Chapter 135 - Red Saturday
Juugo and Asaoto truly had very few personal belongings; they had their clothes, Juugo's knitting supplies for his therapy, and the various treasures left with them by Shingetsu—and of course Asaoto's teddy bear . After Enbi came to tell them that the house was finally ready, they ate lunch in the cafeteria one last time before packing their things into two hospital duffle bags, and taking the familiar-growing path to the new house.
The housing coordinator, Yamada, was waiting for them there, and she had a curious housewarming present.
"It's a chicken!" Asaoto said, as Juugo put him down.
"Yes, it's a chicken," Yamada said; she wore a smile that she was obviously trying to make genuine.
"We had it picked out just for you," Enbi added, crouching down to Asaoto's level.
"Can I hold it, Daddy?"
"Yes, be careful though," Juugo said.
Asaoto smiled widely and held up his skinny arms to Yamada, who glanced uncertainly at Enbi. Both Enbi and Juugo nodded, so she passed the chicken to Asaoto. It was a white chicken with black brindled feathers, and it made a slightly put-upon declaration as it tried to settle into the boy's arms.
"You're really warm," Asaoto told the chicken. The chicken sulked slightly in reply.
"Let me help you get your things inside," Enbi said. "Asaoto-kun, would you like to sit outside with the chicken while your father and I get settled?"
"Yes," Asaoto replied, and he set himself down on the front stoop of the house, gently petting the chicken.
"Yamada-san, just keep an eye on him for a moment, then you can go," Enbi added, quietly, after Juugo had entered the house. "We won't take long."
Yamada just shrugged, and sat down next to Asaoto, twirling a cinnamon-colored strand of hair as she waited.
"We already have the basic furnishings set in: your stove, the fridge, a table…" Enbi gestured at all of them as they walked about the common room. "And your futons are rolled up in the bedroom closets. You're welcome to decorate it however you like; we'll be giving you an allowance for food you can't get from your garden and anything else you need."
Juugo entered his bedroom and put down both of the duffel bags, and looked around at the brown newness of everything. "And you showed me where all the stores are that I can walk to. I remember them."
"Yes. I'm sure you and Asaoto-kun are very excited."
"We are, we are." Juugo grinned.
"Daddy? I have a question." Asaoto's voice floated in from outside.
Juugo walked through the common room and poked his head out the front door. "Yes, Asaoto?"
"Can I name our chicken?"
Juugo smiled greatly. "Of course you can name it."
Asaoto patted the chicken on its head quite gently and deliberately. "I'm gonna name it Sasuke," he said, nodding a few times.
"Sasuke?" Juugo (and Yamada) said.
"Yes, Sasuke."
"Odd name for a chicken…" Yamada mumbled.
Juugo laughed a little, and joined Asaoto on the step. "You want to name it Sasuke? Why?"
"It reminds me of Mister Sasuke. The black feathers," Asaoto said.
The chicken quite grumpily remarked that it didn't know how it felt about such a name, which only made Juugo chuckle.
"I suppose there is a resemblance," he said.
"Juugo-san, do you remember how to use the stove, again?" Enbi leaned out of the front door.
"Oh, yes, I do!" Juugo replied.
"Let's just go over how it all works again, before I go," Enbi said. "Yamada-san, I can take it from here."
"Good luck, you all," Yamada said, before leaving, throwing a pinched expression back over her shoulder before she left.
Part of Juugo's treatment in the Curse Seal program, while still at the hospital, was in taking cooking classes, and ensuring that other skills—laundry, home repair, using various other appliances—were learned or retained. Karin had already taught Juugo a fair bit, such as how to cook and do his laundry, but machines were still at times a mystery to him, and he was glad for the extra help from the program.
By now, the stove was more a friend than a vaguely threatening stranger, and Juugo certainly conceded that it was far more convenient than his usual hearth and fire. Having hot baths at any time was going to be wonderful, too, especially for Asaoto, who got cold so easily and was soothed greatly by warm water.
Enbi left them, an hour or so later, with her phone number and a cheerful reminder for Juugo to come back in two days for a job consultation when he dropped Asaoto off for his weekly check-up. "We're looking into a very promising opportunity for you, Juugo-san, so hopefully we'll have an answer by then."
"I can't wait," Juugo said, and waved warmly goodbye.
Asaoto then went to put Sasuke the chicken in a small hut that had been built behind the garden—apparently, Hashiki had set it up that morning on request—so Juugo went to use the telephone.
He called Karin, first, updating her on the situation and how nice his new house was. She laughed for a good long time once he got to the name that Asaoto had given the chicken.
"Sasuke?! You're not serious!" She paused for a few seconds to catch her breath and sigh. "Oh, goodness, what would make him do that, okay…"
"Well, Sasuke's been coming to visit me lately, and Asaoto likes him very much," Juugo said.
"Really, he's been visiting you?" Karin sounded quite surprised.
"Yes, for about a week now."
"…well, Juugo, I'm very glad you're getting time with him," Karin said, and cleared her throat.
"Mm, I am too," Juugo replied. "I'm actually going to call him after I finish talking to you. He wanted to come visit me once I was moved in."
"Is that so?" Karin said. "He asked for this?"
"Mhm!"
"Very interesting. How's his mood been?"
"His mood…?" Juugo said. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious."
"Well, he seems…" Juugo thought. "He seems a little sad, I think. And tired. But he's very kind and patient with me and Asaoto."
"Ah, I see," Karin said. "Well, um… I hope you two have a good time today, then!"
"I do too!" Juugo replied. "I'm going to call him now, if that's all right."
"Oh, you do that, okay," Karin said. "Give Asaoto my love."
"Of course, Karin," Juugo replied. "Bye-bye."
Juugo had pinned Sasuke's phone number up next to the phone, along with Karin's information and a contact list that Enbi had given him, with her number, his therapist's number, and emergency services of all kinds. He'd actually never called Sasuke's house before, honestly. The past few days, Sasuke had just come at the same time each time, planning with Juugo to make sure he didn't show up at any inopportune times.
Now, Juugo carefully and deliberately pressed the buttons for Sasuke's number, and waited for him to pick up.
Then: "This is the Uzumaki residence, can I help you?"
It was Sasuke's voice! "Hello, Sasuke? This is Juugo!"
"Ah, Juugo. It's nice to hear from you."
"Yes, same to you!" Juugo replied. "I moved into my house today, I wanted to tell you."
"Did you?" Sasuke said. "I should visit, then."
"Yes, I'd love that!" Juugo said. "Um, should I give you directions?"
"Please," Sasuke said.
Sasuke showed up maybe an hour later, holding a brightly-colored bag in his arms.
"I hope I haven't kept you waiting," he said, stalling in the foyer.
"No, not at all! I'm glad you found us," Juugo said. "Please, come in."
Sasuke handed him the bag after taking off his shoes, bowing slightly. "I brought you a housewarming gift. I hope you like it."
"Is Mister Sasuke here?" Asaoto came out of his room, rubbing his eye.
"Hello, Asaoto," Sasuke said.
"Hello," Asaoto replied.
Juugo, meanwhile, was opening the gift, and found inside it a blue glass mug and a strange, enormous mitten shaped like a chicken's face. "Oh, what are these…?" he said.
"It's, um, a cup and an oven mitt," Sasuke said. "I know you like chickens but this was all I could find."
"Oh…! I see!" Juugo said. "That's so kind of you, thank you."
"Are those little chickens on the cup?" Asaoto said, reaching up for it.
"Yes, Asaoto," Juugo said.
"Can I drink my milk in it?"
"Of course." Juugo passed the cup down to Asaoto, who held it with both hands.
"Thank you, Mister Sasuke," Asaoto said, smiling.
"You're welcome, Asaoto. I'm glad you like it."
"Would you like something to drink? Please, sit down, it's all right," Juugo said.
"Just water is fine," Sasuke replied, and he sat down, and he stayed for hours.
They talked and shared news and laughter, and as afternoon became evening, Juugo offered to cook dinner. Sasuke at first refused, but Asaoto was hungry, so Juugo made rice and vegetables that he had pulled and washed clean from the garden. Sasuke stayed to help wash the dishes, but after Asaoto fell asleep and Juugo carried him into his room and tucked him in, he suggested that he leave.
"I hope I wasn't too much of a bother," Sasuke said, pulling on his shoes.
"No, not at all," Juugo said. "I was glad to have you. And I appreciate the gifts."
"Mm. I'm glad." Sasuke stood to leave. "Well, then, I'll be going home."
Home. The night was so quiet, and he'd been having such fun.
"Sasuke, um, your family lives near me, did you know?" Juugo said.
Sasuke lowered his head. "Yes, Juugo, I know," he replied.
"Is it… all right that I live so near to them?" Juugo said.
"It's not a problem," Sasuke said. "I just live apart from them right now. It's okay."
"Ah…"
Sasuke looked over his shoulder, and his face seemed soft and vulnerable. "Are you worried about me, Juugo?"
"A little, Sasuke," he replied, quietly. "Not being able to live with your family, it just seems like… an uncomfortable situation."
Sasuke sighed. "It's all right. I chose this for my family's sake. I'll go back eventually. It's not like I'll never see them again…"
"Ah…" Juugo said again. "Well… I just hope it's not… hard having to walk past your family's house to visit me."
"It's not hard," Sasuke replied. "It's honestly fine."
"Ah…" Juugo hung his head. "I'm sorry for mentioning anything, this isn't my business…"
But Sasuke turned around, and he smiled slightly. "I'm actually thankful that you're worried about me."
"Thankful…?"
"I thought, for a while, that nobody cared enough about me to worry about this sort of thing," he said. "It's nice to know you care."
Juugo, despite himself, began to smile. "Ah, well, you're welcome, I suppose."
It hadn't answered all his questions, but all the same, Sasuke had come that much closer.
"Call me any time you want to see me," Sasuke said, turning around. "Goodbye, Juugo."
"Goodbye, Sasuke. It was good to see you again."
"Same to you."
He saw Sasuke next the following week, after his scheduled job consultation with Enbi.
To his surprise, that day, Hashiki was once again in the office when he went in.
"Hello, Juugo-san!" She waved at him cheerfully, one of her legs propped up on her knee.
"What are you doing here?" Juugo said. "Is there something wrong with my house?" he added, with a twinge of anxiety.
"No, no, nothing of the sort!" Hashiki said, waving her hand. "I'm here to bring you to work with me."
"Your work…?"
"Hashiki-san took quite a shine to you, Juugo-san, and we both agree that your gifts go perfectly along with hers," Enbi said. "So we're having you help her today, to see if you're a fit."
"Oh, I see!" Juugo said. "What sort of work are we going to be doing, then?"
"Well, I'm going to be making and building things, same as usual," Hashiki said. "But you, Juugo-san, are gonna be clearing the space for me."
"Clearing? Like cleaning?" Juugo said.
"No, like wrecking," Hashiki replied, grinning.
Juugo blinked in confusion. "Wrecking…?"
"You'll be using your skills to clear rubble and demolish old structures," Enbi explained.
"You want me to… destroy things..?" Juugo said. "But I'm not… supposed to, that's bad."
"We've been working on getting you to control your strength, Juugo," Enbi said, gently. "Now we're going to let you use that strength for good things."
Juugo's shoulders hunched. "I don't know… I hate it when I lose control. It feels awful…"
"I'm sure you won't!" Hashiki said. "Enbi-san told me all about your progress and I'm sure you'll do just fine. Especially with me there. I'm good with rowdy guys," she added, with a slight chuckle.
"Let's just try one day of work, Juugo-san," Enbi said. "If it doesn't suit you, then we'll consider other options for you."
Juugo managed a smile, though an uncomfortable one. "If you say so…"
He was perfect at his job.
With Hashiki's guidance and enthusiastic coaching, he channeled his transformative energy into his arms, turning them earth-red and enormous. Uneasily at first, he began hefting rubble out of the way along with Hashiki, who did he work with great, claw-vine extensions of her arms.
But soon enough, warm passion began building in his chest, and he eagerly asked Hashiki what she wanted for him to do next.
There was the skeleton of an old warehouse in the corner of the lot they were clearing, the metal roof rusted in and little left standing but a shabby concrete foundation.
"Go tear that down for me, and then we'll finish clearing out," Hashiki said.
Juugo, without hesitation, went to it, and began to smash, laughing as he worked.
As he finished, he looked over his shoulder and saw Hashiki looking on with her hands on her hips, and Enbi with her clipboard, watching from the bench across the street with a smattering of curious onlookers.
"How'd I do?" he said.
"Couldn't have done it better myself," Hashiki said.
Even after the lot was completely cleared and Hashiki was ready to begin her real work, Juugo still stayed behind, if only to watch her miraculous, beautiful gift in action.
She was constructing the foundation of a new apartment building, with space for shops below, and the structure rose high and square in the fading afternoon light.
"That should be enough for now," Hashiki said, pushing a stray bang behind her ear. "Nice work, Juugo-san!"
Juugo, whose arms had paled and shrunken, smiled, even nodding. "Thank you! You did a good job too, Hashiki-san. You did most of the work, after all…"
"Yeah, but it was better with you there," she said. "Went by a lot more quickly, and it's way more fun to have a helper to talk to!"
"I suppose, yes…!" Juugo said.
"So did you have fun today, then?" Enbi was coming over to them. She seemed strangely small, now, compared to Hashiki's great height, which was near equal to Juugo's.
"I did have fun! I didn't lose control at all," Juugo said.
"You certainly didn't. It's worth celebrating," Enbi replied.
"Yeah, you did a great job, Juugo-san," Hashiki added, once more.
"Would you like to work with Hashiki-san again, then?" Enbi continued.
The immediacy of his reply almost surprised Juugo. "Yes, if she needs my help!"
"Then I'll see what I can do, if Hashiki-san's also for it."
"Oh, I'm for it, believe me!" Hashiki said, and Juugo found himself laughing.
He returned home to Asaoto and swept the little boy into a great hug, and Asaoto giggled in confusion and joy.
"Did you have a good day, Daddy?" he said.
"I did, I did," Juugo replied. "I might have a job."
"Is it a good job?"
"Oh yes, it's wonderful," Juugo said. "It uses my strength for good things."
"That sounds very good," said Asaoto. "We should go home and tell Sasuke."
"Oh, yes, I think that's a wonderful idea," Juugo replied, chuckling.
"And Mister Sasuke too!" Asaoto added, in an enthusiastic chirp. "Him too, when he visits next."
"Yes," Juugo said, "when he visits next."
Juugo worked with Hashiki twice more before Sasuke visited next, on the following Sunday; Juugo had invited him over much earlier, but Sasuke was returning to work and had less time to spare. But Sundays, he explained, were his day off, so he promised to visit at least then.
Juugo had much to share with him, when they finally met again.
"So is this going to be a regular situation between you and Hashiki?" Sasuke said.
Juugo was pouring tea, and paused with the kettle over his mug. "Hm? Well, I suppose so. She calls me down every time she needs me for anything."
Sasuke tilted his head thoughtfully. "Asaoto isn't in school, yet, is he?"
"Ah, well, no, he isn't…"
"I'd like to go to school," Asaoto said, tugging on Sasuke's shirt, "but I'm too little, I think."
"How old are you, Asaoto? Six, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"No reason you can't go to school, then," Sasuke replied, "unless your health is causing problems for you that keep you from going."
"Sasuke," Juugo said, "why all this talk of school…?"
"Well," Sasuke said, "when you're out working, where is Asaoto-kun?"
Juugo set out the mugs on the table, frowning as he thought. "Well, lately I've been leaving him at the hospital… He has check-ups often…"
"The hospital? Is it comfortable for him there?"
"It's not that bad," Asaoto said. "They have lots of toys there, so I'm not bored."
"Mm, I suppose," Sasuke said. "Would you prefer… spending time with me, instead?"
"Instead of going to the hospital?" Sasuke nodded. "I think I'd like that very much, Mister Sasuke."
"What do you mean by that, Sasuke?" Juugo said. "Having Asaoto spend time with you…?"
"What I mean is, if you ever find yourself called for a job," Sasuke said, "you should call me first. I'd be glad to watch Asaoto for you, if I have the time, so you don't have to drop him off at the hospital all the time."
"Oh, you don't have to go through all that trouble!" Juugo said. "What about your own work, besides…?"
"My students can stand to train on their own every now and then," Sasuke replied. "I've asked it of them before, and for… far lesser reasons. Besides," he added, "ensuring Asaoto's care personally would… ease my mind a little."
"You don't have to worry about me, Mister Sasuke," Asaoto said, reaching up and patting Sasuke on the shoulder with a thin hand. "I am taken care of very well."
Sasuke smiled, and it wrinkled his face in a way that aged him, yet almost made him seem younger. "Yes, your father does an excellent job. But I wouldn't want you left alone, Asaoto."
"Really, Sasuke, you don't have to do this much for me…" Juugo said, nestling his hands together. "The people at the hospital already told me that Asaoto is welcome at any time. Sakura-sensei told me…"
Sasuke's eyes fell, and he looked older again. "Sakura is definitely capable," he said. "Still, if you ever feel the need… I'm here. And I'd be glad to help."
"I'd like to have Mister Sasuke watch me some time, Daddy," Asaoto said. He reached for his mug, the one with the chickens on it, the gift from Sasuke, and he drank deeply. "I think it would be fun."
"I'll… I'll think about it," Juugo said, and he reached for his tea. "But I don't want to burden you, Sasuke."
Sasuke reached for his tea, in return. "There isn't anything you could ask that would burden me. But I understand."
Juugo relied on the hospital, for the next two jobs. But on the third, after he received the job through the telephone, Asaoto tugged on his shirt and looked up with clear impatience.
"Can you call Mister Sasuke?" he said. "It's a nice day and I want to be outside. I can't do that at the hospital."
"You want to be outside…?" Juugo said. Asaoto nodded, and Juugo bit his lip.
It was a very nice day, a golden dying roar of autumn, full of sunshine. Chickadees had gathered on the front porch to eat at the leftover seeds scattered the previous day. And the last thing he wanted to do was deprive Asaoto of what he loved.
"All right," Juugo said, "I'll call Sasuke."
Sasuke was there within a half hour, and bid Juugo farewell and best of luck at his job for the day, Asaoto standing beside him and waving.
Juugo returned to a great deal of excitement and energy, the likes of which he'd never seen in his son.
"Daddy, Daddy, Sasuke laid an egg!"
Juugo stooped in the threshold of his house, and his face bent with confusion. "What…?"
"An egg! Sasuke laid an egg!" Asaoto pressed up against his father's arm, tugging on the folded sleeves of his shirt.
Juugo looked back at Sasuke, who was leaning against the stove with a stiffly amused expression. "It's not me who laid the egg, if that's what you're wondering."
"Of course it wasn't you, Mister Sasuke," Asaoto said. "It was the chicken-Sasuke. She had an egg!"
Juugo'd had a feeling that Sasuke-the-chicken had been a hen, but he'd said nothing so that Asaoto's little flight of fancy would remain intact. "Where is the egg, Asaoto?" he asked.
"Back in the chicken house," Asaoto replied. "She won't get off it."
"Well we don't have any roosters so I don't think that will be much of a help, for her," Juugo said, chuckling.
"I know." Asaoto giggled. "We should make something really yummy with it. Our first egg here."
"It's all he's been talking about, since we found it," Sasuke noted. He was smiling a little.
"Well, then, we'll have to figure out something very good to make," Juugo said, lifting up his son for a welcome-back hug.
And there were more eggs, after that. Many more.