Chapter Text
Naruto had been on an exaggerated amount of missions lately, which meant he hadn’t had the luxury to really be sleeping on his own bed in Konoha that often. (Not that his bed was anything to brag about, but it sure beat a sleeping bag on the ground.)
Finally though, his team was sent home with a short respite between missions. A good night’s sleep for once. He celebrated the occasion by treating himself to a bowl of hot ramen, how else?
“Would it be possible that a kage is actually coming here?”
Naruto wasn’t one for gossip, personally, but he couldn't help overhearing.
There hadn’t been any meeting held here that he knew of recently. No summit, no events, nothing of the sort.
The hushed voices behind him continued,
“Oh come on, don’t tell me you believe those rumors! How in the world does the leader of a nation just find time to casually travel across the land?”
“I guess you’re right. But still. I heard it from three other people this week!”
“That’s some pretty fast gossip, then. Don’t fall for it."
"Well, but what about the Mizukage then? Some people are saying it's her, because of her height."
"Really? Her height? What does that have to do with anything?"
“Well, you know, the mysterious figure people keep talking about is supposedly not very tall. Shorter than the ninja from Suna that escorts them around.”
“Ninja from Suna?”
“I guess so! My daughter’s friend said she saw a pretty blonde ninja from Suna with someone, but she couldn't see their face because they had a white robe on!”
“Really? Well, I did hear there were more foreigners at the coin exchange lately.”
"Yeah! Or it could even the Raikage, because of how scary the mystery figure sounds!"
"Sounds?"
"Yeah! No one has seen their face, but they've heard their voice . Apparently their voice is very haunting and scary!"
"So it could be true then. The way I've heard it, is that it could actually be a ghost walking the streets of the leaf!"
"Woah, you're right. I didn't consider that. That's so terrifying!"
Naruto almost choked on his noodles, trying not to laugh at the idea of a ghost in broad daylight skipping around town. Not that he wasn't a believer, he just found it funny that seeing a hooded figure made people believe it was a ghost. There were many reasons people could be covered up, it was a Shinobi village after all. People could be secretive about their business or their mission, or just wear a hood because they wanted to. Kakashi seemed to like that sort of lifestyle.
He figured it was probably a misunderstanding, and left his payment on the counter, thanking old man Teuchi for the meal again.
He finally had time today to check in with his good friend, and that'd give him time to ask about the goings on in the leaf. He always seemed to be very involved and plugged into politics, that guy.
"Hey Shikamaru! You home?! Hey! You asleep again?!"
Naruto knocked fervently on the front door, attempting to peek into a curtained off window, his face obnoxiously against the glass to try and get a good angle.
After a good seven minutes of this, the lights finally came on inside the small apartment. Quickly followed by a glaring Shikamaru pulling back the curtains to stare daggers at Naruto.
"Oh, hey man! Lemme in! I wanna see my friend!"
Shikamaru's eye twitched before he disappeared.
The door clicked open with a thunk.
"Hey Shikamaru! Long time no see! Thought I'd stop by since I'm finally not on a mission!"
Naruto stepped in, taking up the whole couch inside the room by lying across it.
"Ahem."
Shikamaru raised his brow, pointedly staring at Naruto's shoes, which he had failed to take off.
"Oh, my bad!"
He placed them back on the shoe mat and took a seat again.
"So, were you like, napping? You look kinda pissed!" Naruto said, like it was a joke he'd just heard.
"What do you think?"
"I mean, knowing you, yeah probably."
Naruto considered the blanket on the couch he was sitting on, but it was under him and he didn’t feel like getting up. Shikamaru stepped over to him to fold the blanket and set it back where it belonged. He tossed it over Naruto’s face as a sort of ‘thank you’ for waking him up and invading his own home.
Naruto pulled the blanket off his face, none bothered by this,
"Wait, you didn't wanna just nap in your own bed?"
"Not really, I wasn't supposed to nap for this long. If I stay asleep in bed, I'm likely to just sleep through the rest of the night."
"Oh, well that makes sense. So, more of a depression nap then?"
"What?" Shikamaru startled, looking at Naruto like he'd said something taboo.
"Oh, come on! You can tell me!"
Shikamaru sighed. He hated that Naruto knew him so well. Was it that obvious that he'd had a bad day? Naruto certainly wasn’t one to brilliantly read through someone’s body language, but he’d known him for so long now, Shikamaru doubted he could really hide his sour mood from him.
Naruto pat the spot next to him on the couch and made room.
"Alright, what's up? Hard day?"
"Understatement of the year."
"Hmm. D'you get yelled at by Granny Tsunade?"
"No, Naruto. That's just a you thing."
"Hah. Maybe. Ok so, what then?"
"I dunno, just…"
Shikamaru sighed, losing his composure a bit and just leaning his head back over the couch to look at the ceiling.
"Ugh. Why do women have to be so difficult? It's so much more work than It's worth!" He gestured his frustration with his hands.
"And it's not like I get nervous or anything, I usually just keep my head low and try not to get in the way when women are involved. And I manage alright, for the most part. Just. Not with her for some reason."
"Not who?"
Shikamaru realized too late what he'd said, and quickly tried to backtrack.
"No one. I mean, no one you know." His cheeks deepened into a ruddy red tone.
"Uh huh…Shikamaru, you're aware I know most people in the village right? Especially the ladies."
"Gross. But no, no one you'd really know."
"So someone I don't know very well...someone who's not from the leaf maybe?"
Naruto said in a knowing voice, raising his brows at him in an obnoxious gesture. It was a bit of a reach, but Naruto put it out there. Maybe he could get Shikamaru to confirm one way or another if the village had had a foreign visitor lately.
It wasn't a secret that Shikamaru had gotten along famously with the blonde proctor from the Sand during their time running the chunin exams. Naruto had definitely met her before, but no, he didn't know her all that well. The last time he'd really seen her for a substantial amount of time was, well…. The Kazekage rescue mission. And those were thoughts best put out of the mind for Naruto, so he pushed on.
"Come onnnn! Spill! I'm a good listener, you know! I'm not just here to get gossip. Who am I gonna tell anyways? Sakura's mad at me. Lee's team is on a mission. I'm sure your teammates already know. Sai doesn't care. What, am I gonna tell Sasuke?"
Naruto laughed half heartedly to himself.
Shikamaru's face fell a bit. It wasn’t serious, ofcourse, but every time Naruto mentioned him it just put a bad feeling into Shikamaru’s gut. Especially after what had happened recently .
"....wait, so you're saying that if he were here you'd tell him Information I gave to you in confidence?!"
Naruto shrugged. "I trust him."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"So that means you're gonna tell me about her, right?" Naruto pulled up next to Shikamaru on the couch, with an obnoxious grin.
"I don't wanna think about girls anymore. She left earlier and all I've done since is nap and talk to your ugly mug."
"Left? So she came over to your place?! You dog!" Naruto yelped, excitedly.
Shikamaru flattened a pillow over his face, talking through it, exasperated.
"No more Naruto!"
"Was Temari alone?"
"Wha?" Shikamaru pulled the pillow off his face to question him.
"You know, was she alone? I figure she came on a mission."
"Uh … whatever you heard Naruto, I wouldn't put too much faith into rumors."
"Well, surely you know!"
"I mean, maybe I should, but I don't? I just caught her outside the soba place. She was alone then , but I don't know what business brought her to Konoha,"
Shikamaru laid back down on the couch, looking ready to continue his nap.
"Really, it's not polite to discuss business all the time, Naruto."
Naruto sighed loudly, with a grunt.
"Fine! Don't tell me, I'll just find out later."
"If you're so concerned, why don't you just ask Temari yourself?"
"Shyeah, who knows when the next time I see her will be?"
Shikamaru shrugged, closing his eyes and extending his feet fully on the couch, almost pushing Naruto off.
"Hey!"
“You know you’ve always got a couch to surf on here if you need it, but man don’t you miss your own bed?” Shikamaru whined.
Naruto looked at the time and realized it was actually getting pretty late.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll let you get back to your 12th nap of the day.”
Naruto took the hint and gathered his things again, before making his way to the door. He turned back, as a second thought crossed his mind,
"Well, I guess you did tell me your secret in the end so, here's a little something from the Uzumaki handbook!" Naruto winked at him, whispering dramatically.
"From my experience, girls like Sakura and Temari don't really like pickup lines or nothin'. It's better to find out what's actually important to them, then act on that!"
Naruto smiled, laughing to himself as if he was an absolute genius.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at him, but actually considered that this wasn't bad advice. He was happily surprised.
"Thanks. I kinda knew not to catcall women."
Naruto shrugged, "I had to learn that the hard way."
The two said their goodbyes and he dashed out of Shikamaru's apartment.
"Man, I gotta be careful with what I say around Naruto. He's sharper than I remember him being."
Shikamaru scolded himself, thinking that yes, he had known the answer to Naruto's question. But no, he didn't really feel like spilling information about Temari's mission to him. That would end up being such a disaster, and Shikamaru didn't really want to have to deal with it, honestly.
Naruto set a reminder for himself that he would have to find Temari later to ask her, but first things first: He had to check in about any information regarding Sasuke. The first thing Naruto did was run to Tsunade. Once in a while he could widdle her down to get information out of her, if she was tired enough. On the other hand, if he pressed too much on her nerves, she was likely to give him a good red handmark on the cheek instead. He hoped it was the former, as he found his way into the Hokage's office.
"Hey Granny Tsunade! Are you busy right now ?" He yelled, cupping his hands as he walked up the stairs to her floor. He got a couple weird looks from some mousy officials who wanted nothing to do with him. He smiled kindly at them, not noticing their strange looks as he climbed the stairs.
"Hey old lady! You got a minute? I've got a question!" Naruto busted into the office, not bothering to knock before sticking his head through the door.
"Oh, Naruto! What a nice surprise! Are you here to reassign your mission?"
In the presidential chair at the head of the room sat an unexpected round face with black hair.
"Oh, Shizune! Haha, well not quite yet. I've still got a few things to do. Is the old lady in?"
Shizune cleared her throat and held Tonton the pig a bit tighter, her eye visibly twitching. "You know, it's really disrespectful to keep calling her that. She is your Superior, after all."
In the background of their conversation was another more hushed one going on in the other room. He looked to where the sound was, behind a door to an adjacent room.
"Lady Tsunade is in a meeting right now Naruto, I'm sorry. I'm sure if you come back tomorrow though, she'd be happy to talk to you!" Tonton squealed in Naruto's face as Shizune stepped in between him and the door.
"Ahh! Hey!" He reeled back in surprise.
"Oh, uh. No that's alright! I really need to talk to her, I've got nothin’ else goin on right now, so I’ll wait!" He said cheerfully, taking a seat on a bench on another wall.
Clearly annoyed by this, Shizune smiled a tense smile. "Uh-no, really! You don't need to do that, Naruto!"
"It's fine! I don't mind waiting at all!" Naruto pulled his jacket over his head and spread out on the bench, looking like he was ready for a nap right then and there.
Shizune sighed, and held her head. There wasn't much else she could do, she couldn't exactly kick him out of an office that wasn't hers. This was kind of irritating, she thought.
About an hour had gone by, according to Naruto's inner clock. And finally, for the first time since setting the jacket over his eyes and lying motionless on the guest's bench, there was movement. Shizune had looked up from some paperwork, and was talking to Tonton.
"Oh, what is it honey? Outside? You need to go outside?"
Naruto could have laughed at the sudden baby-voice Shizune affected to talk to the pet pig, but he held it in.
He listened for the sound of the clicking door as the pair of them walked out of the room.
Click
"Haha!" Naruto cried victoriously, before regretting being so damn loud all the time.
"Haha." He said more quietly, and made his way over to the door he'd seen earlier.
He knew this was a bad idea, and usually he wouldn't dare do something this bold in Tsunade's office, he knew he was risking cutting his jaw on her knuckles. This meeting of hers had gone on for a very long time already though, and he kept hearing a lot of strange noises. He knew for a fact a Kage conference wasn't being held in the leaf this week. So what could be happening in there? He was concerned it was something about the leaf, or worse, something about Sasuke that they weren't telling him.
He lay his face flat against the door and focused in. What was going on in there?! Was Tsunade even really in the village or had she escaped somewhere to go gambling again? He closed his eyes and listened.
"And this [......]?"
"No, not that. It's not [.....] , not with last week's readings, remember?"
"Oh, right! So it's not this one either. I'll go ahead and [......]"
It was a bit fuzzy, but from behind the door he could hear a couple of high pitched voices talking to each other. He could only catch bits and pieces, but from what he heard, he thought he recognized the voices. One did seem to sound like Tsunade, with her low, mature voice. The other sounded very familiar and sweet. He thought it could be Sakura's, except she was supposed to be home preparing for their next mission.
"It's not [.....]"
"This doesn't hurt when [......] ,does it?"
"No."
"Ok, noted."
The two voices from before continued, and Naruto was almost sure of who was behind the door now. It definitely was Lady Tsunade and probably Sakura too. Even though he had seen her at her place earlier, maybe it was another one of the girls in the village. Tenten or Hinata. It was too muffled, really to tell.
But then there was a third voice that Naruto couldn't place at all. Kakashi? Jiraiya? He wanted to say it almost definitely wasn't Jiraya, given that the voice sounded a lot younger at least. But it was also too rough and coarse sounding to be Kakashi. Who then? It could be Sai… or no, Sasuke? It couldn’t possibly be. Naruto’s wishful thinking was just getting the best of him again.
"Alright, well that's all we can do for today anyway."
Naruto heard the Tsunade voice say. He was focusing intensely now, his ear pressed firmly against the door, with all his body weight on it.
Without a second's notice, the rug was pulled out from under his feet and the door caved forward. A quick arm yanked him up by the collar and he faced a menacing fist.
"Naruto?!"
A familiar round, fair face scowled at Naruto, letting go of the scruff of his jacket with a disgusted sound.
"What are you doing here? Hey! Were you trying to creep on us?!"
"Sakura?! What! No! That's not it at all!"
"So you weren't just outside the door spying?"
"Well-well yeah! I was spying but I wasn't creeping!"
"Enough!"
Naruto noticed Tsunade, standing on the other side of the room with an exasperated look in her eye.
Actually, he noticed what the room he had fallen into looked like.
Behind Sakura was a long, metallic table sticking down out of a socket in the wall. A rolling metallic cabinet was on one side, and a rolling metal tray was on the other. There were a few beakers and scrolls laid out on the tray, and the long table was covered in a layer of dust. There were some cabinets and other vials across the room. Naruto had never realized something like this was attached to Tsunade's office.
She took off a pair of black rubber gloves before crossing to meet Naruto by the door.
"Naruto, surely you know what the punishment is for creeping on girls here, don't you?"
Suddenly, remembering a tale about Jiraya being severely hospitalized from being caught peeping on women in a bathhouse, Naruto scrambled to his feet, not wasting a second to find his way out.
He rounded the corner, finding Shizune and the piglet squeaking in his face in front of the main door that led out.
"Oh! There you are!"
"Shizune!"
"Yes, m'lady?"
"How'd you let this one in here?"
"Wh-what?! I'm so so sorry Lady Tsunade! I swear I didn't mean to! You see, I went to take Tonton out for a potty break, and when I left Naruto was fast asleep on the bench!"
"That's enough outta you. You're lucky Naruto didn't see anything, anyway." Tsunade said in a disappointed tone.
"Ohh…" Shizune sighed, sounding ashamed and stressed.
"Didn't see anything about what?"
"Nothing, Naruto! Geez! Why don't you mind your own business and stop creeping on girls, ok?"
Sakura reprimanded the blonde, with a menacing look.
"What do you want, Naruto?"
"I'm just here to talk to Tsunade, I swear! That's it!"
Sakura raised her brow at him, still questioning his motives.
“Naruto, like I said, Lady Tsunade is quite busy! It’d be so much easier if you’d come back tomorrow.”
“I can’t! It can’t wait!”
“It’s ok, Shizune. I think I know why he’s here.”
Tsunade nodded at her, holding the door open and giving her an eye that asked her and Sakura to give them some privacy.
With a final glare, Sakura stepped out behind Shizune and left the two to themselves.
“Look, Naruto. I know you’re here about Sasuke.”
Tsunade sighed, folding her hands together and taking a seat at her desk.
Naruto stood, too animated to sit,
“Yeah! How’d you know?”
“It’s not hard to guess. You haven’t stopped worrying about him since he left again.”
“That’s just it, we don’t know that he left! He disappeared! Could have been kidnapped, or caught in a genjutsu, anything!”
Gingerly, Tsunade tried to suppress a sad look. She really didn’t want to feel pity towards him, but his endless blind loyalty in the face of constant betrayal was a bit sad. It was honestly hard to watch for Tsunade.
“Right.”
She answered, not having the heart to tell him how she saw it. The way she saw it, Sasuke had been dragged back to the leaf finally, after so many missions dedicated to finding him. He had been dragged back, sparing him the fate of every Shinobi who abandoned his village and position as a ninja. And most importantly, he’d been brought back to resume his position among team 7. Resume being the Sasuke they’d held onto from all those years ago. It was definitely commendable that the two had the strength to not hold it against him and keep their hearts open. Especially when that led to Sasuke, yet again turning tail and abandoning the leaf in the dead of night.
It was true that members of the Akatsuki as well as Orochimaru were still at large somewhere. (A fact that robbed Tsunade of sleep on more than one occasion.) But at least, according to the most trustworthy intel in the village, the Leaf was not in any immediate danger. The Akatsuki and Orochimaru were neutralized to some degree, at the moment. So she doubted he had honestly been kidnapped. Tsunade feared that Sasuke’s return to the wild would aggravate these things. So she was inclined to send another party out to search for him. But it did grate down her spirit to see Naruto and Sakura’s hearts break all over again with Sasuke’s departure.
“You haven’t heard any news about him, have you?”
The question came more as a statement. He felt that he knew what was coming.
Tsunade sighed, shaking her head and looking away.
A stiff silence fell between them.
Naruto put a fist to the desk and swore under his breath.
Tsunade almost told him off for getting so rough with the furniture, but thought better.
“Look, I know I can’t persuade you in any way. I know you too well by now to try it.”
The unspoken meaning being that Tsunade understood how stubborn he was. Him and Sakura both, really.
“But what makes you think it’ll be different this time if we bring him back again?”
“It will be. It has to be.”
He was shaking with emotion, his hands pressed against the desk. Tsunade couldn’t tell if he was trying not to scream or holding back tears.
Despite everything. Tsunade knew it had to be team 7. They were the only ones passionate enough to hunt him down to the ends of the earth and not give in to just killing him or giving up on him. She wished she could do something more for them. She wished Sasuke would just swallow his pride, his visions of greatness, and take what was offered to him: a beautiful town, surrounded by people who care for him. Forgiveness. Love. What some people wouldn’t give for that, really.
Tsunade sighed, clearly tired from a long day of duty. “Look, I’ll keep an eye out ok? I’ve got a capable team investigating what he left behind in the leaf. The first thing I’ll do if anything changes is let you and Sakura know, alright ?”
His face tense, Naruto nodded. With everything he could summon, he put on a brave smile and gave her a thumbs up.
“He’ll come back to the leaf, old lady. You’ll see!”
It was that endless optimism again, that Tsunade knew would lead him somewhere great one day. It was one of his many powers that had nothing to do with jutsus.
The two of them discussed when to report back to be reassigned a new mission and what to prepare. And with that, Naruto left Tsunade to her duties.
The following day, as an afternoon treat, Naruto found himself on a market street where weekend market tents would be erected. The whole street was closed off to vehicle traffic and the whole thing turned into a winding mess of tents, tables, rugs, podiums, and carts. It would’ve been easy to just choose Ichiraku’s again, but they were actually closed for once, much to his dismay. After the initial shock, he figured a nice treat from the market would be fun too.
He stepped over ropes and ducked under vinyl flaps. He passed rows of cheap ceramic figures, hand-painted fans, and random assortments of scrolls in wide bins. Some tents were plastered with kunai and shuriken of all materials. He even spotted the occasional little nine tails trinket or necklace. It gave him a little joy, seeing that.
“Hi, how much for the nine tails necklace, sir?”
“Hm? Oh yes, that necklace! A great little trinket to keep on your person at all times, yes yes,”
Naruto smiled, he probably wasn’t going to buy it, but it was a nice feeling to know that people considered the nine tails as something to keep around the house now. A little good luck charm.
“ You see when you wear it, it repels all energy from the nine tails away from you. It protects against possession, curses, and you can not be seen by the beast either! For you, good shinobi, I’ll take 13!”
Naruto’s grin wiped clean off his face. Ofcourse it was too good to be true. The only thing worse than an overpriced trinket, was one that perpetuated a very hurtful idea. That idea that the ninetails, even sealed away inside of Naruto, was a demon from hell that could still reign evil on the village.
It was always the same though. People would never stop being in fear of him and the ninetails. No matter how hard he pushed back the people’s hate, it just kept coming. Nobody really knew how far he and Kurama had come. Was he a perfect gentle spirit now? Absolutely not. And Naruto wouldn’t trust his immense power to go unsealed, either. But Naruto knew there was hope for Kurama yet, that he could be cleansed of his hatred for everybody. This was, in part, a natural extension of his hopes for himself. The two had lived the same life, after all, to some extent. And he wanted to prove to himself and the fox spirit that, yes, forgiveness was possible. Moving forward was possible. He deserved it, they both did.
Naruto sighed, putting the necklace back down and clearing his head of those thoughts for now.
“We also have a small figurine, as well sir! Keep it behind your door to ward off the fox spirits’ energy!”
Naruto slunk away from the man, who still attempting to haggle a deal with him. He clearly didn’t recognize Naruto, otherwise he wouldn’t have kept pushing the nine tails paraphernalia on him.
Now with a bitter taste in his mouth, he found himself in front of a food cart. It was tucked beside the sidewalk, with a dusty parasol and a woman tending the front.
“What can I get you, sweetie?”
He searched for a menu, pulling out his wallet. Then he met her eyes to order, and he realized what was underneath her chin. She wore a nine tails necklace as well. The very one meant to ward off him and his ‘evil’ chakra.
He tried not to look too crestfallen in front of her, and made a small excuse to get himself away.
As he went to leave, he felt a hand around his arm.
“Here. I know how hard our shinobi work. No one should have to go hungry.”
In front of him, she’d shoved a kebab with an assortment of salty treats skewered on top. He met her stare and saw she was referring to his wallet, which he’d left open in his palm.
“Oh, no no- I-“
“Please, I insist! As a thank you for all you do.”
Her smile seemed genuine, and well, it did smell just so good.
“Thank you.”
He smiled at her, and took the kebab before making his way further into the tent labyrinth.
She clearly didn’t recognize him either. With what she was wearing, she might’ve screamed if she knew. Then again, it’s not like he did anything. It’s not like he asked for this. And he was a shinobi just like any other in the end. He had proved his mettle time and time again, and done nothing but work hard. Just so one day people would see he was a Shinobi worth his salt. One that people could talk to, and appreciate, and thank… if only he didn’t have this demon sealed away inside him. He had long begun to make peace with that fact, and with the nine tails itself. But in the end, there were still days that were tough. It still got to him at times, he couldn’t deny it. It was impossible to run from entire generations of people who were traumatized by what the fox spirit had done. Naruto couldn’t exactly blame them for being so scared of it. But he just wished sometimes, that he had nothing to do with that. That he’d never heard of the nine tails. He would wonder what his life would look like then, though. He wouldn’t be the same Naruto, surely. Not just because he’d lose the demon’s chakra, but because he’d lose every experience he ever had growing up. The things that shaped him, and allowed him to connect with others.
It was a bit of a rabbit hole, the more he kept thinking about it, so he tried to snap out of it by ducking into another stand.
“I wonder if Sakura would like something like this?”
A shiny green rock, molded like a frog, sparkled beneath his fingers. It didn’t look like any sort of precious stone , but he appreciated the work done anyways. And besides, he himself loved anything frog shaped.
“A good choice! A special stone for a special lady in your life, wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh, no. I mean, Sakura certainly is special, but it’s not like that, no.” Naruto shyly explained.
“Not to worry! It makes a great gift for the lucky gentleman as well!”
Naruto’s cheeks lit up in embarrassment. He almost knocked over the table’s contents in his surprise.
“Oh, uh no! It’s not like that, look just, how much do you want?!”
Flustered and desperate to end the conversation, Naruto produced his wallet, not even sure if he really wanted the thing. He handed over a bill, instructing him to take the change as he stumbled out of the stable.
“Wait, sir! It comes with a complimentary necklace chain!”
Naruto was already out of earshot, and he realized what he just did.
“ That much money for this little thing?!”
He slapped his forehead, regretting everything.
There was absolutely no way he could face the man again to return it though.
“Guess I’m stuck with you.” He muttered to the stone frog.
He looked closer at its little facets and its little carved froggy face and it brought him a smile. It really was good handiwork. As he turned to find an exit out of this impossible maze, something caught his eye down by the food cart he had just come from.
A figure, hooded in an off white cape, paid the woman at the stand. A figure just under Naruto’s height, with enough loose movement in the folds to indicate a thin person. A child? A woman? Elderly?
Though he had been paying attention, Naruto somehow missed the figure’s movements. Without a second to think, it appeared suddenly walking past him in the opposite direction. Quickly. Very quickly.
The air was filled with a deep fried smell. Something salty and meaty, and a bit gamey. Gizzard? Who ordered gizzard when there were so many choices to pick from? It didn’t make sense.
He turned to meet the figure's face as it passed. But it was gone.
No one behind or in front of him who looked like the figure. No billowy white coat, just a deep fried smell left hanging over him.
“Huh. What the hell was that?”
Naruto almost kept walking, before he stopped just in time. Right beneath the sole of his shoe, he was a step away from crushing it.
“Where’d this come from?”
Bending down to get a better look, he saw a delicate little thing, the size of his pinky pad. A few small blueish flowers, missing some of their petals. He held one between his fingers, brushing dirt and gravel off of it. He had no green thumb, like some other ninja he knew in the village, but he couldn’t think of any flower that looked like it in town. It was noticeably blue, with delicate petals, five on each bud. There were some rust colored spots on the underside that, after flipping it around so many times, actually wore off. The stem that was left on the broken bud was a much paler, crystalline shade of green than he expected.
“Achoo!”
It apparently also carried pollen on it still, given how dusty and itchy his nose felt all of a sudden. He pocketed the torn bloom, thinking it might at least make a nice gift for Sakura if she didn’t like the frog.