Chapter 3: The Plant Swap
"Come on, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whined into her phone, "I don't want to go alone!"
Naruto tried his best not to eavesdrop on the young woman but her loud voice carried easily across the restaurant and straight into the backroom. Sakura had spent at least half an hour trying to convince her fiancé to join her that afternoon. It seemed, however, that fiancé Sasuke had no plans of catching an early flight. After ending her call with a few unhappy 'I love you too's', Sakura slumped against the bar, pouting as she sent one more text to her fiancé, no doubt hoping to change his mind with a few emojis. Fiancé Sasuke, however, did not take the bait and Sakura sighed, shoving her phone back into her pearled purse.
"What's up, Sakura-chan?" Ayame asked as she passed by with a tray full of beers.
"Ayame!" Sakura sat up, her initial disappointment dissipating immediately, "Come to the plant swap with me! It starts in about an hour but it's right down the street! You can take a lunch break, right?"
"Uh…" Ayame grimaced, glancing at her tray laden with drinks, "I totally would, Sakura-chan, but I have to help Tou-chan today. We've been pretty busy since we started renovating the store," she then apologized to her friend one more time before rushing off to serve the remaining customers.
Sure enough, on what would normally be a slow and lazy Thursday afternoon, the shop was uncharacteristically buzzing with increased activity. Ayame, with the help of Sakura's growing fame, had actually managed to grow their social media following enough that new customers had begun to pay a visit to Ichiraku Ramen. The little nook with its little plant was still popular with young women and couples, but the installation of new wooden benches had started to attract larger groups of young adults looking for a place to dine, drink, and decompress after a long day in the office. More customers meant more work and even Teuchi was running orders out to help cover the dining area with Ayame. However, the old chef had sharp ears and, after plopping an extra egg into old man Sarutobi's ramen order, reached out and grabbed Naruto roughly by the shoulder as the young man tried to sneak back into the kitchen.
"Naruto-kun," Teuchi growled, raising an expectant eyebrow at the boy, "You're not busy today, are you?"
"Teuchi-san," Naruto gritted his teeth, "We are three orders behind and I still have a take-out order-,"
"Fantastic!" Teuchi exclaimed, slapping Naruto across the back, "Our lovely friend Sakura-chan needs an escort to the plant swap. What d'ya say keeping her company these next few hours?"
Naruto hesitated. Surely Teuchi wasn't ignorant to all the work they still had to complete before closing the shop that evening? But the look Teuchi gave him told the young man otherwise. The old chef knew exactly what he was doing and no back orders were going to deter him. The boy had to get out and do something besides work. Also, Sakura's whining was beginning to upset the customers. With a sigh, Naruto nodded, exiting into the kitchen to wash up and change out of his work apron.
"Thank you so, so much, Naruto-kun!" Sakura squealed as they exited the ramen shop.
"No problem," Naruto murmured, glancing briefly over his shoulder at the shop. He hoped Ayame and Teuchi would be able to handle this new lunch rush.
"Hey, so did you propagate that snake plant?" Sakura asked, fishing into her purse for her phone.
Naruto shook his head, "No… I'm actually not sure how to propagate… Anything?" he shrugged, "I've just been watering that plant like Shino-san instructed me."
"Aw!" Sakura giggled, "But then you'd have so many little baby snake plants to take care of!"
"B-baby… Snake plants?" Naruto cocked his head, more confused than ever before.
"Oi, Sakura-chan!" a voice called from across the street, cutting their conversation short, much to Naruto's relief.
"Kiba-kun!" Sakura waved, grabbing Naruto by the sleeve and dragging him over to meet her friend, "Naruto-kun, this is Kiba-kun. He works at the Shop on Yarrow Street. Naruto-kun is one of Ayame-chan's family friends. He's been working at the ramen shop for a few years now."
Kiba reached out and gave Naruto a very firm handshake in greeting. He was a young man close to Naruto's age but was a little taller with an even messier mane of brown hair. He was dressed in his work apron, but unlike Shino the Shopkeeper with his plain black apron, Kiba's apron was cream colored with a decal of a spotted dog and the word INU printed across the top. Naruto was impressed. It wasn't every day a man such as Kiba proudly donned such a cute apron. Kiba, however, knew better. As the trio walked together to the shop, Kiba would stop every now and then to greet passing women, their eyes drawn to the cute puppy on his apron, their hands soon enclosed by a handsome man with a flier to hand out. It was a great way to spread word of the business, Kiba bragged, causing Sakura to roll her eyes while Naruto took mental notes.
Upon approaching the plant shops' display window, Sakura was the first to enter the shop, calling out several names and waving her purse wildly in greeting. Kiba followed, nodding politely to their latest guests before making his way into the back room to finish preparing for the plant swap. Naruto, on the other hand, found himself hesitating at the doorway. He had never attended a plant swap before. Hell, he didn't even know what a plant swap was. Feeling out of place, Naruto skirted around the small group of women gathering in the middle of the store and took refuge behind the shop's large display of ferns. He would observe, Naruto told himself, and learn a little more before trying to mingle with the group. However, as Naruto browsed the prices of the ferns, one particularly large specimen parted, revealing a familiar pair of round, black sunglasses.
"Sir, welcome back," Shino greeted him, stepping out from behind the fern.
"Ah!" Naruto took a startled step back, "S-Shino-san! Thanks for the other day! I.. I mean… Well, thanks for hosting the… The plant swap?" the young man ran a hand nervously through his messy blond hair, "Er… Not that I've ever been to one before…"
Shino cocked his head, initially perplexed that Naruto knew his name, until he caught sight of Sakura waving at him from across the room, "Ah, I see. Sakura-san has invited you as her plus one this afternoon," Shino then motioned Naruto over, "Come have a drink. We can wait until the store manager arrives."
"Drink?"
Sure enough, a table had been set out in the corner of the room, stacked with a variety of light, alcoholic drinks. Kiba had already cracked open a beer and, as Shino and Naruto approached, handed them a pair of drinks. Reading the label of his beer, Naruto realized it was a brand unknown to him. What in the world was a microbrew? With even more questions bouncing about in his head, Naruto ignored the label and twisted the cap off, taking a big gulp of beer to calm his nerves. He winced at the incredibly bitter taste of hops and orange peel. So that was a microbrew.
"Terrible, huh?" Kiba chuckled at Naruto's expression, "But after a few of these, you kinda stop caring about the taste," Kiba took his own swig of beer, exhaling loudly as the bubbles burned all the way down, "Since we have such a small group, bosslady thought it would be a good idea to offer some drinks."
"As she did in the last three plant swaps…" Shino pointed out.
"Hey, she knows her clientele, what can I say?" Kiba chuckled.
The three men mingled at the drinks table, sipping their beers while quietly observing the women chatting away in the middle of the room. After a few moments, Shino glanced at his watch, before setting his microbrew aside and giving Kiba a nod, "Excuse me, sir," Shino bowed politely to Naruto, "Please continue to enjoy your drink. We'll be assisting with the plant swap now."
Naruto swallowed nervously. More than anything he wanted to ask at least Kiba to stay and nurse another drink. Not that the other man would have minded, as Kiba was already trying to open up a second beer before Shino grabbed him by the apron and pulled him away. Deciding to stay put, Naruto prepared to grab a stool, but stopped when he noticed Sakura break away from the group and head his way.
"Naruto-kun!" she gratefully took the drink he handed her, "I thought you wanted to know all about the plant swap!" Sakura then linked arms with the young man, ready to forcefully escort him right into the center of the group.
"S-Sakura-chan," Naruto tried to protest, only to be silenced by a great tinkling of shop bells.
The shop door opened, revealing two women carrying enormous trays of plants. The first woman shook her blond ponytail out of her face, both her hands occupied by two enormous trays of clay potted plants. However, the woman did not strain under the weight of her heavy burden. She carried the trays with ease, even stopping briefly to greet a few of her customers. Following behind her, to Naruto's surprise, was the dark-haired beauty from the night before. She carried her own tray and, unlike her co-worker, struggled briefly before sliding it quickly onto the nearest surface.
"Shino, Kiba! Help Hinata with the rest of those plants!" the blond shop manager barked before turning to address the plant swap group, "Thanks for waiting, folks! Let's get this thing started!"
Shino immediately extracted himself from the group, pulling an inventory list from his apron and getting straight to work. Kiba lazily followed, snatching just one more sip of his drink as he went by before going off to unload the plants. Now all together, the majority of the plant swap group began to reach into their bags, extracting carefully wrapped plant cuttings, seed packets, and oddly enough, a few loose cactus pads. Each person set their particular item on the table, most of the wrappings labeled with the species of plant to better inform potential swappers. At first, Naruto thought the group would go around introducing themselves. Instead, the group broke apart, some folks making a beeline for their desired cuttings while others took a moment to browse the new collection before heading off to pour themselves a drink.
"Remember, first come first serve. And I'm willing to barter for a few of these new ones too!" the woman, who Naruto now assumed was the store manager, reminded the group.
"Tsunade-san!" Sakura rushed over as soon as the crowd parted, "How have you been?"
Tsunade grinned, giving the girl a side hug, "Sakura-chan, it's been too long if you ask me. I saw your spring line. Lovely, as always. But have you considered cactuses?" Tsuande pointed behind Sakura. Turning, Naruto caught sight of Kiba gingerly carrying a tray of needle pointed plants. Naruto winced. Kiba was already nursing a pricked finger, sucking his thumb pathetically as he tried to maneuver the cacti to their new home.
"Hm…" Sakura considered Tsuande's idea, "Maybe… It would have to be coupled with barely there necklaces… Ah! Where are my manners?'' Sakura stepped aside, pushing Naruto forward, "Tsunade-san, this is Naruto-kun. He helped make that plant go viral!"
Tsunade's grin grew even wider, "Naruto! I saw that post from the ramen shop. Congrats! Us small shops have to be creative with our marketing, right?" the woman reached out and squeezed the young man's shoulder, "Don't forget to tag our store! That's Shino's plant you're promoting!" she announced as Shino passed by.
Naruto gave Shino a surprised look, which caused the man to nervously adjust his sunglasses.
"What did you bring, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked as she began to dig into her purse, pulling out a few of her mini plants, "Sasuke-kun said I had to purge some of my collection but…" she winked at Tsunade, "He didn't say I couldn't bring any more darlings home!"
"Uh…" Naruto looked down, shuffling his feet awkwardly, "I didn't actually know what a plant swap was… Is…? So…"
Tsunade nodded in understanding, "Well, come on over and check it out!" she squeezed the young man's shoulder again before leading them back to the plant swap table.
"This," the store manager motioned to the entire room, "Is a plant swap. It's an event where folks get together and swap plant cuttings, seeds, tubers, rootings, and even plant bulbs," Tsuande pointed at various items on the table, "If you want a cutting or maybe a few seeds, you usually try to trade for something out of your own collection."
"It's a great way to find rare or unusual varieties of plants," Sakura set her mini plants down on the table before snatching up a little glass vase filled with water and a single leaf, "I've gotten a few crazy succulents from the last few swaps. Right now I'm trying to get," Sakura pointed in the general direction of the shop display window, "A rooted cutting from that monstera over there."
Tsunade chuckled, raising an eyebrow at the young woman, "It'll cost you your whole collection."
"Which one? Plants or jewelry?" Sakura asked, her green eyes wide and hopeful.
"Both," Tsunade answered, cackling as Sakura pouted and spun on her heel to find other, more flexible company.
"Should I…" Naruto started to ask, "Should I have brought-,"
"Oh, no!" Tsunade pointed over to a small but growing pile of packets at the center of the table, "Not everyone brings something to swap, and not everyone wants to take new plants home. Some folks just like to share. Those are free, so take a few home tonight."
Naruto felt his heart jump a little with excitement. He went over to the pile and began to browse through them, his curiosity growing larger and larger as he read off a few odd plant names: Cucamelon, Teddy Bear Sunflowers, Kiwano, Kohlrabi, Passion Flower, and Luffa. A few though he recognized: Diakon, Edamame, and someone had even brought a few sprouting tubers of ginger.
"Which ones-?" Naruto turned around to ask Tsunade, only to find himself standing alone at the table. Glancing around nervously, he managed to catch sight of the store manager chatting away with guests before she disappeared into the crowd of people with a quick wave of her hand.
"Uhm…. Ah…" a soft voice spoke from across the table. Looking up, Naruto once again was captivated by a pair of familiar, pale lilac eyes. The dark-haired beauty from the night before had come over, wringing her hands nervously, but she seemed eager enough to try and start a conversation with him, "I… Uhm… T-Thank you, again, and… And thank you for coming to the plant swap," she then bowed, her long dark hair falling across her pale face.
Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head, "Y-Yeah! Sakura-chan invited me. I didn't think to bring anything though…" the young man then reached out, teasing one of the ginger sprouts, "And I have no idea if I could grow any of these at home…"
The young woman's initial nervousness seemed to diminish as she focused her attention on the sprout, "You can grow ginger inside or outside. You could even put it in a container and grow it next to your snake plant," she reached across the table, selecting the ginger sprout that Naruto had shown interest in, "The tubers take a while to sprout, but this ginger is ready to go. It'll do well once transplanted into a new pot."
Naruto could only stare at her. Once she started talking about plants, the young woman's nervous nature practically disappeared. However, when the woman looked up, she caught him staring, and her nervousness immediately returned. She looked away, unable to keep eye contact with him. Hoping he hadn't scared her off, Naruto went to grab the sprout, only to wrap his hand around the young woman's still holding the plant. Her hands were surprisingly cool, small, and soft. Naruto then felt his stomach drop. He prepared for a jerk, a slap, a glare, maybe a few slurs as he made the mistake of touching her. Instead of jerking away, however, the nervous beauty released the plant into Naruto's hand, the tips of her fingers grazing his palm gently. She did not glare but rather tried to hide the soft pink tinge spreading across her cheeks. Naruto felt his own face flush as that all-too-familiar sensation of arousal burned in his belly.
"Oi, Hinata-chan!" Kiba came over, interrupting their plant exchange, "Some of the clay pots broke. Do we have anything for these pothos?"
"H-Hai!" the dark-haired beauty named Hinata responded, "P-Please consider growing that ginger plant!" she encouraged Naruto before rushing off to help Kiba repot some plants.
For a moment, Naruto just stood there, stupidly holding his new ginger sprout while staring off into the distance, replaying the exchange over and over again. He didn't notice Shino come over, nor hear his initial question, but the next thing he knew, Naruto was seated in front of a large assortment of pots.
"Sir," Shino began to ask again, trying his best not to grin at the odd expression on Naruto's face. Not that he struggled. Shino was naturally stoic afterall.
"Naruto…" the young man murmured, "Call me Naruto…"
"Hai," Shino answered, "Naruto-san, did you want to repot the ginger sprout?"
Naruto shook his head, trying to clear his incredibly inappropriate thoughts, "Y-Yeah… But, I don't really know…?" he trailed off, looking down at the overwhelming assortment seated before him.
"It is a single sprout but if you'd like it to grow more tubers for harvest," Shino pushed a large, bright yellow pot forward, "I would recommend this one."
Naruto bent down to get a closer look. To his surprise, the familiar scale-like pattern that he originally saw on his jade planter had been recreated on the larger pot. However, after examining the piece closely, Naruto realized that it was not yellow snake-scales that covered the pot, but hand-painted golden beetles. The beetles were painted so close together and their exoskeletons were painted so brightly that they shimmered and merged together to give the illusion of scales.
"It looks just like the jade planter we have at home," Naruto breathed, unable to tear his eyes away from the beautiful piece.
"That's cause Shino-kun painted that one too," Kiba chuckled. Having finished his shop duties, the young man had come over to relax and enjoy a third beer, "He's really talented but a little shy about selling his art, right Shino?"
Shino adjusted his sunglasses, "It is best that I do not take advantage of Hinata-chan's generosity-," he started to explain.
"Yeah, well, too late," Kiba pointed at Naruto, "Ichiraku's fans have exposed you. And they want more, so take advantage," Kiba winked at Naruto, "Thanks for getting this guy's name out there. Think you can do it again?"
Naruto nodded, "O-of course! How much?" Naruto turned to Shino, pulling out his wallet in an instant.
Shino raised his hands, ready to protest, but Kiba grabbed the planter, escorting Naruto over to the check-out counter, "You know!" he said loudly, causing Shino to gape at him in embarrassment, "They have matching clay dishes! Did you want to buy those too?"
"Ooooh!" Ayame crooned at the sight of the now freshly potted ginger sprout cradled in Naruto's hands, "Is that from the plant swap?"
Naruto nodded, setting the plant down on the bar top, "I also brought a few of these to share with you guys," he then emptied his pockets, setting down a neat little stack of vegetable seeds for Ayame to browse through.
"What is it?" Teuchi asked, pushing in the last of the bar stools before heading over to turn off the outdoor shop light.
"Naruto-kun!" Ayame squealed, bending down to examine the gorgeous golden planter, "It matches the snake plant!"
Naruto grinned, "It's a ginger plant. Turns out one of the shopkeepers there hand-paints some of the planters. He painted the snake plant's and," Naruto pulled out two clay dishes from his shopping bag, one a brilliant jade green, the other a shimmering gold, "These!"
Teuchi and Ayame both smiled at the sight of the beautiful clay dishes. Just like the planters, the dishes had a unique scale-like pattern made up of hand-painted beetles. As Teuchi and Ayame continued to examine the golden planter and its matching golden dish, Naruto took the jade clay dish over to the snake plant housed in its little nook. He took a moment to swap out the plain clay dish with the new, brightly painted dish and, after taking a step back to examine the plant, Naruto felt that the snake plant seemed to stand a little taller, a little prouder, now complete. Once again, his heart seemed to jump with excitement. How lovely, he thought to himself, to see the plant thriving in its little nook.
"Hold on!" Ayame cried, waving a pen and paper above her head, "What's the shopkeeper's name?"
The pair spent a few minutes chatting and before Naruto knew it, Ayame had written up a little blurb about the plant, its beautiful planter and dish, as well as making sure to promote Shino and the Shop on Yarrow Street. Using some of her own washi tape, Ayame taped up the little blurb on the wall next to the plant. She then took out her phone and snapped a picture, moving over to the GramCHAN app to post on the IchirakuRamen page.
"What do you think?" she handed Naruto her phone.
The new post read: OUR PRETTY LITTLE NOOK WITH OUR PRETTY LITTLE PLANT HAS BEEN UPGRADED! COME BY ICHIRAKURAMEN TO SEE THE LATEST PIECES HAND-PAINTED BY ABARUME SHINO, SOLD ONLY AT THE SHOP ON YARROW STREET! #shopsmall #houseplants #IchirakuRamen #TSoYS
Naruto grinned, "It's perfect!" before hitting the post button, their GramCHAN page immediately updating with the latest post.
"What are you going to do with this guy?" Teuchi asked from the bar, "I think its planter is too big for that table."
"Sounds like we need a bigger table-," Ayame began to pull out her "IN MUCH NEED OF RENOVATION" list.
"Actually…" Naruto murmured awkwardly, "I was hoping…" he shifted, unable to look either of them in the eye, "I was hoping to put it with my father."
Ayame's renovation list immediately disappeared and Teuchi had to turn away, his heart suddenly seized with great emotion. It was incredibly uncommon for Naruto to mention his late father. He usually only made passing comments and avoided actually discussing his father in great detail. This concerned Teuchi greatly while Ayame did her best to navigate the touchy subject gently and with great compassion. To have Naruto voluntarily mention his father, and while still unknown to Teuchi or Ayame, actually desire to interact with his father's shrine, was a great feat. After taking a moment to wipe the corner of his eyes, Teuchi turned and nodded, pushing the ginger sprout closer to Naruto. He tried to say something but the words caught in his throat, so he only nodded again before turning to complete the last of the closing duties.
"Hey," Ayame said, speaking for her father, "Why don't you take that upstairs and get it all set up. Take a picture and send it to me, okay?"
Naruto gave her a grateful smile before collecting his ginger sprout and exiting the shop. For the first time in a long time, he excitedly climbed the steps to his studio, throwing the door open and flipping the switch. He did not initially greet his father. Instead, he rushed over and threw the blanket off the old shrine, the portrait glinting in the fluorescent light. Clearing off the years old, long burnt out incense and candles, Naruto made a spot for the plant right next to his father's picture. He gingerly maneuvered the plant into place, scooting it to the right a little, sliding it to the left some more, before spinning the plant so that it's larger leaves could be bathed by the moonlight shining through his window. In the moonlight, the ginger plant's usually bright green stalks were shadowed evergreen and the pink blush near its root had turned a ruddy red. Its little leaves, however, glimmered and stretched themselves towards the silver light. The golden planter added color to the dull, dark shrine and seemed to cast a golden glow across his father's face. And for a moment, Naruto dared to look at his father. Those bright blue eyes bore into him, they practically brimmed with curiosity, as if asking who is this? Who is this new friend you have brought home?
"... I got a ginger plant…" Naruto muttered, awkwardly looking away from the portrait as he tried speaking to it, "At a plant swap. I…" he swallowed, that old sensation of dread welling up in his chest again, "I made a new friend. He's really talented. He… He painted the planter…" Naruto trailed off, glancing at his father.
The man in the picture merely smiled. Unable to handle the strange mixture of excitement and dread any longer, Naruto suddenly grabbed the ginger plant and shoved it onto his window sill. Disgusted with himself, Naruto threw the blanket back over the shrine, obscuring his father from sight, only to quickly pull the blanket back a little, exposing his father once again to the moonlight. But he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to give his father such a precious gift.