𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 ★彡 ᵏ.ʰᵃᵗᵃᵏᵉ

➙ 𝘷𝘪𝘪𝘪. 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳

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NIGHT FELL and the two shinobi teams regrouped back at Tazuna's home. Tazuna left for his room to freshen up. Inari, his grandson, was in his own bedroom doing whatever little boys do. Sakura and Sezaki helped Tsunami prepare dinner as Yuri and Kakashi sat at the table, waiting for their teams to return.

Yuri's eyes focused on Kakashi in a narrowed glare as she watched him read his beaten-up book with one hand. "Do you not get tired of reading the same book?" She asked, malice dripping from her voice.

"Do you not get tired of staring?" Kakashi retorted.

"Do you not get tired of being so dull?" She quickly replied.

"Do you not get tired of being so mean?" Kakashi's black eye squinted at her over his book.

The two glared at each other for a moment, their eyes narrowed. Both are practically ready to kill each other at any moment.

"Do you two not get tired of bugging each other?" The voice belonging to Sakura spoke from behind them, placing a bowl of rice in between the two senseis.

The two jōnin tutted and turned their gazes from each other.

Time passed and eventually, everyone was seated at the table. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura sat at the end of the table with their sensei beside the yellow-haired boy. Yuri, unfortunately, sat directly opposite her rival. Sasuke and Sezaki on either side of her. Doremi was beside Sezaki. Yaragi was stationed beside Kakashi. Tazuna was sat at the head of the table with Inari by his side while his daughter was still cooking by the kitchen counters.

The four genin who trained all day ate eagerly, not allowing a single grain of rice to escape them. Simultaneously, Sasuke and Naruto stood up with raised bowls, demanding more food. The two glared at each other as if they were in an eating competition. Then, in unison, the two upchucked their food onto the wooden floors - the pungent smell was appalling as it reached the rest of the guest's nostrils. Sakura began yelling at her teammates, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Really, Kakashi, you need to teach your genin some manners," Yuri smugly spoke with a close-eyed smirk. The ombré-haired woman grinned in triumph as she watched Kakashi slumped in his seat with shame.

Her small win was soon stripped from her as she heard the loud voice of Dormei demand more food from Tsunami too. She whipped her head to the redhead, eyes blazing with fury at the girl's behaviour. Doremi gulped and immediately apologised to the mother, who merely shushed her regrets.

The sound of Kakashi's muffled chuckle reached Yuri's ears which fueled her anger further. If it weren't for Sezaki seizing her sensei's plate, Yuri would have thrown the ceramic at the white-haired man's head.

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AFTER DINNER, the family and their guests settled down at the now clean table to drink tea before retiring to their respective bedrooms.

Team 4 from the Land of Mist sat where Sakura once sat, playing a game of cards that Tsunami had lent them. Yuri had approached Tsunami and insisted that the mother relax while she washed the dishes. Of course, like any host, Tsunami declined but settled for Yuri's help with drying.

Tazuna, Inari, Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke remained at their seats drinking and chatting. Sakura had ventured from her seat to gaze upon a singular framed photograph that was hung up on the beige-painted walls.

"Excuse me, this picture is torn. Is there some reason for that?" Sakura inquired innocently. "Inari, you kept glancing at it all through dinner. It looks like someone else was in the picture but they got torn out. I mean, that's kinda strange, isn't it?"

The family grew tense at the mention of the photograph - something both Kakashi and Yuri noticed immediately.

Finally, Tsunami spoke up. "It's my husband." Her voice was low and laced with grief.

"They used to call him a hero in this land." Tazuna continued sadly. At the rate of where the conversation was headed, Tsunami turned her gaze to her son but found he was not where he once sat but only his discarded tea. He was already leaving for his bedroom. "Inari! Where are you going?" The young mother quickly followed him to his room. "Father! You can't talk about him like that in front of Inari! You know that!" She scolded her father before closing the bedroom door behind her.

"What happened to him?!" Doremi asked about Inari, shocked at the spectacle that just unravelled before her.

Kakashi turned his attention to the grandfather. "Tazuna. Is there a story behind this?"

Tazuna lowered his head. "He wasn't his real father. He came into our family later. And he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close. In those days, Inari used to laugh all the time. But he..." Before Tazuna could continue his explanation, his emotions got the better of him as his tears flowed freely. Yuri left her station at the kitchen counter and sat beside him, pouring him a new hot cup of tea. "All that ended. He never laughs or smiles anymore. Ever since the day everything changed."

"Tell us. What happened to Inari?" Yuri inquired gently.

Tazuna explained how Inari's father, Kaiza, was a hero to their land and to Inari. One day, a flood threatened to destroy their village and Kaiza was the only one brave enough to close the floodgates which earned him the title of hero amongst the villagers. However, Gatō learned of his heroic deeds and it angered him. Therefore, Gatō had Kaiza executed in front of all the villagers, including Inari. From then on, the village had lost hope. Inari was left crushed and forever disbelieved in the existence of a 'hero'.

Once Tazuna had done reciting the story, Naruto shot up with a look of determination on his worn-out face. However, he did not get far as he fell from exhaustion.

"You better take the day off tomorrow. No more training. You've used too much chakra. If you keep pushing harder, it could kill you." Kakashi ordered Naruto.

Ignoring his sensi, Naruto looked up and met the eyes of Tazuna. "I'm gonna prove it. That in this world, there are real heroes."