glass breaking, no doubt she was going to have to buy a new glass with her own money tomorrow.
Even as the situation downstairs was slowly turning to that of a sinking ship, she continued to write away on the books as if nothing happened. From the lack of visible worry on her face, it was obvious that it was a normal day to day occurrence to her.
Humming, she solved the equation that would determine the value of x. She did it to ten other books earlier, so this was no problem. It took her no more than a few minutes to finish everything. She tidied up the mess she had made on her desk, stacking the books properly, putting them inside her school bag and then storing said bag away underneath her bed.
"Wouldn't want dad to throw them out away like last time."
After storing her school materials away, she walked up to her desk again.
"Where is it... where is it..." Her hands went through the many drawers, searching for something. Her eyes brightened when they found what they were searching for.
A rectangular purple tin container, no bigger than a shoe box, was kept shut with a small metal lock. They key was underneath the drawer, stuck in place with the help of a small tape. Unlocking it should not be a task, it's hiding the damn thing that's the real work. Her mother would not bother searching her room, but if she wasn't careful, she'd find out about the box.
After making quick work of the lock, she opened the lid to unveil the content. It contained most of her savings and other bits she considered important. Everything stored in the can were things that she thought her parents might take away from her.
Carefully, she took out a good sum of money, not exceeding a thousand yen. Dinner's not going to be served tonight either, so she had to eat out. Obviously, she could not let her parents know that she'd been eating out with money she had secretly kept, otherwise she wouldn't have to act so sneaky-deaky like.
Putting the bills in her wallet, she then locked the box once again, placing it on a different spot; this time behind her wardrobe. She proceeded to grab a change of clothes, but decided against it since her parents might just question her if she went out looking like someone who's going to spend her money.
So, she opted for her uniform. She brought another smaller bag with her, just in case.
Exiting the room, she made her way downstairs.
"It's your fault that we couldn't pay this month's rent! If you worked harder then you could've gotten that promotion!"
"Oh? So it's my fault? Who's the one who kept on wasting our savings on useless stuffs, huh? I work to bring food on our table, not to provide you with useless, expensive cosmetics!"
It was all white noise. At least, that was what her ears registered them as.
She called it selective ignorance. She had chosen to ignore her parents every time they were arguing like this, to the point where she could no longer hear them whenever they were arguing.
She walked for the door, but-
"Komachi! Where are you going!?" her father shouted, turning his anger against her.
Her foot stop dead on its track, before her body turned to face her parents. With a smile, she gestured towards the door. "I left something at school and need to get it back." she had to think of more reasons to bail, this one was getting too old.
"Okay... be back home before curfew, or else." this time, it was her mother. Woman was a mess with how wet her make up was...
"Yes."
With a lowered head, the girl resumed her walking. Putting on her shoes, she exited the place, closing the door back shut quickly. Once outside, she let out a breath of relief.
"Now... where's a good place to eat...?"
Sorry for the short chapter, but I feel like I'll burn my brain if I write anymore.
Will update again.
Maybe.