The Way Through Stone Village (Naruto)

26: Time Off and Off Time

[OP: Passerine-The Oh Hellos]

Shine and Wally walked along the edge of the village where there would be fewer people.

Hanabi has passed on the warning she got from that Eichi kid, but they weren't concerned about thieves or other trouble...though they did spy some signs of the crime life that every big city has somewhere and if you were Wally and used to it, you knew what to look for.

What broke her heart, Shine said to him, was not the crime, but that so many of the children they saw just playing completely unsupervised. War orphans no doubt. Either alone or had siblings or parents who had to work double time now because they'd lost their main provider, and had left the child to look after them self.

"You know I never spent that much time in a place after a disaster unless it was for clean up," Wally said. "And not always then. So I didn't think so much about this part of it. The real fight just starts for a lot of people after the crisis is over. I think World walking is really what brought that more home to me."

"Personally, I could see it, but I could never do anything about it," Shine said questioningly. "At home, I don't have money or skills to do much for people when a  crisis hits. I try, but I feel like I can't reach very far. When I do this job, at least I feel like it's important, even when it's not going so well. I don't feel inconsequential. Perhaps that's not a selfless reason, but it's a part of it."

"I'd by lying if I said I didn't do superhero work partly to feel important," Wally put his arms behind his head. "My other job is solving crime, but you don't get the kudos for it. And it's a small part of it. Catching the bad guys and the people falling off buildings feels a lot more real. So we have that in common."

"Do you think it would surprise the students to know that both of us can feel entirely useless at times?" Shine asked.

"Yeah, but it really shouldn't. I think everyone probably feels that way sometimes," Wally said. "And everyone thinks the gras is green int eh other side. The guys who fight the big battles usually wish they had more personal time with people, and the people who focus on the one on one stuff, usually wishing they could be on the front lines of a fight. No one can't do it all."

"I do think we get to do more of it as DJs then we do as our private life selves," Shine mused. "But we weren't supposed to talk about work."

"But what else are we going to talk bout? It's not like we've had the chance to watch any movies or go to any new local attractions or do anything else but this mission for weeks," Wally said dryly. "So what else do we talk about?"

"Good point...it's all I've been thinking about," Shine admitted. "It would be nice to feel like just a person for a while instead of teacher and DJ."

"At least you've got me," Wally gave her a sly smirk.

"Well, it's some slight consolation I suppose," Shine teased him.

"Ouch," Wally pretended to look hurt.

"Oh you know I'm being facetious. I'd be so overwhelmed if you weren't there," Shine said.

"You say that in every world."

"It's true in every world. How did I do this alone?"

"I've asked myself the same thing about my entire life," Wally said. "No one tells you how much like surviving your life is when you're single, and how much more fun it is when you're not."

"Well, some people seem to think it's more fun to be single," Shine said.

"I feel like they're just trying to have a good time, not do anything really impactful with their lives."