Naruto : The Renegade

Brother From Another Mother

Ghosh House

As night was deep both of them slept in their respective rooms since the emotions were still high and they were fatigued after all the shenanigans forgetting their dinner as they much wanted rest rather than food. The next morning, when the sun was on the horizon, Naruto woke up. It was a habit of his, to wake at the break of dawn to start his day. That day was also one of them, but after a bit of freshening up, he fully woke up. This time having a smile on his face, knowing the old woman who he was currently staying with, he could trust her to a degree. He was not going to tell all about his life including his tenant. Speaking of his tenant, last night, during his sleep when he visited his tenant he was fast asleep, making it 2nd week it was asleep.

With that thought process going in his mind, he went on the roof to start exercising. From what he could assess of his body, his strength and stamina had greatly decreased after the accident, even with the kyuubi's chakra healing him, the fatigue was still there. So, he started on the strength and stamina building slowly as his current level was that of a civilian and he wanted to go back to his previous strength.

With his entire workout routine done, he came down from the roof after three hours to meet Dhriti who was awake. "{Oh you are awake! Good morning Naruto.}" Dhriti said in a peppy voice while Naruto had one thing in mind, "{How the hell is she so peppy after what happened?!}" Then he greeted her back, "{Good morning Grandma}" He unintentionally said 'Grandma' and was going to rectify himself when he was interrupted by a smiling Dhriti who said, "{Well, then what would you like for breakfast, my grandson.}" These couple of words moved him. He used to call Tsunade Grandma as a term of endearment with no real attachment to that role while with Dhriti his subconscious mind wanted someone he could lean on and share his troubles with like a family member.

A smiling Naruto then followed her to the kitchen. "{Hey if you don't mind, can I help you here?}"

"{Yeah sure, the more, the merrier}" She said cheerfully as she did not expect Naruto to call her 'Grandma' so instantly. It warmed her heart and lit a fire to protect him and show him the right way to live.

As she and he started working in the kitchen, she started to request him to bring some ingredients. Some he understood and recognized others were new to him, like 'garam masala' and other stuff. Dhriti saw him interested and then she asked if he was interested in cooking. A flustered Naruto shyly shook his head in a yes. Then she instructed him like she would do to a child. Although he was a bit peeved, he knew he was a novice, so he sucked up his pride (which he begrudgingly agreed he had) and did what he was told. That day they made Roti (a type of bread) and Dal (Pulses) along with Tea.

He got the basics of tea quite easily, while Dhriti did not want him to make the Dal so she helped him in making Roti, which sometimes (a lot of times) he burnt, but in the end, he got decent with the Rotis and made several of them which Dhriti approved of. Then they started plating the food and for the first time, he noticed that they were not eating with chopsticks. While weird he thought since he was in a place far away altogether why not adjust like them?

Once they sat at the dining table, she saw that he was having problems eating (more like tearing the Roti.) with his hands so she helped him again with the eating. This time Dhriti noticed something odd, since she had a master's in psychology and also had been studying in foreign, she noticed his hesitation, which many would chalk up to the fight but for her, it was concerning. Humans do express themselves in a lot of ways, happiness, sadness, jealousy, anger, and remorse. For fights, it's mostly anger and remorse. But the case with Naruto was that he was hesitating to express himself. As if he was expecting rejection. This made her wonder what kind of environment he grew up in.