The Boy in the Park
Chapter Twenty-Two
Naruko blushed every time he looked at her after 'that' dinner at Ichiraku, for the entire Saturday morning. She had even slept in her room after that, meaning that maybe he should have let Teuchi give her the 'talk' beforehand.
He was actually sipping tea while reading the newspaper, when there was a polite knock at the door.
He opened the door, cup of tea in hand, and then was bag-headed and sent elsewhere by force. When they actually removed the bag, he was once more in the torture and interrogation department.
"So, you're going on a date with Anko today again, huh?" Ibiki said calmly. "Last time, we stalled her long enough to get circumstantial information on you," the head of the department said calmly. "This time, we have quite a bit more, like…"
Ibiki moved closer to him, and whispered something.
His eyes widened, and then he looked sideways.
"So…is it true?" Ibiki asked once more.
He bit his lips, and then nodded.
"Very well," the man remarked gruffly. "You know, the two are friends…you wouldn't want anyone to know about that, right?"
He grimaced, and then curtly made a single 'yes' gesture.
"Good," Ibiki clapped his hands against his shoulders. "Then we have no problems: you break Anko's heart, we share the secret."
"Promise?" he asked then.
"On my honour," the scarred man smiled wickedly.
The next instant, he was bagged again and dropped off once more in front of his apartment. They even went as far as buying him another cup, since the old one had crashed on the ground when they had kidnapped him —it even had the price tag still attached to boot!
Calmly, he entered his apartment without betraying his emotional turmoil. He gently held the cup they had given him and then, in front of Naruko's surprised expression, he threw the mug against the wall and watched with satisfaction as it broke in a hundred of pieces.
He breathed and exhaled firmly, squaring his shoulders and then grabbing a broom to swipe away the debris.
"Aniki?" Naruko asked then, slightly frightened.
"Yes, Naruko?" he smiled back at her gently.
"Is everything all right?"
"Peachy," he nodded as he began to hum.
"All right," the girl swallowed nervously, and then dropped it. "EHI! Tonight you go out with your girlfriend, right?"
"I told you, I don't know if we're an item yet," he sighed.
"But who wouldn't be your girlfriend, Aniki!?" Naruko exclaimed. "You're the very best! You're the best-est-est-est Aniki in the world!" she even opened her arms wide as she said that. "Oh, right, Sakura's coming to sleepover at my apartment tonight, and Hinata too."
"Good for you," he remarked.
"Can I take some cup ramen?"
"You bought it to begin with," he replied, "Take as much as you want."
Naruko nodded and then carefully slipped out of his apartment. He wondered for how long the girl would walk as if she were on eggshells. Then again, he supposed for females discovering 'that' was different from males. A male just woke up one morning with the 'rod' to attention and wondered why, or maybe a classmate spoke of 'that' and bam, they knew.
He supposed females worked more on a romantic sight until they found out what 'that' was about.
He prepared and was actually surprised when he didn't see Sakura nor hear her coming into his apartment. It felt suspicious, but he let it go.
He heard a soft knock at the door and went to open it, only to be surprised when he found out it was Anko, wearing a well-fitted Kimono that reminded him…
"Ah! The Tea House?"
Anko chuckled.
"You remembered?"
"You work there par time too?" he asked then, raising an eyebrow.
She snorted. "That's more of a hobby," she linked her arms with his, and then smiled. "Well, are we going to dinner now?"
"Of course," he nodded back, closing the door behind him.
Unknown to him, three extremely determined girls soon began to follow them quietly.
"Hinata, keep your Bakugan active," Naruko said seriously. She was wearing a thick wool baklava, and had a dark black Jumpsuit on for the occasion.
"It's…Byakugan, Naruko," Sakura huffed, holding a flu-mask over her face, a pair of sunglasses and a scarf to cover her hair.
Hinata was wearing her usual clothes, but her face hid behind an Oni mask —which made her very scary in her opinion!
The two adults seemed to be making small talk, but the way the woman was holding on to Naruko's Aniki was horrible! Hinata felt the need to cry: if the woman took the Aniki away from Naruko, then would she have to leave Naruko too? It couldn't stand!
"That wench, flirting with my Onii-sama," Sakura hissed as she muttered dark curses one after the other.
"Ohi, Bandana-man," Naruko said then to a strange looking man who was camouflaged as the wall, with a bandana covering the upper side of his head and he too following the two walking down the road. "Friend or foe?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I do, 'ttebayo!"
Anko's ears perked up, as he too heard a very familiar sound. He was about to turn his head to look behind him, when Anko grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him gently on the lips. "Muh! No looking elsewhere!" she said with a teasing grin.
"Ah, it's just…" he smiled bashfully. "I think I heard…"
"I heard it too: it was a cat."
"A cat?"
"Yeah, you know, one of those cats that would do better to go back home and play with dolls if they don't want an adult to spank them."
Strangely, a cat-masked Anbu suddenly decided it was a way better idea to go back home and cuddle a sick Hayate rather than remain to follow her 'not-so-normal' patrol.
"If you say so," he carefully began to walk again, before asking. "So, what do you usually do at work?"
"Oh, are we fishing for information?"
He blinked. "Just…making conversation, if you want to talk about something else…"
"Aw, I even had a punishment game ready to answer the questions on what I do," Anko pouted. "It required betting clothes and answering true or false."
"We still have to eat dinner."
"Can't we directly skip to the sex?"
"W-Wait, what?" he spluttered out and looked her in disbelief. "No! We're going to eat at the restaurant!"
"You just refused having sex with me," Anko replied. "Are you sure you're not gay? Did you get a good look at these!?" even in a Kimono, she still managed to push her chest slightly forward. "Come on, Kimono-sex, it's the cult fetish of all sane men in Konoha!"
There was a sort of murderous aura forming behind them, as Sakura's eyes lit with purple flames of malice as she cursed beneath her breath. Even Ibiki was scared to remain in close contact, especially because the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had a face as if she had just 'lost it'. You know, that sort of glazed over eyes that look at you with a half-formed smile before they grab a knife and kill you.
Yeah, that look.
The Oni-mask wearing girl was the worst however. She radiated such a deep pool of rage that it rivalled that of the other perverted stalker.
"She's taking Aniki away," Naruko droned out, her shoulders sagging. Ibiki swallowed nervously. Naruko suddenly blinked, and then smiled.
"Of course!" she clapped her hands excitedly. The next moment Naruko disappeared from in front of them, to appear straight ahead of the couple in question.
He stopped as he stared at the panting Naruko, who then pointed her finger towards Anko.
"You! Do you like Aniki!?"
Anko blinked, as he actually wanted to disappear.
"Of course!" she smiled then, "Got a problem with it?"
"No!" Naruko smiled, "Then you're One-san now! When are you two going to marry? Can I be the maid of honour? Is there going to be a cake? Eh? Can it be a ramen cake!?"
His eyebrows rose to reach the top of his forehead. "Naruko…"
Anko just snorted at first, and then she laughed. She laughed and brought both arms to hold her stomach as she nearly keeled over.
"Uh? What are you laughing for?"
"AHAH! Brat! I'm too young to think about that!"
"Wait a moment! You're…" Naruko frowned for a second, "AH! Teuchi-Jiji said it too! Some people 'fool around' with others, use them and then leave them! You're that type, right!? You're the worst!" she took on a fighting stance. "Let go of my Aniki then, you…"
He sighed and grabbed Naruko by the neck, before making a 'one moment' gesture to Anko. He pulled her out from the middle of the street, with her putting up a half decent struggle —but he was righteously infuriated, and thus his strength redoubled.
"Naruko," he said then calmly. "Aren't you supposed to be having a sleepover right now?"
"Welllllll…" Naruko looked elsewhere.
Suddenly, he had half a feeling that Naruko was just the tip of the Iceberg.
"Sakura."
"Yes, Onii-sama?" the girl appeared within a second.
"Sakura…" he growled. "You two! You left Hinata back home alone?"
"Actually…" Naruko turned her gaze towards the street and then paled. "No! Hinata! Abort plan! Abort!"
"What are you talking about Nar—"
He spun around just in time to see an oni-masked girl charging forward with a bucket filled with water.
FOR THE LOVE I SHARE WITH NARUKO! DISAPPEAR! Hinata thought strongly as she flung the ice-cold water against the kimono-wearing woman.
Anko sidestepped the jet, stuck her foot out and watched impassively as the brat fell down on the ground.
Genin versus Tokubetsu Jounin. Tokubetsu Jounin Wins.
Anko then took the empty bucket and placed it over the Genin's head, before ramming it a few time with the back of one of her hidden kunai, to make the girl 'dizzy'. Then she dropped her on the ground and smiled towards his direction. He could swear there were red words floating in the air reading…
Fatality…
You Win!
"Anyway, Naruko, go back home," he said then. "Don't you have a mission tomorrow anyway?"
Then he returned to Anko, bowing profusely as he apologized. As Naruko watched her Aniki leave with the woman…
She felt a twinge of something in her chest.
It was…
It sort-of hurt.
Maybe…maybe she could ask her Aniki out on a date too?
Unknown to him, Anko had flashed a set of precise Anbu signs to all of her 'followers' which basically read something like this.
IF you follow us, I will personally castrate you all and make sure you eat hotdogs for breakfast tomorrow!
The roofs and the streets looked nearly half-deserted afterwards.
The next morning, he awoke with an extremely relaxed expression as he gazed at the ceiling. It was a good day, there was a soft form next to him, and this time around, he clearly remembered…wait.
There was a badly covered hole in his apartment.
Last night, he had conveniently forgotten it existed.
That didn't mean it actually didn't exist.
The three girls in the nearby apartment hadn't slept for a single instant.
Sakura was completely red-faced, twitching in a pool of her own blood that had gushed out of her nose in thick streams…
Naruko had a haunted look, having tried her best to fall asleep by using two pillows to cover her ears.
Hinata on the other hand…
She had the Byakugan active because Naruko hadn't told her to stop using it.
She had seen everything.
So…
So…
She should ask her father what the deal was with the cabbage patch then.
Hiashi Hyuga suddenly froze, feeling a dark chill settle on his spine.
He remembered that chill.
It was the chill of 'the talk'. He had done it once, proudly using the cabbage patch excuse on his daughter.
This time however…
Oh, this time he felt as if the shinigami was sipping tea right next to him.