A/N: Re-written as of April 6th 2024
Guize I'm back!
I'm sorry I poofed everyone. I had a family emergency that hit me pretty hard. Not going to go into a lot of details, but it started when I was on my way back from work last time (in December) and I'm still kind of reeling from it. I tried getting back to this a few times in these last few months, but I just didn't have it in me yet. Sorry it has taken me this long to get back to this.
Because I'm just now getting back into writing and stuff and couldn't hold off on getting something to you guys as quickly as possible, this is the only chapter that I've got available to you guys right now (there are others finished but I'm editing and rewriting badly written parts that happened when I just wasn't in a good place to be writing). I won't be posting a chapter for this on Thursday this time, like I had been trying to do after my last poof. However, I will try to go back to that once I get myself caught up some more, so maybe not next week, but the week after. EX chapters will go back to being posted on Tuesdays next week of course. For those of you who follow ID I'm happy to say there will be an update for that one this Thursday because I'm almost done with that one now too~
Again, I'm sorry for my disappearing out of the blue yet again, but I sincerely hope those of you who are still interested in my fanfictions enjoy this new, fluffy chapter~
Chapter IX: Ridiculous
With new shoes on their little feet, the twins practically pulled him out of the office when Inoichi's father announced he would take them all to a late lunch. They didn't even wait for the Yamanaka to take the lead, enthusiastically trotting down the stairs. His heart pounded in his chest the entire way down, fearing that one or both of them would trip. "Slow down," the genin had tried, but was ignored.
And then just as suddenly as they had set off, the pair had come to a complete stop. He would have stumbled at the abrupt loss of their tugging had he not been a shinobi, and even then he just barely managed to maintain his balance. Frowning he looked down at the pair to try and figure out why they had stopped at the foot of the stairs. Makiko had her lips pursed, while Masato's head was tilted slightly to one side. And then the pair looked over their shoulders.
"Ino-"
"-kai-"
"san?"
Makiko had started, and trailed off as if she was unsure of how the man's name ended, but Masato picked it up immediately, and then Makiko added on the honorific her brother had left off. Minato looked over his own shoulder to see that the other four had followed after them, with the smiling Yamanaka patriarch being the closest.
"Yes?" the man asked, eyes doing nothing to hide his amusement with their little antics.
"Where go?" the male toddler questioned, with Makiko echoing the 'where' moments afterwards.
In response the man allowed himself to chuckle, proceeding the words "follow me."
"Okay!'' Both twins agreed easily, although it seemed to him they were practically vibrating as they waited for Inokai to head to wherever they were going so they could follow. Their eyes eagerly followed the blonde man and when he was in front of the group they started tugging at his hands again. By now the boy knew it was futile to try and keep them walking at a sedate pace, and followed along after them. Not that he didn't tense whenever one of them stumbled a bit. In fact by the time they had gone three blocks his heart was thundering in his ears again with nerves.
It was ridiculous, he knew.
By the time they had gone five blocks he was counting their steps between each small misstep, trying to identify a pattern where there was none to be found.
Through it all the pair was oblivious, happily skipping after the Yamanaka and his son who had at some point moved to stand next to his father. Inoichi was enthusiastically speaking to the man about his team's latest accomplishments. Or as much as he was allowed to, given that they were mostly mission related and they were walking down a public street.
Despite his best efforts to focus on the conversation instead of on the non-rhythm of his siblings' steps, it proved an impossible feat. The words might as well have been unintelligible gibberish for all he was able to garner from them.
Behind him the two Nara were useless as a distraction. Their 'conversation' consisted of curt questions and minimalistic answers. There was so little there that even if he had been able to focus on them the genin would have had to think very hard on the words to actually be able to decipher just what was being discussed. Not that he didn't try, as that would have been a perfect way to focus his overactive mind on something else. But as he missed the beginning of their conversation, he lacked a vital piece of information needed to identify the subject matter.
The Nara swore they didn't speak in code, but the village at large would never believe that. Even if it was true. It was simply that there was so much unsaid between them, because it didn't need to be said to be known. That most certainly didn't classify as a code, no matter how much it sounded like one.
Nineteen steps between Masato's tripping.
At the moment it might as well have been an alien cryptogram.
Fourteen steps since Makiko last stumbled.
Were they talking about meals? Or was it about training?
Twenty more steps for Masato? Seven for Makiko?
Or was it actually about economics somehow? Or all three?
Twenty seven steps since Masato last tripped…. no, that was Makiko. Twenty - thirty nine? Fourty two for Masato?
This was ridiculous.
It was much easier to keep herself distracted with the prospect of food ahead of them, and the ridiculous tension she felt running through Minato's body. It was like he was expecting one of them to face plant at any moment. His eyes were flicking back and forth towards the tops of their heads, his brow slightly drawn together in concentration. What was he doing, counting their steps?
He very well might be.
How far were they going for food anyway? It had been at least four blocks after they had turned down another street. There were restaurants on either side of them now, but Inokai kept walking. Really, wouldn't any of these do?
But the Yamanaka led them onward another block before he changed course towards one of the restaurant doors, and Makiko was struck with the thought that this looked like the biggest one. It was two stories. Two.
Why?
Maybe it wasn't actually as big as it looked, and the people who ran it lived above it or something?
She'd be finding out soon enough, as they were already standing just inside the restaurant's Genkan. A genkan in a restaurant was a little odd wasn't it?
The rest looked rather odd too, for a place to eat. She didn't see tables at all, just sliding doors down a long hallway. But she definitely heard people beyond those doors, though the sounds were muted by the barrier… oh! This place gave diners their own room for their meal!
Somehow that sounded really… expensive to her.
"Maki-chan, we have to take off your shoes," Her brother was saying, as he pulled his hand away from hers. She blinked, eyes moving to the genin, before looking down at her feet. "Sit here okay?" The boy was directing her to one of three benches in the Genkan which were likely meant for patrons to wait for the hostess.
And next to the step up there were racks of shoes.
Wow… you even had to take off your shoes at this place. That was so… posh? Or something? Not that she'd never had to do so at the places she'd eaten once she'd been Hokage. A few of them anyway. When you were dining with the other Kage, something like this restaurant was where you went.
"Makiko," Minato's voice broke into her thoughts, as she felt his hands under her arms, lifting her up to set her down on the padded bench in the restaurant entry way. She heard a snicker beside her, and realized that Masato was already seated on the bench, one foot free of his shoes thanks to Inokai-san. Clearly he thought it funny that she'd totally spaced out and failed to listen to Minato. She looked back at her older brother feeling a little sheepish.
"Sorry, Ni-san," she muttered, as the boy gently pulled her shoes off her feet.
Minato just smiled at her, ruffling her hair before he slid a pair of slippers on for her. "Don't worry about it," he said simply. It was only when he picked her up and set her in the hall next to Shikatsu-san that she realized the hostess must have arrived, because she couldn't see where the slippers were being stored.
Minato slipped out of his own shoes as he stepped up into the hall, and then he set his and her shoes on one of the racks. She noted that the others had already done so, even Inokai who'd taken the time to help Masato. Not that it was really surprising. The lot of them were shinobi after all.
What did surprise her a bit was the fact that she hadn't even noticed the woman who was likely the hostess until she took this chance to look around again. But there she was garbed in dark blue, having just finished bowing to Inokai and proceeding to beckon the group to follow her to their room. She was pretty, she supposed, with raven locks expertly twisted into an elegant updo, topped with a flower kanzashi. Her smile was serene, and her grey eyes sincerely welcoming. She moved with well practiced grace, and Makiko realized she must have been raised to work here. At least it didn't look like she hated it though, as her welcoming expression remained in place even as she closed the shōji door behind them after leading them to a room on the second floor.
Maki blinked, and looked around again. Wow, she hadn't even realized Minato had picked her up, supporting her with one hand as he likely had held Masato's hand with the other on their venture upstairs. She really wasn't being very observant right now… gosh.
Almost wanting to pout, the little toddler scanned the room for every detail now. Minato set her down with a soft "Sit here Maki-chan", so she absently lowered herself down (which nearly ended up in her falling for not paying attention), stretching her little legs out in front of her as she finished scanning the simple but elegant traditional decor. There were two exterior walls in the room they'd been guided into, one with a sliding door she assumed led out to a little veranda or something. The other had two windows that were letting in the daylight. The room smelled faintly of flora, thanks to the artfully arranged flowers in their delicate glass vases along that wall.
The cushions that were the room's seating were a rich, subtly patterned blue as far as she could tell, but she'd have to really look at one closer to tell just what the pattern was. Which didn't exactly seem like a good idea given her current company perhaps? Or rather… it would just look really ridiculous if she practically shoved her nose into one to see what the pattern was. She was sure the adults would put it off as a child's curiosity, but she just felt like such an antic was unworthy of the atmosphere of this place.
Which might have been her own imagination really. It was extremely grande when she compared it to anything she'd seen in this life, but if she were to think back to the life of Naruko, it wasn't that fancy.
She nearly gasped after that errant thought.
No. Do not think about it.
Masato was starting to get the impression that Makiko was trying really hard to keep herself distracted. It was a little bit of a concern, but at the same time he could understand it. She was probably still in shock… He was too, maybe. It had never occurred to him that if he wasn't in this body, Masato might not even be alive right now. Or that him being there had somehow caused the real boy to die (in soul at least). It wasn't at all a pleasant line of thought. Nor was it something he was going to dwell on however, because even if one of those were true, he couldn't change it now. He had to forge ahead.
But first he had to get some food in his belly, because they hadn't eaten since yesterday some time, he was sure. And while it was true that they usually only got to eat once a day during their life on the run, the time travelling with Minato had already gotten him a little used to more frequent (although tiny) meals. And he really wanted something real to eat. Not that his meals hadn't been real… but they weren't very good, and far from a full meal.
But Minato didn't ask him or Makiko what they wanted when it came time to order. Nor did any of the others in the room. Rather Inokai just up and ordered for them. One meal to be split between the two of them in fact!
Masato pouted and announced loudly he could eat up his own meal.
"Calm down Masato," Minato soothed, "It'll be lots of food for both of you, I promise." He kept pouting petulantly, even though the words made him remember that he was a malnourished kid who wouldn't be used to eating very much in one sitting at all. And the food would be a lot more than they'd ever eaten in one sitting before. It was a real meal after all.
Makiko had wisely not peeped up, sitting quietly beside them, eyes on her own little toes, and one hand tightly fisted in the side of Minato's jacket.
Hopefully her thoughts weren't wandering off to dark places right now.
Seriously, couldn't someone in the group start a conversation? It seemed to him that both Inokai and Shikatsu were analyzing them… hadn't the damn questioning in the hokage's office been enough for now? That had been nerve wracking to be completely honest. But he thought they'd managed to handle it pretty well. Hopefully they had also been able to put up convincing enough act of their physical age. Because there was no question they were under some level of suspicion here. Why else would they have been brought before the Hokage and asked the questions they were?
They were a potential risk in the eyes of what was once their home village. It was hard not to feel sort of betrayed by the thought, but at the same time, he understood. While it never would have happened in his time in office, he knew that it wouldn't have been unheard of even back when he was a genin. And currently they were in an age of war, so any one brought into the village, regardless of age, would have to be thoroughly investigated to ensure the village was not compromised by them.
But seriously, how much of a possible threat could they think a pair of toddlers could possibly pose? Toddlers, even shinobi toddlers, were innocent almost by definition. Had they sent up red flags somehow?
"Masato-kun," the gentle voice of Inokai called out, and he gave a little start, turning his head to his right to look at the man. "Would you like me to show you how to use chopsticks?"
What?
And then he heard a soft voice calling from outside the room, before the door slid open, and the waitress brought in several standing trays of food. She set two in front of Minato, one of which seemed to be food for his brother, and the other for Makiko, and then one in front of Inokai. Across from them, Shikatsu was only given sake. Wasn't it a bit early to be drinking? The adults weren't eating?
He supposed it was a bit of an odd time to be having lunch, though it seemed the two Ino-Shika-Cho boys hadn't eaten yet either.
"Masato?" Inokia spoke again, one of his brows arched questioningly at him.
He screwed up his face as if he was thinking really hard, and then nodded, with "Show me! Show me!"
Inokia seemed convinced by the little display, as he let out an amused chuckle, before he moved the tray in front of him, and first showed him how to hold the chopsticks, before he began softly instructing him how to adjust his own awkward hold. Damn… toddler hands really did suck. He used to be able to use chopsticks without any thought! He'd even, eventually, learned how to do so acceptably well with his left hand… although it was something he had very rarely done after getting his prosthetic.
Now trying to use chopsticks was just as frustrating as it had been when he'd had to learn how to do so with his non-dominant hand. In fact, it felt almost exactly like that… He screwed up his face again, now really in deep thought as he considered this and attempted to get his food in his mouth rather than all over. Eventually his hand stopped moving, and he was glaring at the chopsticks.
It was when he glanced over and saw that Minato was eating slightly awkwardly with his right hand, while he instructed Makiko next to him (helping her out occasionally) with easy movements of his left hand, that he decided maybe his right hand wasn't dominant in this new body. Minato's motions in assisting their sister looked far more natural than those with his right hand. Clearly Minato was left handed, though he appeared well on his way to being ambidextrous.
Looking back down at his food, and then his chopsticks, he transferred the utensil to his left hand. Inokai made no comment on the switch itself, though he did hear the man give a soft 'hmm', before he gently adjusted his grip slightly and told him to give it a try. He did so… and wow, was that so much easier! It still required more concentration than eating really should, but it wasn't nearly as frustrating. He made far less of a mess using his left hand than he had been with his right.
Somehow the idea of being left handed instead of right handed had never really crossed his mind before now. It was just something he'd never really stopped to think about, even in his old life, aside from when he'd had no choice but to use his off hand. This time though, it would be different, he decided. He'd become as ambidextrous as he possibly could. No more embarrassing incidents of being fed by others (Damn Sai) because his main hand was injured (or gone).
It was also really nice to be able to eat by himself again, in general. He had seriously been getting tired of being fed when utensils needed to be involved. It meant a little more independence. And he couldn't help but grin at that thought. The days of being fully independent were drawing nearer… and along with that, the ability to actually try and do what they'd been sent here for.
"What are you smiling about, kid?" Shikatsu's slightly gravelly voice cut into his thoughts.
He blinked, and regarded the other man for a moment, before he widened his grin. "I don't need be fed any more!" He hoped that wasn't too big of a sentence. While for the most part he and Makiko had been avoiding using baby words, or overly garbled pronunciation, they had been omitting words here and there. Because what toddler would have a good sense of grammar? They perhaps should mess up their pronunciation more… but it was challenging to remember which words he had 'trouble' with, so he had quickly stopped trying. Especially since it made asking what he wanted to more difficult… and they had gotten a bit used to not using such 'baby talk' with their mother.
Shikatsu looked at him boredly, before he poured himself another cup of sake. "That's 'I don't need to be fed anymore." The man corrected him softly, and then seemed to have lost interest in speaking. But as bored as he looked, Masato could see his eyes were focused on him and his sister like a hawk.
He decided the best reaction was to pout, and then look away from the man as he continued to try and eat. As it took less and less focus to manage to get the rice into his mouth, he cast his gaze towards his sister's progress.
She was glaring at her chopsticks, and then both of her hands. Apparently she was having a much more difficult time of it. It almost looked like there were tears of frustration in her eyes, as she passed her chopsticks from her right hand to her left to give that a try. She dropped a big clump of sticky rice into her lap. With a huff she passed her chopsticks back over, and dropped another clump of rice, this time onto the floor.
"Which hand feels better?" Minato asked her softly, even as he removed the fallen rice clumps, feeding the one from her lap to her with his own chopsticks, and setting the one from the floor to the side of his own tray.
"Feel the same," the girl announced petulantly.
Wow, She was really upset about this. Was it because he was having such an easy time of it in comparison? Or was it simply an act? It could be he supposed.
Oh. Woops. He'd dropped some rice himself.
"Pay attention to what you're doing Masato-kun" the Yamanaka man admonished softly. "And don't forget to chew."
"Kaay," he responded even as he scrunched up his nose and tuned his gaze back to his own food. His eyes landed on the fish he'd been given, and he was contemplating if he should ask for help or just jab into it, when Inokai's hand was there, separating the fish into manageable portions for him. "Thank you Mister!" he offered, and then proceeded to polish off his little meal.
By the time he was done he felt fit to burst. It was probably the fullest he had ever been since becoming Masato. And while it should have felt like a small achievement to someone who once sealed away Kaguya, he was immensely satisfied with the fact that he hardly dropped any more food after switching to his left hand.
Makiko, on the other hand, had switched hands several more times, but kept missing her mouth so much that Minato had to convince her to let him feed her the rest of her food. When they got up to leave the room she had glared at him so fiercely when he went to take Minato's other hand that he'd frozen in place for a moment.
In the end he allowed Inokai to take him by the hand when they left the restaurant to wherever they were heading next.
Where were the Uchiha?
Honestly, he'd actually forgotten about them until he'd cast a glance about for them just now. But thinking back on it, it had sounded like they were going to remain outside of the Hokage's office… and then they had still been there when he left with his peers to purchase the shoes.
They hadn't been there when they got back, had they? He couldn't remember seeing them, but he'd been more focused on getting back to the little twins… maybe he just hadn't noticed? They were all older shinobi than him, with more experience. He was the most observant among his peers, aside from Shikaku, but that didn't mean his eyes couldn't be fooled by senior shinobi. He was still a genin.
Should he even be worried about the Uchiha though? Maybe they had returned to their regular duties after Fugaku-san had returned? They were all in the Konoha police force after all. And following people discreetly through the village was not usually the way they operated. They were meant to be seen. A visual deterrent to crime by citizens and shinobi alike.
The Hokage hadn't said they were done escorting them however. Instead the man had given the young clan heir a scroll to be handed to his father. So him not being able to locate the three had something to do with the scroll. Which he didn't like.
"Niiii-saaan," Makiko whined, tugging insistently on his hand. He blinked, and came to a stop to look down at the girl who had until now been shooting glares back at her other brother and simply letting him lead her along.
"What's wrong?" He asked her softly, aware that the rest of the group had come to a stop. He could feel the eyes of Inoichi and Inokai-san on him, though the two Nara's seemed disinterested as usual.
"Sleeepeee," The girl declared. Her eyes did appear to be struggling to stay open now that he really thought about it.
"You three will be staying at our place tonight, Minato. You should carry her," Shikatsu spoke up from ahead of him.
They were staying with the Nara's tonight? That could only mean they wanted to observe the toddlers some more didn't it? They were clearly still under some sort of suspicion. Which was more pressing of a concern than the missing trio of Uchiha. At least for the moment.
"Right… Up you go, Maki-chan," he spoke softly to the girl, lifting her up piggyback style. She immediately leaned heavily into his back, but seeing as he didn't need to move at a run, he figured it would be safe enough to let her fall asleep like that.
"Let's go then," Shikatsu stated, before he once more took the lead. "I sent word ahead to my wife. She'll have arranged everything you three will need for the night." In other words Shikatsu didn't want to take the time to stop by Minato's place. Yet they didn't seem to be in that much of a hurry as they moved through the village. Still, he didn't protest, because he figured it was for the best that they get where they were going without taking detours. Makiko had just recovered from quite the fever after all.
"Are you tired, Masato-kun?" The Yamanaka head asked his brother. The two of them, at some point, had moved in front of him as the group had formed more or less into a line. Behind him Shikaku and Inoichi walked, the latter half a step behind the former.
"I'm fine," Masato stated with a shake of his head. To his relief his little brother resisted the urge to look back at him and Makiko, keeping his eyes forward as he walked. It was a little surprising (and secretly he was a little upset) that Masato had so easily accepted being led by Inokai rather than himself. But then again, Makiko had looked at him so balefully as they were leaving that he thought his brother wanted to shrink out of existence for a moment.
The girl was obviously very jealous that Masato had figured out how to use chopsticks while the art had completely eluded her.
It was a little curious that Masato had caught on so quickly, admittedly. Especially the fact that he'd decided to try using his left hand simply from watching Minato. But then again, young children were prone to trying to mimic others, and maybe it had simply been seeing Minato use Makiko's chopsticks with his left hand in demonstration, that had triggered the idea in the boy. Although he had more success with his right hand than Makiko had had with either of hers.
Every child was different though. He vaguely remembered attempting to use chopsticks successfully with his right hand for weeks before his father had suggested he try with his left just to see how it felt. Thinking back on it, his father had probably picked up on signs of him being left handed back then. He didn't have the luxury of knowing his siblings long enough to have picked up on the signs of which hand was dominant though. It hadn't even crossed his mind until Masato had started eating with his left.
Most people were right handed after all. He'd just gone ahead and assumed both of his siblings would be…. but he'd gotten his left-handedness from his mother. Not his father. So he really should have considered the possibility.
Now that it was on his mind though, he couldn't figure out which hand was more dominant for Makiko. She was having just as much trouble with both of them. When Masato had switched hands the difference in his motor control had been made clear immediately.
He had to bite back a sigh as he walked. Because damn, there really was a lot more to taking care of, and raising, toddlers then he'd ever imagined. He was probably in over his head, if he was to be honest with himself.
Not that that was going to stop him from doing his absolute best.
He had a family again, although it wasn't the family he'd been hoping for in his most hidden, childish wishes. He'd wanted his parents back, and maybe a little sibling down the line. Of course, that was impossible, since his father was dead. More realistically he had wished for his mother to come back… but that too was something close to impossible considering the circumstances of her departure. He didn't know exactly what she had done until he became genin, but the suspicion he had faced after he was told his mother wasn't coming home was more than enough to tell him she had likely committed treason.
He'd had a foster family from a month after his mother left, to half way through his first month in the academy. It didn't feel like family at all, and the other kids had wanted little to do with him. They were kids who both parents had died due to some conflict or another among shinobi. He was the kid whose mother had abandoned him. They treated him as if there was no way he could understand how they felt. As if it was his own fault his mother wasn't around. It didn't help that none of them enrolled in the academy. Even his foster parents had tried to get him not to when they got word that he was going to be allowed entrance. That had created quite the fuss, and from then on the man had been borderline sour with him, while the woman had simply been distant.
The man would go so far as to forbid him from doing his academy homework in his house, let alone physically practicing anything he had learned. The woman set a strict curfew after he'd stayed out late every night for a week to make sure he was keeping up with everything he wasn't allowed to do at home, so he had to try and get everything done during break times and the scant hour he had after classes.
And then after their first aptitude tests following that introductory month, he was told that he was going to be sent back to his family home. That a friend of his father would be in charge of his finances until he became a genin. He didn't know the shinobi very well at the time, but the man frequently dropped by after that, or sent his son along when he was away on missions. It didn't take him long to realize that someone was making sure at least one of them was in the village at all times so he had someone he could count on. He grew very close with the Hatake's after that.
But it still wasn't the same as having a family. Although he was sure Hashuro and Sakumo wouldn't hesitate to offer him assistance with the twins, he shouldn't get in the way of the Hatake's being a family. Sakumo had recently gotten married, he'd probably rather be spending his off duty time with his wife than helping Minato out with the twins.
If the pair didn't get taken away from him.
"Minato," Shikaku's slightly annoyed sounding voice called from beside him, and he blinked wildly for a moment. The others were not in front of him. "Stop spacing out…" His friend admonished, sounding as if it was the most annoying that he had to be doing this at all, topped with the muttered "So troublesome," Minato heard moments later. Shikaku pointed to his right, and he saw that the adults had taken a turn while he'd been lost in his thoughts once again.
He tried to brush it off with a laugh, though he was sure it just sounded awkward, even as he moved to catch up with Inokai and Shikatsu. He could hear Inoichi snickering at him from behind him, though Shikaku was now quiet again, probably thinking it was too much trouble to even laugh at this latest mishap of his. He really did need to stop spacing out so much though. Especially with Makiko on his back! What if he'd tripped and dropped her? Well, she probably wouldn't ever actually hit the ground because he or someone in the group would react quickly enough to catch her… but what if they didn't? She could get hurt because he was being careless.
Unacceptable.
Determined not to let his own thoughts distract him again, Minato spent the rest of the walk to the Nara estates with his eyes flicking all about, as if looking for some sort of threat towards his two tiny little siblings. Well, that was exactly what he was doing, really. He'd just found them after all, and they were small and precious and innocent… and oh so easy to harm really. And there was still the threat of them being taken from him. He had to do whatever he could to protect his little family. To keep it together. Makiko and Masato depended on him to do that.
Was he going paranoid?
Yes, perhaps a little bit. (Clearly a lot really).
But that was the Namikaze Minato of the day. Doting, protective, paranoid older brother; ridiculously so.
Word Count: 5572
To the Reviewers:
KaixDecayx : Don't worry about having been a ghost reader for a while… I should be apologizing to you instead for leaving you with nothing new to read for so dang long! I totally understand life gets in the way sometimes.
Azaira : Well I actually was trying to find a way to get the rape of Haruka somehow made known to the adults in that chapter, but Makiko and Masato are trying to be really cautious about what they say so as not to bring more suspicion to themselves. I just felt like they wouldn't know how to squirm their way out of that one, or pull it off without being suspicious, so I decided they wouldn't try dropping that bomb yet.
Guest : Ah… it did sort of die… but I used my seven mythical dragonball keychains to call forth Shenron and wished it back to life!
