Hello readers,
Thank you for your patience. I know it's been a while but I've finally returned with a new chapter for this story.
I'm having a lot of fun writing this but unfortunately I'm not that knowledgeable on the Minato, Jiraiya and Sakumo characters (Sakumo in particular) so I apologise if they're OOC more than usual.
As we continued on route to the store Jiraiya happily explained the process of ninja travel, which seemed to mostly revolve around the movement and focus of chakra. To be honest it all sounded completely implausible. However, ever since meeting these mystical-ninjas implausible was starting to become a regular part of my vocabulary.
"I assure you Sarah, you'll be perfectly safe," Jiraiya assured with a grin.
Somehow I didn't feel reassured. The idea that human beings could travel at speeds equivalent to that of a car through the use of some type of mystical ninja magic was far beyond what my logical mind was willing to comprehend. Therefore images of either being horribly injured or horribly embarrassed kept alternating through my mind.
However, their methods, regardless of how peculiar they may seem to me, obviously worked from them so perhaps I shouldn't immediately dismiss the idea as a completely ludicrous impossibility.
With the necessary background information on the locomotion of magical-ninja apparently covered the conversation quickly turned back to the subject of Vancouver's lack of shinobi, a fact that seemed very disconcerting to my unexpected house guests. Sakumo in particular seemed the most alarmed to hear the news regarding the city's lack of ninja guardianship.
Apparently not having ninja with magical super-powers to protect and sustain your village was a pretty big deal. Making me seriously question what sort of world they lived in if the majority of their defense and economy depended on what basically boiled down to what could be considered human-weapons for hire.
"What if an enemy nation were to invade…," the silver-haired man question, his voice flooded with concern.
Images of legions of armored warriors laying siege on a castle was ironically the first thing that came to mind. Probably not the type of assault he was referring to. Was invasion a real possibility for them? It wasn't entirely within the realm of the impossible here either, however most citizens didn't activity spending a great deal of time worrying about the likelihood of such a possibility.
After Sakumo had got the proverbial ball rolling they started firing questions at me in rapid session, relentlessly hounding me for information on the subject.
"Who protects the daimyo?"
"What about the Hokage…?"
"How could the people of this village allow themselves to remain so…unprotected?"
"Could you not offer to pay for protection for an allied village if your village doesn't produce any shinobi of its own? Surely you must have something that could be traded here."
Hokage? Is that even a word?
Ever since learning that the economy, not to mention safety, of the village of Vancouver was not entirely dependent on shinobi the three ninja-wizards in my car just seemed to refuse to get their heads around the idea. I might as well have told them that the city was protected by candy people made from caramel toffee armed with silly guns that fired magic beans. Somehow that would probably have been less surprising to them.
Not that there wasn't any appeal to being a ninja, I think nearly every child wants to be one at some point. However, a country run by ninja just wasn't practical. If any nation were to proclaim that they were henceforth going to rely on ninja to sustain their economy and defend their borders they would likely be laughed at by all other nations. Ninja were mercenaries from feudal Japan during the warring states era specializing in espionage, sabotage, infiltration and, if need be, assassinations. Not exactly the poster-boys for peace or diplomacy. They weren't something used to construct and sustain a country.
"Not that I'm a reigning expert on the subject, but if someone or something were to invade I seriously doubt anyone, anywhere would be saying…gee sure wish we had some ninja," I contemptuously explained.
Briefly I entertained the thought of the military, Canadian or otherwise, enlisting "ninja" for secret, covert operations and immediately began chuckling to myself. What a preposterous idea. What was next, finding The Shredder or Snake Eyes to fill the role of mission commander?
Then again these guys weren't exactly the typical ninja that I knew of from history, unless the history books forgot to mention the part where they developed superhuman powers.
"I don't see how this is funny," Sakumo replied with increasing concern.
"Really…? You ought to try seeing it from my point of view then," I responded between chuckles.
Momentarily holding my breath I roughly bite my lower lip in an attempt to stop the giggles from spilling out my throat. Not only was it incredibly inappropriate to laugh at the expense of my three guests, it also wouldn't be good for my vision to become blurry with unshed tears of mirth while I was driving.
"Well…what does the daimyo have to say about this? Surely he must have some concerns" Jiraiya questioned curiously.
"Considering we aren't in 10th to 19th century Japan I'm going to go on a whim and say, nothing…because there isn't one."
It was true, unless my current understanding of politics had been grossly misinformed, such a person did not exist.
Not that I was particularly well versed in Japanese history, but my understanding was that a daimyo was a type of territorial lord second only to the shogun, or something along those lines, although I could have easily been confusing my knowledge with some fictional book or movie. Even if they were originally from Japan a daimyo hasn't existed for well over a hundred years… Just where the heck where this people from?
After circling around the parking-lot a number of times I finally managed to find an empty spot that wasn't reserved for someone disabled. It was probably the furthest I could be while still technically being in the customer parking area but at least it was a spot. The store was surprisingly busy for 6:30 on a Tuesday. This did not bode well for my hope that this would be a simple, none hectic shopping trip. Sometimes I forget why I avoid coming to Wal-Mart but luckily the store is always quick to remind me.
Unbuckling my seatbelt I grabbed my purse and stepped out of the car, my three passengers easily mincing my movements. Though they still seemed slightly apprehensive they were rather quick learners and no one would have guessed that none of them had been inside a car before today. Locking the doors to the vehicle I started navigating my way through the parking-lot towards the brightly lit front entrance, Minato, Jiraiya and Sakumo easily following at my heels. Since our destination was fairly obvious at this point my short legs quickly proved too slow for the taller ninja and I soon found myself flanked on either side by Sakumo and Jiraiya with Minato bring up the rear. Whether he remained behind because the two ninja beside me made passing difficult or Minato simply thought that passing me entirely would have been rude I didn't know.
Walking between my silver-haired and white-haired guests I was astonished by just how short I actually was compared to them. Heck, the top of my head didn't even reach either of their shoulders. I felt like a hobbit walking among elves, the Tolkien kind, not the North Pole kind.
One might think that a short stature was a family trait, and it is on my mother's side. Luckily for both my brothers they took after our father. Lucky bastards. Not that I have a problem with being short, I am what I am after all, but sometimes it would be nice to be able to get something from a high shelf without needing to get a chair.
As we continued towards the front entrance in comfortable silence I began to ponder over the strange conversation we had in the car and how ninja seemed to play an integral role in their society. The idea of mercenaries being not only the foundation but the mechanism for sustaining a civilization was certainly an odd concept. Our two cultures were truly different indeed. Taking that into consideration I was amazed at how quickly they seemed to be adapting. Perhaps the ability to cope with and rapidly adapt to change was a required skill for magic-ninja.
Though with the cultural differences there were bound to be some misinterpretations and misunderstanding on both ends from time to time. That just couldn't be helped.
As I was mulling over the conversation in the car I went further back to when I had first arrived at the apartment and thought of how strange it was that Sakumo had referred to my returning home from work as having completed my mission. It sounded like such a serious statement to a final, climactic achievement which seemed pretty weird, given that it was just…work. Then again he may have simply used the term the same way someone might use the terms, aim, errand, assignment or job, so the misunderstanding could be entirely based on my own interpretation. Ugh, anyone who says anthropology is a breeze needs to be slapped.
Snapping back to the present I noticed that Sakumo seemed unusually tense, his dark eyes methodically scanning the parking lot. He wasn't exactly radiating an unfriendly 'look at me wrong and I'll cut you' vibe but he certainly seemed a lot more wary than either Minato or Jiraiya had been. Both of the aforementioned ninja were currently glancing among the sea of parked cars in what could only be described as passive curiosity, compared to Sakumo's deliberate scrutinizing.
Being magical-ninja themselves Minato and Jiraiya could very well have been just as cautious as Sakumo, but with them it didn't seem quite so obvious.
"It seems unlikely that there is any danger here, but I will move on ahead to make sure," Sakumo's deep voice stated, not a single trace of anxiety evident in his tone.
I was so completely floored by his sudden statement that all I could do was offer a shallow nod in response. Checking from any danger in the Wal-Mart parking-lot, seriously? I was pretty sure he wasn't referring to pushy shoppers or runaway shopping carts either. With a great amount of restraint I refrained from making some mental smart-alecky remark about super powered villains. Given the luck that I've been having lately such a preposterous thing would likely become a reality.
Seemingly satisfied with my minimal response the silver-haired man returned the nod before disappearing in a flash of movement that was nearly impossible for my eyes to follow. No human being should be able to move like that. If this had been a cartoon I would have expected to see a dust cloud shaped like him. Fortunately the sun was setting and the parking-lot itself, though full of cars was not loaded with people, so his inhuman speed didn't set off a symphony of high-pitched screams.
I could only hope that the three of them could manage to put on some semblance of normalcy while they were actually in the store, because there was no way in hell that I could explain away their magic abilities in a crowd.
"Okay…that was a little weird," I commented in a low whisper.
"Ha-ha," Jiraiya joyously laughed in response. "That's Sakumo for you, he's a truly exceptional shinobi but the man does have difficulty relaxing at times. His sense of humor is not too great either now that I think about it."
"Jiraiya-sensei, there's no harm in being a little cautious, and considering the conflict that Sakumo-san has recently left his actions are understandable," Minato calmly defended, easily moving forward to fill the gap the silver-haired man had left.
Minato had made a valid point. None of them had asked to be here so if Sakumo felt more comfortable by checking for danger what was the harm? To me it was right up there with checking the parking-lot for unicorns but to-each-their-own I guess.
"Conflict?" I questioned curiously.
Not that I was surprised that a mystical-ninja might have seen a battle of some kind. Ninja weren't exactly known for handing out lollipops to school children. Why did this particular conflict make the silver-haired man's actions understandable? After all Minato and Jiraiya where magic shinobi as well so they've likely seen their share of fighting and they've never used it to justify their actions.
Jiraiya remained silent for several seconds before a long sigh escaped past his lips. "During the time Sakumo came from…our village had been at war…" Jiraiya sorrowfully explained.
Glancing over at Minato I noticed that his eyes were cast down to the pavement below, the grief unmistakable in his features. Whatever had happened during that time period of their history it obviously didn't hold a lot of happy memories for them.
"It was a bitter conflict and hostilities lasted for many years," Jiraiya explained, momentarily pausing to gather his thoughts. "You have to understand something Sarah, for us that war ended years ago but for Sakumo it ended when he arrived here, so don't be offended if he's overly….err…alert at times."
"Especially when outside the safety of the apartment," Minato quietly added.
That made a certain degree of sense. The apartment, though strange to him, was a controlled environment that currently housed more familiar faces than unfamiliar ones. Of course someone who had been recently fighting would still be prepared to have danger coming at him from all angles when out in an unknown area.
Despite his imposing stature Sakumo had such a gentleness too him that I never would have suspected that he came from such a violent time in their world. There was nothing about him that made him come across as weak, not in the slightest, he just didn't immediately scream battle hardened soldier. War is an ugly thing; I couldn't imagine what one would be like fought with crazy super powers. No wonder he seemed so greatly concerned over Vancouver's lack of protection. I actually felt kind of bad for laughing earlier.
"Can I ask something?" I inquired meekly, randomly changing the subject, "are the people in your world familiar with an eight-hour work day?"
Minato held a fist to his mouth pretending as though he was trying to stifle a cough, but he wasn't fooling anyone. Jiraiya on the other hand simply arched a white eyebrow at me, his expression clearly stating that he thought me simple in the head as he laughingly scanned me for damage.
"Of course we are why wouldn't we be? Although not everything can consistently be scheduled and not everything runs on an eight-hour time frame we still have the same concept of a regularly scheduled work day. It just doesn't always apply to everyone. Why do you ask?"
"No reason in particular, I was just curious."
So it had been a misunderstanding. Well I felt stupid, that would teach me for assuming I knew anything about where these people were from. I had easily assumed that a culture was without something as basic as regularly kept schedules, no matter the context, all because of the misinterpretation of a single word. Well it was a damn good thing my life wasn't currently dependent on my accurate interpretation of the culture from their world.
If Jiraiya knew which point in their timeline Sakumo came from did that mean that the silver-haired man had already told them earlier or…had Jiraiya been there when he had died? Meaning like Minato and Jiraiya Sakumo was some type of reanimated mystical-ninja zombie. What the hell is up with dead people from another world resurrecting in my apartment?
"He's dead in your world too isn't he," I quietly questioned, though I already suspected what the answer was.
A nearly palpable sadness suddenly seemed to blanket over the three of us at my softly spoken question. Silence hung heavily in the air before Jiraiya offered me a grim nod in reply, remorse all but bleeding from his eyes.
There was clearly something different to the way Sakumo had met his end. Perhaps he survived through the war only to fall victim to an illness?
If what Jiraiya said was accurate and Sakumo did in fact come from a particularly brutal period in their history then could that mean that he was possibly suffering from a type of post-traumatic stress syndrome? I had no idea of the details of what actually went on but how could someone see active combat and not have some traces of the syndrome? It couldn't just be my delicate sensibilities that had me worried about such a thing. I definitely was not qualified to help an individual with this condition. I blanched as my thoughts continued further, my feet rooting themselves to the ground. Maybe Sakumo, despite the odd cautious, scouting behavior, wasn't as mentally balanced as he initially appeared. What if something triggered him into an episode and he started killing people thinking they were the enemy?
Completely lost in my own rapidly spiraling thoughts I gave a startled jerk when a large, male hand gently fell on my shoulder before giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"You can relax; Sakumo is a skilled warrior, not a thoughtless killer. He won't needless harm anyone," Minato calmly explained, apparently having read my thoughts.
I glanced over at the blond beside me, a reassuring grin stretched across his face but his eyes still held a hint of sadness, a testament to what his companion must have gone through. Minato was right; if Sakumo was going to go berserk any time he encountered something abnormal he would have done more than just gently hold his hand over my mouth when he first arrived. Not that snapping in Wal-Mart wasn't a distinct possibility, heck I wanted to punch a few shoppers myself sometimes. However, I wasn't a psychologist nor did I have any experience living in a violent environment such as they had, so I would just have to trust that Sakumo was in control, though I could hardly fault him for being a little more alert and defensive than either Minato or Jiraiya had been.
Before we left the shelter of the parked cars said silver-haired man returned, his sudden arrival scarcely making a sound. I gave a startled shriek in surprise, my hands instinctively flying up to cover my mouth in order to muffle the embarrassing sound.
Sakumo glanced down at me, an apologetic look in his dark eyes. "I did not intend to frighten you."
"She's fine," Jiraiya replied, ruffling my hair teasingly.
"All clear?" Minato asked.
Sakumo nodded in response.
"Look guys, can we just get this over with? It's been a long day and I don't know about you but I'm starting to get hungry."
With the silver-haired ninja easily leading the way through the sea of parked cars we soon found ourselves entering through the automated front doors into a florescent-lighted world of cheap shopping. This definitely wasn't my favorite place. The fact that they felt the need to cram the aisles with as much crap as possible making them difficult to navigate was extremely irritating. However, despite my grumbling it was convenient and I wasn't exactly blessed with unlimited funds so the cheaper this shopping trip was the better.
I made fairly decent money at my job in the lab, but I was nowhere near being financially stable enough to support my three house guests indefinitely. Not that I could just kick them out on the street but if it started looking like their stay in this world may be more long-term they were going to have to start looking into getting jobs. That was a frightening thought. What kind of job would a resurrected magical ninja get when in a regular, boring normal world? I don't think they could really put alternate dimension ninja on a résumé.
Jiraiya apparently wrote books or something so maybe he could find a job at a book store. As weird as that was to picture it was actually kind of fitting. Assuming of course he didn't get minors to read his own smutty creations, or shamelessly hit on any customers with large breasts. As for the other two…that was going to take some thought.
Grabbing a shopping cart I managed to maneuver through the overstuffed aisles until I finally reached the one that held toiletries. Sakumo didn't seem like the type to be picky over the kind of toothbrush so I grabbed one that would do the job and hopefully wouldn't be like running steel wool over one's teeth. Since I was here anyway I decided it wouldn't hurt to stock up on toothpaste, floss, generic toothbrushes and mouthwash while I was here. It was stuff I would eventually go through away, and if another guest showed up in my apartment it would save me from having to make another trip.
Not that I was expecting the arrival of yet another unannounced person from an alternate dimension. In fact the very idea made me feel slightly nauseous. What would I do if a fourth one showed up? I didn't exactly have infinite space at my place.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Minato seemed to reappear out of nowhere and placed razors, shave gel and a hairbrush in the cart, followed shortly after by Jiraiya who added shampoo, conditioner and body wash. When in the hell had they disappear and retrieved those things? Not that I wasn't grateful for the assistance, the sooner we got what we needed the sooner we could get out of here.
With bathroom items successful procured I decided the next thing on the list was to find where they kept the outdoor living or camping section and see if they had any foam padded sleeping mats. I couldn't afford to buy a second bed, and another couch big enough for one of them to comfortably sleep on wouldn't fit properly the way the living room was set-up, so foam mats would have to do.
As we were making our way to where I figured the camping section would be I took a short cut through the aisle where they kept their books. A relatively small collection of glossy paperbacks, and a few hardcovers decorated the shelves, their brightly coloured covers reflecting the fluorescent lighting from the ceiling overhead. In my personal opinion Wal-Mart wasn't known from carrying amazing works of literature but that didn't mean that an enjoyable book was impossible to find.
"What's this?" Jiraiya inquired curiously, plucking one of the glossy novels from its place on the shelf and inspecting it. A large, mischievous grin spread across his face followed by a slight blush on his cheeks as he began flipping through the pages.
Intrigued but what had the large, white-haired man so interested I snuck a quick peak at the cover of the book he was looking at and nearly burst out laughing. It was one of those knockoff Harlequin romance type books with a man and woman in period costume passionately tearing at each other's clothes on the cover. I should have known. That man was a magnet for smut, no matter how cheesy or badly written it seems.
"A book, you didn't think you were the only smut writer out there did you?" I playfully joked.
In response he teasingly ruffled my hair, again, sending a number of the coppery strands into disarray. "No, I've just never found an artist that can create such a realistic looking cover," he responded, cheerfully pointing to the cover in question for emphasis.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I don't think this is really appropriate right now. Perhaps it would be best to put the book back for now," Minato requested, a slight blush forming on his cheeks as well.
It was kind of cute, but I wasn't sure why he felt embarrassed by the book cover. They were just partially undressed fictional characters; it wasn't like it was real. Besides some of the images that were on the magazines at the check-outs where a lot worse.
Having deemed that there was no immediate threat lying in wait for us Sakumo had allowed himself to relax slightly, however that didn't prevent his alert, dark eyes from continually scanning our surroundings. Thankfully his rather unusual behavior went unnoticed and didn't send terrified shoppers fleeing for security.
"Sarah did not bring us here for books," Sakumo added.
"True, but I want this one," Jiraiya replied.
He seriously wanted some cheesy romance novel? I thought those books were targeted at middle-aged housewives who weren't getting any, but having never read one myself what did I know. Still if he wanted something to read there were better books to choose from. Selecting a book based on its cover wasn't always a great idea.
Although as far as cheesy, uninteresting, romantic storytelling went the Harlequin type novel probably wasn't the absolute worst thing he could have selected. I'd be more concerned if he had decided he wanted to read the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Pam enjoyed the books but I could never figure out what was so romantic about a guy that was basically a stalker. The take away message of 'boys what a girl really wants is for you to knock her on the back of the head with a brick, tie a ball gag in her mouth and then go to town' was also extremely disturbing. Perhaps I was the only one that took the books that way though, Pam who had loaned me the series, apparently thought of them as nothing more than fluffy entertainment.
The last thing I need was for Jiraiya to get some freaky sex ideas from the books involving bondage, so in that respect a corny Harlequin type romance novel didn't seem so bad.
"Are you sure you? Those types of books tend to be unrealistic, over exaggerated, plot-less dribble of what the author thinks the target female reader would enjoy."
Not to say that men didn't read these books as well, I honestly had no idea.
A mockingly lecherous grin spread across Jiraiya's face. "Really…?"
"Not this female," I hastily added, "and I said it was unrealistic."
Jiraiya seemed temporarily disappointed before the lubricous, wide smile was back to full strength accompanied by a pair of suggestively wiggling eyebrows. "Come now, are you sure….?" He jovially taunted.
Not that I was an expert in what went on in their minds, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the white-haired man always seemed to get some amusement out of trying to tease me. At least I seriously hoped it was just harmless teasing and nothing more.
"If you want something to read I have books at home you can borrow," I offered.
However one look from the white-haired man told me that he had absolutely no interest in reading whatever it was I had to offer him, at least not yet anyway. I could have easily said no but I figured why not it was only $4.99. Terrible literature or not I wasn't the one that had to read it and the book would keep him entertained for a while, and an occupied Jiraiya was one that was less likely to do something inappropriate like go through my underwear.
"Alright fine," I relented, grabbing the book from his hands and tossing it in the cart, "but if the cashier asks I'm telling them it's for you."
We eventually made it to the section were they had tents and other camping equipment. After some searching I managed to find some Intex Fabric Camping Mats with built-in pillow cushions. They were anything but luxurious, but it had to be better than sleeping on the floor. With bathroom toiletries and beds taken care of that left finding a change of clothes for Sakumo. Like the mats the clothing wasn't going to be anything fancy but at least it was better than having to wear the same thing all the time.
As we walked past the electronics section towards Men's Apparel the three magical-ninja with me were suddenly mesmerized by the large, flat screen TV's displaying various movies. Sakumo was the first to break free from the spell of bright colours and flashing lights, his dark eyes quickly investigating the area to insure nothing had managed to slip in unexpected during his momentary lapse.
Perhaps they didn't have electronics where they were from? Then again, whether you owned electronics or not the dizzying display of TV's and other devices available was pretty hard to ignore sometimes. I know I was guilty of stopping to watch a couple minutes of a movie once or twice.
"The book is all I'm buying you Jiraiya," I teased dryly.
I didn't mind paying for a $5 book but I certainly drew the line at purchasing a new $300 Television, particularly when the one I had was working just fine. Although I image it was the movies that had their interest more so than the TVs themselves.
"Why don't Minato and I wait here while you and Sakumo pick out some clothes," Jiraiya suggested with a pleasant grin.
It was a reasonable suggestion but I was entirely uncertain of how I felt about it. I didn't like the idea of leaving Minato and Jiraiya on their own but they were adults and could behave as such, at least I hoped. Besides if they were to remain in my world for an extended period they were going to need to get jobs, and that would mean being able to manage in this new world without my help from time to time. I also didn't like the idea of being alone with Sakumo without Minato or Jiraiya there as a buffer but I was going to have to get over this silly nervousness sooner or later.
"Alright," I agreed.
Grabbing Minato by the upper arm I tugged him towards me. Had he chose to ignore my action there would have been no way I could have physically moved him on my own, thankfully he responded to my gesture and moved so that I would whisper into his ear more easily. "Make sure you keep an eye on him," I quietly ordered.
The blond-haired man nodded in reply, a knowing glint in his bright, blue eyes.
With Minato and Jiraiya currently entertained by the latest blockbuster releases I soon found myself alone with Sakumo in the men's clothing department. Still unsure of how I felt about our solo adventure I tried my best to push my unease aside and focus on the task at hand. Minato and Jiraiya had vouched that he was a good guy on more than one occasion so my unease had more to do with my unfamiliarity with him than it had anything to actually do with the man himself.
As we made our way through the department I grabbed a couple of bags of socks and underwear, since all three of them would need them, before moving on to sleepwear. Now there was a question, what did the silver-haired man prefer to sleep in because naked definitely wasn't an option? I don't care how toned he was for his age, pants where not going to be optional while staying in my apartment.
"I make you uncomfortable," Sakumo stated, a hint of sadness in his deep baritone.
"What makes you say that," I inquired with a nervous laugh.
This idea for Sakumo and I do to the rest of the shopping alone together was rapidly becoming uncomfortable. As I felt his ebony gaze begin to study me thoroughly I began to fidget nervously, suddenly unsure of what to do with my arms. This was worse than the times I had to pretend that I like the colourful, horrible sweaters my Nana had given me as gifts.
"You've been noticeably tense since we've left the others and you've hardly said a word," he calmly answered.
I felt terrible. I thought I had done a reasonable job of reining in my irrational fear, but apparently it was still managing to seep through. Awkward silence hung between us as I frantically searched for a way to apologise.
"Sakumo…I….," I began clumsily fumbling for words. "I don't mean to offend you, but yes I am a little uncomfortable right now. I guess it's because I don't really know you all that well yet."
"Are you worried that I intend to harm you?" Sakumo questioned concerned, a pained look in his dark eyes.
Hearing it spoken out loud it sounded almost silly however I would be lying if I said it wasn't at least a partial worry. Their abilities, though admittedly cool, scared the hell out of me and although I had reached a certain level of comfort around Minato and Jiraiya I had yet to reach that point with Sakumo. Not that I was worried that he might go completely psychotic and murder me, if I was he definitely wouldn't be staying at my apartment.
"Would you?" I questioned, curious to hear his response.
"Absolutely not," he immediately replied, repulsed at the mere suggestion that he would purposely harm someone obviously weaker than himself for no reason. "Sarah, you have offered the three of us food, clothing and shelter freely so in return for your kindness I am placing you under my protection. I will not harm you."
Huh? What on earth did that mean, protection from what? Not that I wasn't flattered I just couldn't think of a situation where I would require the type of protection a highly trained, magical-ninja was likely to provide. Up until the random appearance of mystical-ninja in my home my life was pretty normal so what exactly was he supposed to be protecting me from? It would have been nice if he could have protected me from that cheating bastard Richard but it was a little late for that.
"Uhh…thanks," I uneasily replied with a small grin, unsure how I was to respond to such a bold statement.
To my surprise our impromptu conversation, despite its awkwardness, seemed to help alleviate the remaining uncomfortable tension that lingered between us like a heavy cloud. Minato and Jiraiya were right, Sakumo, regardless of his titles or abilities, was just a really nice guy.
As we continued through men's apparel I grabbed a pair of plain, dark blue pajamas and held them up to the silver-haired man for his inspection. He stared curiously at the fabric for a few moments before nodding his head slightly. Sakumo was apparently an easygoing shopper and didn't really have much of an opinion on anything so far. I was tempted to grab the flashiest, most brightly colour shirt I could find in the store to test the theory but quickly decided against it. Our budding friendship was still new and I didn't want to risk prematurely snuffing it out because of some poorly timed teasing.
Sleepwear covered the next thing to tackle was daywear. Like I had with Minato and Jiraiya I was just going to keep things fairly simple. If it came to the point where they needed to get jobs they would want nicer clothes for interviews, but for now jeans, t-shirts and hoodies would have to do. Heading over to a rack of t-shirt in various colours I grabbed a couple of different sizes in blue and draped them over Sakumo's arm.
The silver-haired man momentarily stared down at the t-shirts currently resting over his arm before glancing up at me curiously.
"I don't know what size will fit you so you'll have to try them on," I answered to his unspoken question.
He immediately nodded in understanding.
Next we moved to the section of the department where they had men's jeans. Some were piled up on square tables according to style, others were placed in little rectangular cubbyholes along one wall, and others were hanging up on hangers. Like the t-shirts I had absolutely no idea what size jeans he wore, however he looked somewhat similar in size to my father so I figured that was a good starting area.
Grabbing a few pairs in various styles and sizes I added them to the collection of t-shirts hanging on his arm.
"Will start with those and go from there."
Satisfied with the current selection of clothing I ushered Sakumo towards the change rooms and patiently waited for his return. After a surprisingly short amount of time he returned with a noticeably lighter bundle of clothing and placed the items into the cart. Deciding that it probably wouldn't hurt to get a few extra clothing items for everyone I rounded up a few articles and added them to the cart. Luckily I still remember Jiraiya's and Minato's sizes from our previous shopping trip.
Before we left men's clothing to move on to shoes I found a forest-green hoodie and tossed it to Sakumo for him to try on. Though none of them seemed to be the least bit bothered by the weather I thought they should all at least have a warm sweater. A jacket probably would have been better but a sweater was better than nothing.
The remainder of the shopping trip passed without incident and I soon found myself back in the car with my three shopping companions heading for home. Wal-Mart had been more exhausting than I had expected and I was glad to have the trip over with. My stomach rumbled hungrily loudly reminding me that I had yet to eat dinner.
Minato, who had taken the front seat for the return trip turned to me with a small grin. "A little hungry are you?" His stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly signifying its own hunger.
"Apparently I'm not the only one," I teased good-naturedly.
After all the time we had spent at Wal-Mart it was getting close to 8 o'clock. It was no wonder we were all starting to feel a little hungry. In retrospect, since the store was open fairly late, it probably would have been a better idea to have made a quick meal first before heading out to do the shopping. However I had been so eager to get this necessary trip over and done with that I hadn't put any thought into eating beforehand.
Which was rather unfortunate since I wasn't really in the mood to cook anything now, but having just spent a bunch of money I didn't really feel like ordering anything either. My stomach gave another loud rumble demanding that I make a decision quickly before it decided to leap out my mouth and find sustenance on its own.
"I can make us something when we get back," Jiraiya cheerfully offered, leaning forward between the two front seats before I impatiently gestured for him to sit back.
I was probably going to regret it later but that sounded like a fantastic idea.
"Sure, just promise not to destroy my kitchen."
"Don't worry I'll make sure he won't," Minato reassured, fixing Jiraiya with a mocking glare over the back of his seat.
"I will help ensure that no damage is sustained by your kitchen as well," Sakumo's deep baritone added.
"Great, everyone's a critic," Jiraiya mumbled, folding his arms over his chest in fraudulent irritation.
The trip home seemed to go rather quickly and before I knew it we were stepping off the elevator to the 7th floor, shopping bags in hand. As I unlocked my door to allow everyone back inside my cellphone started ringing.
This was starting to become an extremely exhausting evening and I wasn't really in the mood chat with someone on the phone right now. I just wanted to get something to eat, change into something comfortable and quietly veg out in front of the TV for the remainder of the evening.
"Hello," I answered a little more testily than usual.
"Well geeze honey, could you sound a little less thrilled to hear from me?" Adam's voice sarcastically accused.
"Sorry Adam, it's been a long day," I apologised, feeling guilty for being so snappish earlier. It wasn't that I was in a bad mood or anything it was just that low-blood sugar tends to make me a little irritable, something Pam vexingly refers to as my being 'hangry'. "What's up?"
Thankfully Adam was well aware of how quickly irritated I could get, over seemingly pointless things, from time to time usually when I was hungry, and didn't take offence to my less than cheerful greeting.
"I haven't seen you for a while; why don't you come to the salon tomorrow and we'll do something fun with your hair."
I grabbed a few strands of long, red hair in my fingers staring at them disinterestedly as I pondered what I might have done with the silky tresses. It had been a while since I had last gone to see Adam at the salon and I could definitely use a change with my hairstyle. Not that there was anything wrong with the one I had I just like to change things up a bit.
"What did you have in mind?"
For several seconds nothing but silence greeted me on the other end of the line. Adam clearly had something in mind, he wouldn't have called me otherwise. "I'll let you know when you get here," he finally replied, the smirk unmistakable in his tone. "Should I book you in for say…4:30?"
I got off at 4pm and the salon where Adam worked wasn't far from the lab so 4:30 was definitely doable. Adam certainly had me curious over what he planned on doing to my hair, but I was just going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it was. His ideas were usually pretty good.
Placing my phone back in my pocket I entered my apartment and was confronted with the loud clashing sound of pots and pans, the vigorous chopping sound of vegetables, and the sound of three magical-ninja shouting at each other over the noise.
As I felt the chance for a calm, quiet evening slip through my fingers I couldn't help but laugh.
Thank you for reading.
For the sake of the story I'm having Sakumo arrive from sometime during the second shinobi war. I'll admit I'm not entirely clear on the details surrounding this war but I assume that as a Leaf-ninja Sakumo would have had some part in it. By all means feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken. At first I thought the 3rd war would have made more sense but I think that takes place after Sakumo had died and Kakashi starts making a name for himself as the copy ninja. Again I am not an expect so my facts may be mixed up.
I'm not sure when I'll be back with the next chapter, but hopefully it won't take me months to write this time. Well, here's hoping anyway.
Until next time…