Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.
Chapter 14
"Now, close your eyes." Iruka-sensei said calmly and I did as told. "Concentrate on the feeling of your chakra as we talked before." I let my mind wander freely until it got a grasp on the warm and tingly feeling of my chakra. A small smile formed on my face as the hairs on my arms stood and a shiver of excitement traveled through my body. "Now, try to affect it. Remember, a little at a time."
And so, my actual chakra training started. My whole attention moved towards the flowing of the energy inside me and how I could affect it without going overboard. I expanded the river of life-force on random spots by mere millimeters at first. And then I started working from there. If I wasn't careful with the chakra still inside of me then I could blow myself up and if I wasn't careful with the chakra outside of me then I would waste it all. That's why being capable of sensing chakra was a requirement for teachers at the Academy. They needed to be able to tell if a student was about to mess up in order to stop them.
"Now, focus on this and get a hold of it with the chakra." Iruka said softly and I felt something press against my forehead. A leaf, most probably. But that wasn't important. The important part was getting the energy to move and stick it to my skin. Because, contrary to what one would expect, chakra couldn't be commanded or forced. It could only be controlled, and the term was used loosely.
I all but had to ask my chakra to do as I wanted. For the last week, as I tried to get a feel of it and affect it a little, I had quickly compared it to trying to get your blood to move at will. It sounded impossible, and it was at the start. But slowly, mind prevailed over matter in this case, and my life force started listening to me, if not subserviently.
Slowly, my chakra grazed the leaf not even enough to be called a touch. Carefully, I repeated that, each time a bit longer with more force, until I got a good feel of it and then changed the approach. From touching to holding. It was a strange concept, to be honest. Like trying to imitate Spiderman and stick to a wall, but with the actual possibility of it and with my forehead.
"Good job." Sensei praised and my concentration slipped together with the leaf. "Again." He prompted calmly and I went at it again, my smile turning into a full-on grin. Working with my chakra felt awesome, no matter how simple it was.
And so, I went at it for half an hour before I felt myself utterly exhausted. Opening my eyes when Iruka told me that we were done for the day, I smiled tiredly while looking at the screens in front of me.
[Basic Chakra Control Exercises – Lvl 1
Increases the chakra control of the user according to level.]
[Chakra Points: 50/200]
"Thank you so much for your time, sensei." I said while bowing.
"Don't mention it, Eiji. We had a deal, remember?" He waved off good-naturedly and I smiled at him. "Now, go, I really want to get back home sometime today." He added with a smirk and I snorted.
"Sorry about that, sensei." I bowed again. "See you tomorrow." And after receiving his goodbyes, I walked out of the classroom, tired but also feeling extremely proud of myself. I had reached a milestone. And what milestone was more important in the Narutoverse than starting using chakra? None, in my opinion.
"Fucking finally." I groaned. 'There goes my good mood.' I thought with a grimace as I turned to Kiba once out of the Academy. I was just about to tell him where he could go when I stopped and blinked.
"Don't be annoying, mutt." Grumbled Sasuke from where he stood, on the other side of the entrance, leaving me between him and Kiba. I looked at both of them for a minute before sighing. Good thing that Naruto would be out with Chouji until late.
"I'm too tired to deal with you, Kiba." I grumbled.
"Hey, and what about the emo-jerk?!" He asked outraged and I groaned again.
"Just… shut up. Let's go somewhere else. I need a drink and possibly something to eat." I said tiredly as I dragged my feet through the streets. Sasuke calmly fell into step next to me while I heard Kiba grumble something under his breath before following, stomping his feet all the way.
"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked, not sounding particularly interested.
"I'm going back to home. If you have a problem with it you can just leave." I said bluntly and the Uchiha simply shrugged as a response.
"No, no way." Kiba shook his hands in denial. "I just wanted to say that…" I stopped walking and stared as the Inuzuka fidgeted with his hands. "… that I'm sorry. Alright? I'll apologize to Naruto later too." He added quickly when I went to speak and I nodded. He sounded much more honest this time than he had been before.
"Good, just stop being a dick and we are good." I replied. I had considered his situation and could kinda understand how someone like him became so increasingly frustrated with his situation. He was still a bit of an idiot for rejecting his mother's training and developing too big an ego, but that was about it.
"Right… so… good bye." He said awkwardly before turning and leaving, not waiting for me to say anything. I shook my head with a chuckle before starting my way back home, again.
"I wanted to know if it would be alright for me to… join your group's training." Sasuke admitted slowly as we walked through the village and I tilted my head. Honestly, I had started to doubt he would ever want to join. But I guess I judged his character wrong. It wasn't much of a shock though, I had grown used to people in this world surprising me, as weird as that sounded.
"Sure." I replied instantly and he turned to me with slightly wide eyes.
"Just… like that?" He asked before frowning in confusion.
"Why would I have a problem with it?" I asked instead with an amused smile.
"Because I… don't get along with Naruto?" He frowned even more, like he couldn't understand what I was saying. I had to make conscious effort not to laugh at it.
"Understatement of the century." I did snort though. It was kind of funny. "But still, it's not the same as with Kiba. He openly insults him. You are just too good." I explained which seemed to confuse him even more. "He just doesn't like that you are very good in what we are training and also all the attention you get."
"O…kay?" He replied slowly, still not completely understanding, I guessed.
"Doesn't matter." I waved the topic off. "Point is, it won't be a problem. Just don't insult anyone that doesn't insult you first and we'll be alright."
"I can do that." He accepted, although he looked pensive. "What are you working on?"
"We decide it on the spot, really." I shrugged and he frowned. "We usually do some stealth training after classes by following a teacher on their way back. We also work in our Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu at home, Shika and I play Shogi every chance we get… oh, and I go around the village free running from time to time too."
"Why did you mention Shogi?" He asked confused.
"Strategic training, although we do it mostly for fun." I admitted with a grin. He, for his part, simply nodded seriously.
"Then, I'll join your training… if it's not too much trouble." He added the last part like it was a particularly difficult thing to do. I simply smiled. He really wasn't used to normal interactions.
"Sure thing. Just come with us after classes, that's when we decide what we do."
"Right. See you tomorrow, then." He stopped walking but didn't go away and I looked at him for a second before he spoke again. "Thank you." He gave me a slight bow.
"Don't mention it. See you tomorrow." And we went our separate ways.
Life could certainly be interesting.
[}-o-{]
"Good afternoon, everyone!" I greeted as usual and received Noriko's reply instantly. Ino, for her part, did something out of the routine. She smiled warmly at me and retuned the gesture animatedly. I smiled wide and bright before speaking. "I won't help you with Sasuke." I told her with my best happy voice.
The girl instantly shut her mouth, effectively keeping what she had been about to say to herself, and frowned. Then she huffed and returned to doing nothing behind the counter.
People in this world liked to surprise me, but some were still predictable. Thank Kami for that.
[}-o-{]
"Good afternoon, everyone!" I called out and was instantly tackled to the ground by the biggest dog in the veterinary, who was quickly followed by a bunch of puppies. The sound of giggles could be heard in the background. "At least let me lay down the food, guys!" I tried to push the dog off of me uselessly. "A little help here?" I asked pleadingly only for the bags to be taken out of my hands.
I was left to my fate, being licked all over the face by overenthusiastic dogs and puppies.
I definitely wasn't grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey there, Yuki." I greeted the black and white dog with a smile when I was finally allowed to sit up. She replied with an enthusiastic bark and I booped her. She shook her head before glaring at me. "I brought extra food." I said instantly making her return to her happy self.
I grinned as she went with the others and started eating.
"I don't blame you." I remembered my words from our first meeting when I saw her so extremely nervous to meet me. "You did as he told you to. It was his fault, not yours." That and many reassuring smiles and petting had finally gotten her to open to me. And I couldn't be happier about it.
"You didn't have to bring more food, you know?" Hana commented when I managed to stand up despite a few stubborn puppies lingering next to me.
"I just love seeing them so happy." I shrugged looking over the group before bending down so I could pet the young dogs at my feet. In hindsight, maybe I should have stayed on the floor.
[}-o-{]
1 Month Later
"You mean there's more presents than this?!" Naruto asked in awe as he looked over the different kinds of ramen I made for his birthday. I took the moment of distraction on his part to show the displeasure I felt on my face. Shikamaru and Shino joined with a scowl and an angry buzz respectively. Chouji almost growled too. But this wasn't about our anger, this was about making Naruto's birthday great, for once.
"Yeah, but we'll eat first…" I trailed off and blinked as I saw five bowls already empty. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in, I send a suffering glance towards the others who gave me pitying looks. So much hard work… and it disappeared so fast…
'This is for Naruto.' I told myself encouragingly. Damnit, I had spent half a day preparing all that. I felt a pat on my shoulder and I turned to Shika with a grimace.
"It's just once a year, Eiji." He said nodding solemnly and I nodded.
"Once a year, right." That did indeed make me feel better about it. "Anyway, let's eat before he leaves us with nothing… again." I added in a grumble and he snorted. As I looked over Naruto's positively ecstatic expression, I felt much better about my afternoon cooking.
The day had gone pretty calmly so far. We had celebrated a bit at Ichiraku's during lunch time and we had decided after the Academy that we would go straight home. I was really grateful to the Yamanaka's for letting me off for the day. I had promised to help during a weekend in exchange even if they were alright with it either way. The others had offered their house but Naruto had decided that he wanted to celebrate in his one true home. Those words still brought a smile to my face a few hours later.
The whole group had joined, except Sasuke. The Uchiha hadn't had any trouble interaction with anyone, even if Naruto and him still bickered a lot. However, the Uchiha only viewed our get togethers as extra training, even after a month of them. Like the Academy away from the Academy. He never joined our Shogi games or any other game for that matter though. He only wanted to throw himself at Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu training, which was fine for everyone. Except for my brother, since he saw it as Sasuke thinking himself better than the rest of us.
Anyway, eventually, and quite fast too, everyone was full. I took that as a personal victory, one can never know how stressful cooking is until you have to cook for an Akimichi and Naruto. The sheer quantity of food that they could make disappear was entirely unfair. So, seeing food on the table when they said they were done was a rare occurrence.
"You outdid yourself, Eiji." Chouji complemented while Naruto simply gave me a thumbs up from where he laid almost on a food coma. I was sure my expression was just as smug as it had been when I beat Sasuke.
"Thank you for the food, Eiji-kun." Hinata shyly nodded at me and I gave her a bright smile. She was much better than when we first met. She only seemed to get nervous when Naruto was involved someway now. Progress was progress, however small it was.
"At this rate, you could open a restaurant and earn more than as a ninja. It would certainly be less troublesome." Shikamaru pointed out lazily laying his head on a hand.
"Yeah, but someone has to take care of you all, right?" I smirked at him and he shook his head with a roll of his eyes.
"The help is appreciated, Eiji." Shino nodded seriously and it was my turn to roll my eyes.
"Anyway, maybe we can leave the presents for later, seeing as Naruto is out of it." I commented and the blond instantly sat up. My lips twitched.
"Presents?" The boy asked, looking like even talking was painful due to how much he had eaten. And chuckled silently as I turned around.
"We'll have to leave it for tomorrow, everyone." I said mock seriously.
"That's a pity." Shino nodded solemnly and stood up to pick his present. "I'll bring it tomorrow then." I had to give it to him. He joked so rarely that when he did it was difficult to see through him. Not that it would have been difficult for Naruto to fall for it.
"No, no." Naruto burped while pulling himself together. "I'm alright. I can open them right now."
"Are you sure?" I asked in faux concern. "There's no need to overexert yourself. Just go to sleep." I said reassuringly.
"E-Eiji-kun shouldn't tease N-Naruto-kun so m-much." Hinata pointed out not looking at anyone in particular. In other circumstances, I would have teased her. But I really wanted to help her be more confident, so I stopped myself.
"You ruin my fun entirely too much, Hinata." I scowled for a second before smiling at her to let her know I was joking. "Anyway, come over here you, idiot." I wrapped an arm around Naruto who instantly started grinning. "Who wants to go first?"
"I guess I'll be first." Shino answered as he was already standing and holding his present. "Shikamaru and I decided in a somewhat joint present so…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know." Said Nara stood up grumbling as he picked up his present from a table I had set at the entrance. "Here." He extended it towards the blond.
"A book?" Naruto tilted his head curiously and I couldn't help but do the same. A book wasn't something you normally thought to give the Uzumaki, to be honest. "Trapping?" He asked, not looking put out by the book and I raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru.
"Most of those can be turned into pranks. I checked." He sent a small smirk our way and I grinned. That sounded much more like Naruto's thing. My brother seemed to agree wholeheartedly.
"Awesome!" He turned towards the Aburame with excited eyes. And instantly teared through the paper that wrapped the present.
"Trapping tools and supplies." He explained instantly as Naruto opened the wooden box that contained everything.
"You are both great, guys!" He wrapped an arm around the each of them. "Just for that, you are safe. Everyone else should look out because-" I coughed into my hand as I let loose a little of my passive Bloodlust, I had gotten the hang of not using Energy easily enough, even if it was much less effective. He sweated for a bit before correcting himself. "And Eiji too, of course." He nervously added and I let out an innocent smile.
"My turn." Chouji called out as he finally managed to stand from his chair. Putting a hand on his pocket he pulled out a few pieces of paper and extended them to Naruto who quickly read through it before his eyes widened. "Yep," The Akimichi confirmed. "a reservation for all of us in the place you wanted to try out, Naruto."
Quickly reading over Naruto's shoulder, I noticed that it was indeed one of the many places that the blonde wanted to visit. There were several in that list, from the many food debates that he and Chouji had had over the time we had met, but that one stood out due to the Akimichi saying that it had a pretty good ramen. Naruto really wanted to know how it compared to Ichiraku. It was a very expensive place though, fortunately the reserve had the food included. I gave Chouji an appreciative smile as Naruto thanked him profusely.
"Don't mention it, my dad asked for me and they quickly agreed. We didn't even have to pay, to be honest." He scratched his cheek embarrassedly.
"Still, this is awesome, Chouji!"
"Hmm, m-my turn, I-I guess…" Hinata fidgeted with the present in her hands while biting her lower lip. It looked really adorable, to be honest. Finally gathering her courage, she extended it towards Naruto who promptly took it and, for once, carefully opened it.
My eyes opened wide as I looked at the red scarf in Naruto's hand. As my gaze darted towards my brother, I noticed that he had the same reaction before he snapped his head towards the Hyuuga.
"I… Thank you, Hinata." He said with a soft smile that was very rare in Naruto. It brought a grin to my own face just to see it.
"D-Don't mention it." The girl touched the tip of her fingers together. "I-It isn't m-much but-"
"No, it's great." The boy reassured with a much more normal wide grin that had the poor girl blushing up a storm with small but quite happy smile. In the end she simply hummed before going back to her chair, probably to calm herself.
"And last, but not least…" I said dramatically as I waved towards the table. My gift was quite 'big', in a way. He looked in awe at the table before he started opening the bags on top of it.
I had taken a trip towards the shop that I had been pointed towards for my 'reward' and found out that it had a lot of things. From clothes, to equipment, to… well, pretty much everything that a ninja could need, even things that weren't quite for the job. There, I had spent as much as I could to buy clothes both for Naruto and myself.
For him I concentrated mostly in black or blue pants and shirts that were mostly in shades of orange. I didn't have any hopes of getting him to stop wearing orange altogether, so I would take what I could. At least these clothes were a bit more… fashionable than the jumper and pants he used. I had also bought something else though.
"And this too." I said pulling a small package from my pocket and offering it to the boy, who was looking in awe at an assortment of orange shirts with different designs on the fronts or backs, especially one that had the Uzumaki swirl in black on the chest.
He was surprisingly slow while taking the last present and opening it, but eventually he pulled out a silver chain with a simple pendant shaped like a yin yang symbol but in red and blue instead of black and white.
"I thought it fitting." I commented trying to reign down my nervousness. I had never been good at choosing presents, and it was difficult to tell just when I did it right since everyone accepted whatever I gave them with a smile that could easily be out of pity before I died. "Because, you know…" I pointed awkwardly at my eyes and his widened in understanding before he turned back to the necklace and grinned.
"It's great, brother." His voice was so moved that I couldn't help but give him my own version of his normal grin. I was really glad.
[}-o-{]
Naruto PoV
"It's really great, you know?" I commented, looking transfixed at the necklace Eiji had gifted me while sitting on the couch. My brother, with emphasis because it had never felt so real as in that moment, was organizing everything after everyone went back home. He had steadfastly refused to let me help, but I still felt bad just going to bed while he worked so, I just stayed there, sitting and talking to him.
"I'm really glad that you think so, Naruto." Eiji replied while washing the dishes. "But if you say it so much it feels like you are trying to convince me and yourself."
"I just…" I stammered before taking a calming breath in. "I know I've been calling you brother for some time now. But all that time I just thought that it was just me." I admitted feeling a bit ashamed. I had thought that he was just putting up with me. After all, who would like to be the brother of someone so troublesome… Kami, I sounded like Shikamaru now.
"Idiot." I instantly grimaced. "You are my brother, Naruto." I looked over to the kitchen and saw that he had put the bowls aside and he had turned towards me too. "That's a fact and it's never going to change." I blinked quickly before simply grinning so wide that I had to close my eyes. It helped a lot to keep the tears in check.
"Thanks, brother." I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking. It was a close thing. And, just as I was about to speak again, we heard a knock at the door. "Wonder who that is?" I wondered as I stood up, Eiji was busy, after all. "Jiji!" I shouted excitedly hugging the old man that simply chuckled good-naturedly. "You made it!"
"I'm glad I could make it, yes." The man that I had grown to see as a grandfather smiled at me as I invited him in. It felt so much better to have a decent place for him to visit contrary to what the small apartment given to me had been.
"Hiruzen, good to see you." I resisted the urge to either roll my eyes or deadpan at Eiji. He had some real problems addressing people informally. Even our friend's parents, who we had been seeing for a long time already. "I'll get you a cup of tea." At least he seemed to be opening up a little lately.
"That would be appreciated, Eiji."
"You wouldn't believe the things I got, Jiji." I finally couldn't contain myself enough and started showing the old man my presents. Because… you know? I had presents!
Shino and Shikamaru's presents were awesome! Just thinking about all the traps that I could turn into pranks made me want to start reading already. Which Eiji would take advantage of to make me read other things or, Kami forbid, study. I shuddered as my brother handed out a cup to Jiji, who was giving me his usual indulgent smile. I didn't care enough to point it out. I did see a flash of something else while I told him about my presents though. I wondered what that was.
Then there was Chouji's gift that was just all kinds of awesome! I could care less about fancy places, but everyone liked them for a reason. And any place that made Ramen was a place that deserved respect. Especially if it was good Ramen as I had been told.
And Hinata's gift… I had honestly, and embarrassingly, forgotten about that time I helped her out. And knowing that she remembered and all… I didn't even know what I felt about that. But it was nice… very nice.
And then it was Eiji's gift. I'll admit, he was kinda right about why I used the clothes I used… but I really liked orange! So, I was really grateful for his gift and really glad that he had still kept the orange a priority.
But… the necklace… The necklace just stole the whole show! It was… I didn't even know how to describe it. But it felt like making the fact that we were brothers real. I had to blink away some tears before they while looking down at the pendant that I had been showing Jiji and quickly grin at him while closing my eyes.
"On that note," The old man's smile widened. "I brought my own present too." He and Eiji chuckled at my expression. "I've seen you progress a lot this year, Naruto, and I'm really glad about it." I scratched the back of my head embarrassedly. It really wasn't much. Eiji had been the one to drill me in the boring theory after all. And everyone had helped my Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu.
I blinked as Jiji brought out a book and I felt a pit of dread forming on my stomach. He didn't expect me to study more, did he? I gulped.
"This… is part of your legacy, Naruto."
"Huh?" I asked instantly and Eiji turned with wide eyes.
"Well, not exactly. But it's a start." The old man quickly corrected himself.
"Legacy?" I asked confused.
"From your parents." My head suddenly felt very faint. I had obviously asked Jiji about my family before. But he had always said that he didn't know. What… what was going on?
"But you said-"
"I know what I said, Naruto." His face turned into a pained expression that, despite what was happening, I couldn't help but feel bad about. "But you have to understand, that I couldn't tell you back then." Jiji looked very old at that moment, I noticed.
"W… Why?" I breathed out after a moment before feeling a hand on my shoulder and turned to look into Eiji's red eyes.
"Breath, Naruto." He said softly and I took a deep breath in. It helped a bit. "I'm here." That helped a lot more, actually. I smiled weakly at him before we both turned to the Hokage.
"Your parents were… very known, in the village and outside of it." He said slowly and I nodded with a frown. "They were heroes of the village, actually." I felt a small happy smile take over my face before my scowl deepened. Then why-? "But that means that they made enemies out of almost everyone else." He grimaced and I did the same. Yeah… that made some sense. Eiji had explained to me how some of our idols weren't seen as such by other villages. Like the Shodaime, even if he was respected, it didn't mean that he was liked. Or how the Yondaime was the worst thing in the world for Iwa, it made a lot of sense once he explained.
"Can I know now…?" I trailed off as I felt a knot form on my throat. The pained expression coming back to Jiji's face didn't make me feel better.
"I'd rather not… but I will tell you, if you really want to know." He said, speaking very slowly. As I went to speak, I felt a squeeze on my shoulder and turned to Eiji. He gave me a small sad smile.
"Maybe you should ask why he doesn't want to tell you?" He asked carefully and I frowned. And then I stopped to think. Jiji had been great. He had always cared. He wasn't bad. But… But… "He said he would tell you if you wanted, remember." Right… Jiji didn't want to keep it a secret from me… At least, not completely. Right…
"Thank you…" I whispered and his grin widened some. And I returned it to him as best I could. Eiji was really the best.
"Anytime, brother." He replied instantly and my smile grew even more.
"Why, Jiji?" I asked simply and the old man took a deep breath in.
"Because you were… too boisterous." I felt a stab in my chest at those words. "It isn't that bad a thing, really. But I couldn't have you announcing to everyone who your parents are." I nodded slowly, it made… some sense.
"And now…"
"You haven't changed much." He said, and I was surprised that he did so with a fond smile. "But that has focused mostly in your little group." He added that looking at both Eiji and me. "I'm confident that you wouldn't tell anyone besides them if I told you." That was… probably right. It was annoying and embarrassing to accept, but I would probably blurt it out to them eventually. "So, do you want to know?" He asked, not looking like he really cared about my answer.
And I considered it. Knowing my parents had been one of the things I wished the most while growing up. I wanted a connection to something… someone. But, at that moment, I realized that… it didn't really matter. I had my own connections now. I had Jiji, my grandfather. Teuchi-jisan and Ayame-neechan, my uncle and cousin. And, I turned to my side to see a supporting smile, Eiji, my brother.
Finding out about my family didn't sound that important anymore. It was important, of course. But if Jiji wanted to keep it a secret… he had to have reasons. And considering that they weren't around, they were either dead or…
That was something I had to know…
"Did they love me?" I managed to whisper nervously. Because if they had left me because they hated me like-
"You were the most important thing in the world for them." Jiji answered instantly and without a doubt. I felt a now familiar warm feeling inside my chest and smiled before it was quickly splashed with the cold realization that my parents were dead. I had known… but at the same time…
"I can wait then…" I nodded even if I felt sad about having to wait. The old man's face seemed to fill itself with both pride and pain. "What was this about a legacy?" That had helped me decide too. Even if I didn't know them, now I knew they loved me and I would have a connection even if I didn't have names.
"This is a book about calligraphy and how to develop it." He explained and I frowned. "It's a great first step towards Fuinjutsu, which is an art that both your parents were exceptional at." I blinked. I knew that one. It was an elective for next year… Now I knew for sure one of my choices, I grinned as I took the book from him and stared at it.
"I'll be the best Fuinjutsu user ever, believe it, Jiji!" I exclaimed while grinning. I didn't even know what they could do, but if both my parents were famous and they were both great at it, then it must be cool. I was definitely learning it.
"I look forward to it, Naruto."
"And then I'll get that hat off your head, Jiji, just you wait." I added with a peace sign.
"I look forward to that even more." The old man's smile widened.
This was definitely the best birthday ever. I was sure.
[}-o-{]
All the excitement of the day had finally gotten to Naruto and he had gone to sleep. Meanwhile, I was still tidying up the place. Just as I finished, I let out a tired sigh. It had been a long day, full of cooking and then partying. So, I just wanted to go to bed and-
I froze just as I set foot in the dining room.
A few folders neatly laid on a side of the table. For a split second my mind went back to when Naruto forgot his homework, or I did. But that made no sense considering what had been going on during the day and that I had just tidied the place. It also reminded me of a scene from a month ago.
'What are you playing at?' I couldn't help but echo my thoughts from back then.
Warily, I sat at the table and opened the folders, deciding that I may as well read them. I could have left them there, but what was the worst a few folders could do? And sure enough, the content wasn't dangerous per se, but it was worrying.
Inside were proposals from the civilian side of the Council. One proposed lowering the taxes for shops and the other lowering the prices for escort missions for goods. It made me frown, but I reassured myself in the fact that it described enough for me to know what it was about and not enough to feel like I was reading confidential information.
And as I finished the files, I looked up and saw a note in front of me, away from the other papers.
'What do you think?' It read simply. I stared at it for a long moment before noticing that there was a blank sheet and something to write set on the table too. I had stopped being surprised about things appearing on the table by then.
I spent a good deal of time looking over the proposals. I didn't have the foggiest about why someone (possibly but not surely Danzo) wanted me to read this and give my opinion. But I owed a debt to them. I would have never known who had attacked Naruto's apartment without them and without that, there was no guarantee that Kobu would have been punished.
And it was a very small thing, considering the things I had expected to be asked to do if my suspicions were right.
Slowly, I started counting the pros and cons of each as I saw it. How the reduced taxes could affect overall economy of the village and the funding of things like the Academy while the reduced prices for missions would affect Shinobi in general, potentially reducing their progress by making them struggle to gather as much money as they otherwise would.
Eventually, as I started running out of things to point out. A new file appeared. This was a proposal from the Shinobi side of the Council. It detailed how they wanted to relocate more funds towards the civilian ran R&D that supplied Shinobi.
There was no question asked but I got the gist of it. The Shinobi side needed the favor of the Civilian side to approve the third proposal, which meant accepting one of the other two. I looked over my pros and cons sheet. In the end, it was an easy decision. If the taxes were reduced, there would be even less money to work with. Lower mission prices would affect Shinobi but they would, potentially, be helped by the R&D improvement.
It wasn't perfect but there was no perfect that I could see. It was simply a choice between two bad choices to push a good one forward.
And as I was about to write my conclusion, I stopped and frowned.
My hand extended to the side and picked up a folder. Slowly and carefully, I went over the proposal again. Turning my 'answer sheet' around, I wrote that if I had to decide between one of the two Civilian propositions to push the Shinobi one forward, I would choose neither and give up on the latter.
Without actual numbers and more information, I couldn't reasonably decide to cut into someone's earnings. I had no way of knowing if it would have disastrous results on the affected party, be it Shinobi or the System. For all I knew, both could affect badly on both sides.
With a tired sigh, I organized everything back in a neat pile and pushed it towards the middle of the table with the answer sheet on top of everything.
A second later, it disappeared.
Tiredly, I stood up and went for a glass of water. I could really use after whatever that had been. I didn't expect, however, to find something else waiting for me in the papers' place.
A scroll sat innocently in the previously occupied space with a small note stuck to it.
Good job.
It was a scroll about how to use fuuma shuriken.
I grinned. 'Well, that wasn't too bad. And I definitely can use this.' I instantly decided to save it as discreetly as possibly inside my Inventory. If someone asked about the thing, I would deny having it. Just in case. But I needed to be very careful about it since I knew they had me under vigilance, strict vigilance it appeared. They had known almost everything I had been doing against Kobu after all.
'I'm suddenly very grateful for making friends with parents so high up.' I thought to myself. At least that way nobody could just disappear me. I massaged my temples.
I would never regret doing the things I did though. I put a weak smile on my face as I thumbed the necklace that rested behind my shirt. It had a pendant with a blue and red version of the yin yang symbol.
'Live life to the fullest.' I told myself as I went upstairs towards me room.
[} Chapter End {]