The Boy in the Park
Chapter Forty-Six
"Aniki?" Naruko asked softly. "There's…there's thirteen packages of Pork Ramen on the table." She was drooling as she said that. He just exhaled and nodded to her as she stepped inside. She was a blur of blond and orange as she closed the door behind her with a strong 'slam' noise, before already taking out the chopsticks and delving down on the first ramen cup.
He waited for her to get to the fourth take-away cup of Ramen, before grimacing and exhaling once more.
"Naruko…we have to talk."
Naruko hummed as she kept on eating.
"I…" he swallowed nervously. "I know…" how hard was it? He just had to man up and…
"Ah! You know!?" Naruko turned a bright shade of pink as she stopped eating all of a sudden. "It's not what you think it is, Aniki!"
He frowned. "Naruko…"
"I mean, it's not a scarf! It's a muffler, yeah! And…you-don't-know-what-I'm-talking-about-are-you…" she whispered turning an even darker shade of red.
"No, but that's not important," he remarked. He'd deal with whatever monstrosity of wool the girl had come up with later. "I found out who your parents were."
There, he had said that.
Naruko shrugged and went back to eating. "Oh, that? I don't care, Aniki."
"You don't?"
"No," she shook her head. "I mean…it's not like they can come back to life, right?"
"Yeah…I suppose…but still, you would like to hear stories about what they did in youth, right?"
"Why?" Naruko looked at him with shiny eyes. "They'd still be dead, wouldn't they? It would just…hurt. My family is here, I don't need stories or what ifs."
He closed his eyes. "You have to go with Jiraiya on that three years long trip, Naruko."
He heard the chopsticks drop and the chair slide backwards noisily.
"WHAT!? ANIKI! NO! WHY!?"
He opened his eyes to the shocked and betrayed face of Naruko looking at him.
"Jiraiya-sama…the Hokage…" his throat felt parched as he spoke, "They said it's for your own good."
"Why?" she softly whispered.
"Because…there is an organization, the Akatsuki…they're hunting for Jinchuuriki," he said. "You need to go with Jiraiya so that you can be safe from them."
"I'm sure I'd kick their asses anyway without the perverted sage! I don't have to leave for that, right!?"
"Naruko," softly, he stood up from his seat. "I'm…I'm sorry but…they're all S-rank…"
"I can fight them all off, Aniki! Dattebayo!" there were tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. "Please…believe me."
"I'm sorry," he made a step closer to her, "But…"
"No," she shook her head. "I don't want to leave for three years. I don't want to…I want to make more friends, I want to become a Chuunin with Sakura and Hinata…I want you to be there when I get my flak jacket and when I…when I'll be gone who'll be there to keep an eye on you, Aniki? You don't even eat your ramen without me around!"
"Naruko," he brought his right hand on the girl's shoulder, as he kneeled to be at the same height level as her. "I have faith that, if you leave with Jiraiya-sama, you will come back stronger than ever…and then I'm sure no one will ever think of sending you on another three year trip."
"But why me?" Naruko trembled. "Why ME!?"
"Because, Naruko…the Yondaime couldn't choose another," he brought his left hand on the girl's other shoulder. "What…What I was trying to tell you, Naruko…is that Kushina Uzumaki is your mother's name but…the Yondaime…Minato Namikaze… he is your father."
Her eyes widened in disbelief and then, just like that, he felt himself pushed away from her as the girl disappeared —the door clashing open and then slamming close a moment later.
He hissed in pain as he fell with his back against the wooden floor, but when he stood back up Naruko had already left. He ran out of the apartment in the next instant.
"NARUKO!"
Of course, no reply came.
He ground his teeth in frustration, before looking around. It was late, the sun had already set and the girl was nowhere around him. Being a Kunoichi…he had no doubt looking for her so late at night would be impossible.
The logical thing…would be to ask an Anbu.
Problem was, he wasn't thinking logically at all in that instant.
The first place he looked for was the top of the Hokage's monument.
That late at night, it felt somewhat creepy to walk in the middle of the cold breeze looking for the girl. He didn't find her atop the head of the Yondaime. He frowned. Where else could she have gone?
He returned down with a ragged breathing, before heading over to the Park —it was the second spot in his mind, after all.
She wasn't there.
He tried Ichiraku.
She wasn't there.
He was short on breath, extremely short on it, by the time he decided to try the Training ground she usually trained with her team.
He found her there, slamming punch after punch against the wooden trunks, to the point where her knuckles were bleeding harshly.
She wasn't slowing down at all however.
If anything, she was growling and screaming incoherently with every punch flung.
He swept away the sweat from his forehead as he walked closer. "Naruko…"
She stopped. "Why?" she croaked out. "It's not fair." She muttered, shaking her head. "It's not fair…It's not fair, not fair, not fair!" with every 'not fair' another fist hit the wood.
"Naruko," he called her name once more as he neared her. "There's a lot of stuff that…isn't fair, in the world." He slowly brought his right hand on her shoulder, only for her to spin around and slam her fist against his stomach.
He felt pain.
He fell down on his knees wheezing as he gagged for air, with tears in his eyes.
"T…that hurt…"
He heard Naruko gasping and kneeling down next to him, her hands bloodied. "I…I'm sorry! Aniki! I didn't mean to! I…"
"Gah…it's…all right," he ground out. "Should have known…no touching a moody ninja…they teach that at school, you know?" he tried to smile, but all that got out was probably a grimace.
"Aniki…" Naruko held his shoulder with her hands, gripping on to his jacket tightly. "I'm sorry."
"I'm the one who should be apologizing," he exhaled and then ended up down on the ground, looking upwards towards the sky. He was just too tired to care about moving.
Naruko shook her head strongly, before falling down right next to him.
"No…I mean…if you think about it, I'm the daughter of the Yondaime…how cool is that?"
"Your voice tells another story, Naruko," his lips twitched into an awkward smile. "Three years pass by quickly, trust me…if I think about it, it just seems like yesterday when I had to patch up a muddied brat who was trying her hardest not to cry."
"I was not crying!" Naruko pouted, "I was just…I had dirt in my eyes, 'ttebayo."
"Of course, of course," he chuckled.
A comfortable silence stretched between the two, as the moon was high in the sky and the stars twinkled.
"Ehi, Aniki?"
"Uhm?"
"I never thanked you, did I?" Naruko said softly.
"For what?"
"Believing in me," Naruko murmured.
"You mean the eldritch horror that is your muffler isn't a gift for me?"
"Aniiikiiiii," Naruko whined. "I'm trying to be serious here!"
"You mean the one thing you fail miserably at?"
There was another high-pitched whine and a huff from Naruko, while Shinku simply chuckled good-naturedly.
"Aniki…" she rolled over to look at him from the side. "Just you wait…I'll be back before you can think of it! And I'll be the strongest there ever is! Baa-chan will just have to give me the Chuunin vest when I'm back, 'ttebayo!"
"I'm sure she will," he remarked.
"The Yondaime's my father," Naruko muttered then, returning to watch the stars. "Awesome."
Ten minutes later, and Naruko turned to gaze at her Aniki once more —it was starting to get cold after all.
She blinked. He was asleep, snoring peacefully.
Well…
She was a ninja, she could sleep beneath the stars without a problem.
She just snuggled closer and then, holding on to a piece of Shinku's jacket, closed her eyes with her body pressed against his. She wasn't going to see him for three years though…was she really going to leave it at that?
She slowly opened her eyes again.
What if, in three years, he forgot about her?
Or what if…something bad happened?
No, that wouldn't do at all.
There really wasn't a choice then.
She'd have to ask some favours to some people.
Shinku slept.
He slept and he shuddered as he dreamed of playing chess with Death.
…
It didn't bode well at all.