The Boy in the Park
Chapter Fifty-Seven
He heard a soft knock at his door in the middle of the afternoon. He frowned, before carefully standing up from his spot on the armchair and heading over to the door in question.
He stopped midway through. Last time he had opened the door for no reason whatsoever, he ended up nearly castrated…
This time, he wasn't going to risk it.
Shinku looked through the peephole for a moment, and then burrowed his brows upwards in perplexity. He opened the door the next moment.
"Naruko? Don't you have the keys?" he asked as the girl sheepishly scratched the back of her head and looked downcast.
"Ah…I forgot about them, Aniki," Naruko muttered, entering the house after kicking off her sandals.
"Is everything all right?" he asked slowly. It was a first to see the girl come back after a mission without telling him anything about it.
"Yeah," Naruko nodded meekly. "What's for dinner?"
"Ramen to celebrate your return from the mission?" he hazarded as a question.
"Ah, yeah," Naruko's smile was…forced. It didn't feel right.
"Did something bad hap—"
"Nothing," Naruko shook her head. "It's nothing you need to know."
Then she left for her room. He frowned and brought his right hand to his chin. Was this…
The Rebellious Teenager phase?
He walked off towards the kitchen, deciding to start working on a homemade ramen, when he heard the usual noises of someone under the shower. Well, he supposed Naruko was just tired from the mission. He'd set out a glass of milk out of the bathroom on a chair, and then return to his cooking.
He began to whistle a happy tune. He'd have to tell the girl about being invited to a marriage —he had told Kurenai there was no way he'd keep Naruko away from it. Sure, it had taken a bit of talking to get her to accept the idea that she was no longer a loudmouth braggart who'd tell everyone in the next five seconds, but it had worked.
He was sure Naruko would appreciate the gesture, and for some reason girls loved going to weddings.
Everything was fine. There was no stalkering, no watching, no Sakura trying to make babies or Shizune at the door.
It was a perfectly normal afternoon.
Everything was calm, quiet, and Shinku actually chuckled to himself at the thought. Letting the broth boil, he grabbed his book and began to read once more.
He flipped a page. He heard the door of the bathroom slid open from the floor above.
He heard the sliding of the chair.
Then, he heard the crashing of glass against the floor.
He was on his feet and on the first floor in a moment, just to stare at the angry, red-faced Naruko's trembling form as she breathed in and out slowly, having thrown the glass of milk against the floor.
"I'm…not…" she croaked out, "A baby."
"Naruko?"
She left in a flicker —far faster than what he could catch with his eyes. The door of her room slammed close then.
"Naruko!" he exclaimed.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Shinku blinked.
Then he sighed.
Yes.
This was the Teenager period, no doubt about it. He went back down in the kitchen, shaking his head in disbelief. He was sure Naruko would come down when she got hungry.
Naruko didn't come down when she got hungry. She simply left from the window. He realized that after waiting two hours for her to come down to eat dinner, and receiving no reply.
He supposed a ninja wouldn't really have troubles leaving the house.
He looked up at the ceiling of the kitchen, before draining the noodles —they'd just turn soggy anyway— and putting them aside. He'd drop the broth in the fridge and heat it for another day.
"Really…what's up with her?" he muttered. He turned off the lights and left, after closing the door.
"Uzuki-san?" he asked to the thin air.
"Yes, Haruno-san?"
"Have you seen…"
"She is on top of the Yondaime's head."
"Of course," Shinku looked towards the monument's heads, before beginning his walk.
"If you'd like, I can bring you there in a moment," Yugao suggested.
"No need…I still don't know what to tell her to begin with," Shinku replied, as he began to mull over the possible reasons.
Maybe Sakura was wounded? Or their sensei? Probably could be that the mission took quite a bit of time, or that she had to depart so abruptly? There were many reasons a teenager could be moody. Now, if he found the right one, then he could deflate the moodiness sooner.
The slope to reach the top of the monument was easier now on his legs —after the 'torture' of the Spandex Duo, this wasn't something difficult at all.
He reached for the top of the Yondaime's head in half an hour, only to watch at Naruko's form slamming her fists against the hard rock of the fourth's head.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I…Stupid!"
He quietly observed her trying to deliver a headache to a stone head, before she finally stopped and began to sniffle.
"You had to choose me, dad…uh," Naruko mumbled. "You couldn't have taken someone else? Anyone…else?"
He carefully began to climb the slight final slope before standing straight on the head of the Yondaime, gritting his teeth as he did that.
"I'm not sure someone else would have been suited for the role," Shinku exclaimed then, trying to rein in his fear of falling to his death. "I mean, where else do we get someone so knuckleheaded we have to pursue her in the middle of the night?"
"…" Naruko turned the other way, crossing her arms over her chest and remaining quiet. There was a moment of silence, before Shinku raised an eyebrow.
"So, what happened?"
"I'm not telling you," Naruko deadpanned.
"And why not?"
"Because I don't wanna."
"I don't—"
"I don't want to! I know! All right!? I know 'ttebayo! I know how to speak if I want to! And I don't wanna do that now!" she yelled back. "I dun wanna." She muttered then softly.
"Fine?" Shinku chuckled nervously. "Then—"
"You can go," Naruko mumbled. "You've got work tomorrow, Aniki. And I'm staying here for a bit more."
"You sur—"
"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sure."
And with those words, a strange sulkiness settled in Naruko henceforth.
Author's notes
Let's get back on track. More serious stuff coming right up.