amethyst solitary (naruto u.)

Into New Beginnings

The sound of a doorknob rotating resonated in the air as Manaka pushed the door open to what was now officially labeled her "temporary residence."

Again, temporary.

She flicked the light and stood in the doorway, staring at the small apartment like it might explain itself.

Earlier, Tsunade mentioned that she would be meeting someone soon. The name got flown past Manaka's ears in a blur of stress and unfamiliar syllables. Before she could even ask a follow-up question, a key got dropped into her palm.

"Before you meet Naruto," Tsunade had said, firm but in a kind way, "I want you to relax."

Relax.

Manaka almost laughed aloud in the empty apartment.

Relax where? In this dimension? Under what circumstances?

She had been escorted from the Hokage Residence by a shinobi assigned as her bodyguard. He introduced himself, she was nearly certain of it.

'...what was his name again?'

Yup, she already forgot it. But she quite remembers how scared she was upon perceiving him the minute he came into view.

He was fairly tall, displaying spiky grey hair, and his face was concealed with a dark mask, his lazy right eye the only visible thing showing off his face. Although his appearance drained the color from her face once she took him in, the smile he offered after, followed by a simple, "hello, it's nice to meet you" somehow softened the intimidation.

Just something about his tone simply reassured her, and that alone hinted he was harmless.

'Maybe I judged him too quick.'

The walk over had been painfully quiet. He stayed a few paces next to her, hand holding what seemed like an orange book, dressed in the same dark, efficient uniform as the pervious shinobis she witnessed.

She considered starting a conversation.

"Lovely weather for guarding displaced girls from other worlds, huh?"

She innerly cringed.

Yeah, no.

So she said nothing.

The apartment complex wasn't far from the Hokage Residence, conveniently close actually, which likely meant "easy to monitor."

Now she stood alone.

Well. Mostly alone.

She glanced behind her, keeping the door open, half-expecting the man to come in as well.

However he remained outside and continued reading that orange book of his in place.

Upon saying nothing, she turned around and went in.

The apartment was small but fully furnished, a modest living space with a couch and low table, a narrow kitchen tucked along one wall, and a bedroom just beyond. It wasn't extravagant, nonetheless it wasn't bare either.

She moved slowly through the space.

Everything was clean, nothing out of the ordinary.

And yet—it didn't feel like hers.

It felt like a hotel room for someone who didn't know how long they were staying.

The sun had dipped low by now, streaking faint orange light through the window. It had to be around six.

She wandered into the bedroom and flicked on the light: A small bed. A wooden vanity with what seemed like money placed on top of it. A modest closet pressed against the wall. In the hallway she had already noticed a washer and dryer unit with supplies neatly arranged beside them.