Ninja (Major Editing)

Chapter 4

Filler chapter to fill some of the time span... Meow~

Still feeling hungry, Arata got out of bed and slowly walked to the kitchen. He was surprised that he was feeling so stiff. It took him longer to reach the kitchen than he normally did.

He found Yuki cutting up some carrots when he got there. She looked up as he walked in and waved at him with the hand holding the knife before returning to work.

“That’s one dangerous move you just did,” Arata said.

“What? This?” She did the motion again.

“Stop doing that. I actually lost my grip once and it flew across the room.”

“You lost your grip?” Yuki was smiling.

“What’s wrong with that? I was tired.”

“It’s just funny. You seem to be clumsy. Why are you out of bed anyway?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Daichi gave you breakfast already!”

“It was a plain bowl of congee and a tiny plate of vegetables to go with it. That doesn’t make me very full.”

“You need to eat the proper things to recover.”

Arata ignored her and grabbed a tomato from the basket full of vegetables. In case it wasn’t proper food for the injured - he wasn’t very sure which were and which weren’t - he took a bite after wiping it with his sleeve before Yuki could protest. She didn’t and he picked up another one to bring to his room.

Just as he was walking out, Daichi came in. “How come you’re here, Arata?” He shook his head. “But anyways, Yuki will be in charge of looking after you for a couple of days.”

“Why does she have to look after me? I’m fine,” he said before taking another bite of the tomato.

“Master needs me to go somewhere and he said that Yuki can look after you.”

“Can I go?”

“Do you think you can go?”

“Yes.”

“No, you can’t.” He turned to Yuki. “I’m just going to grab something to eat to last a day or two.”

Yuki took a clean, square piece of fabric and wrapped some buns in them. She handed them to Daichi. “Here. They’re fresh.”

“Thank you. And please make sure Arata gets enough rest while I’m gone.”

“I will. Good luck.”

Daichi nodded and headed out. Yuki finished cutting the carrots and walked with Arata back to his room. “You really need to be watched,” she said to him.

“I get used to it. It’s not as bad these days.” Arata stretched as much as he could when he got under the full sunlight.

“Why would you be watched?”

“It’s nothing now. Can I just sit out here?”

“As long as you don’t do anything too physical. But I need to go back to the kitchen.”

“That’s fine with me. Call if you need any help.”

“I won’t need help from a clumsy boy like you.”

“I am not clumsy, and I am also not a boy.”

            “You are. You just won’t admit it.”

“You look the same age as me.”

“I mature faster. Now rest.” She turned her back on him before he could say anything else and strolled back to the kitchen where she started a fire and cooked the first dish for lunch.

Arata sat on one of the four stone stools that matched the stone table they surrounded in the courtyard. He placed his head in his arms and let the heat radiating from the sun warm him up as he finished up his snack. After a while, though, he stood up and managed to climb onto a roof top without much exertion. All it took was a wooden ladder that someone left out after they finished repairing the once leaky rooftop.

He looked out toward the direction of the city, Kyoto. He thought about how he had once lived there and only left a little over a year ago. If his family saw him again, a fight would definitely break out for him leaving without a word and for becoming who he was meant to be: a ninja. They would not understand. He sighed. He found a safe position and leaned back, enjoying the sight.

“Arata!”

He looked back down at the courtyard.  Yuki was looking for him while holding the salt container. “I thought you said you wouldn’t need help from me!” he yelled.

She looked up and shielded her eyes from the sun. “I can’t find Aki! Why are you up there anyway?”

“Sightseeing! What do you need?”

“I can’t find the salt! I looked everywhere!”

He signaled for her to hold on, and went back to the ladder to climb down. But it wasn’t there. With no other option, he jumped. He landed with difficulty, but managed not to injure himself. Yuki ran up to him, looking concerned.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Arata stood up and steadied himself. “Come on. I’ll show you to the storage room. There was some salt there the last time I checked.”

“I looked already.”

“What? I know I saw some before in there.”

“When was that?”

“Like four days ago. I’m the usual cook around here.”

“You? Cook? I bet everyone pukes daily and goes to find food themselves,” she mocked.

“I’ll show you one day. I can really come up with a good meal.”

It turned out that there was salt in the storage room. Yuki just wasn’t used to it being in a barrel. She always got salt straight right out the bag and bought more once she used it all.

“Call me when you need help. I’ll be in my room,” Arata said, looking around at her from the kitchen door.

“I doubt I need your help.”

Arata smirked and returned to his room, thinking that he should take a short nap.