Unfurling Bud

Chapter Nine

'...' - Eliza talking to Inner Sakura.

... - Inner Sakura speaking.

We  were greeted at the door by a smiling Tsunami. Stepping inside with two  bags of groceries in hand, one of which barely weighed more than a  small bag of coins, I placed them softly on the kitchen counter. The  kitchen was almost as bare as the stores we had visited, with only a few  containers and jars visible on the shelves. They were all half-filled,  some not even a fourth.

I felt a surge of pity at this, but as  soon as the feeling came, it was gone. No one liked blatant pity, least  of all me. So I shouldn't be a hypocrite. Turning toward the busy woman,  I offered to help with dinner. Silence.

Tsunami froze, literally.  Rewind a few seconds ago, and her hands were swift in taking out the  groceries, humming softly under her breath. I waited. Then, as if there  was some invisible switch that suddenly turned on, Tsunami came back to  life. She blinked once, twice, turned around, and gaped at me. Complete  with the deer in headlights look.

"What?! I couldn't possibly have  one of our guests help!" was her frantic reply, head shaking furiously.  If we weren't in the situation we were in, I might have found it funny.  Though at this moment, I was intent on helping while my teammates were  still throwing themselves at a tree.

So I smiled and gently took  the unpleasant looking vegetable out of her hand(it had a weird, bumpy  texture and had a yellow-looking hue), "There's no need to be so polite,  Tsunami-san. I'll be glad to be of use since we are intruding on you quite a bit."

"B-but-!"

"Consider  this my token of gratitude for your hospitality. I would feel terrible  if you didn't accept." The look in my eyes held no room for arguments,  giving her the hint that I could be much more persuasive.

Tsunami  wilted, "As you wish." The corner of my lips twitched upwards as I took  a knife from the drawers. I then picked up another of the yellow  vegetables, rolling it over cautiously in my hands. It felt squishier  than it looked.

After a beat of silence, "What would you like me to do?"

0o0o0

The  bubbling pot of stew smelled extremely appetizing, though the  ingredients used in making the soup looked far from it. The cooked and  seasoned fish also held the same pleasant qualities. Thank God I  remembered how to cook from before, seeing how my hands flowed almost  gracefully through the motions of cleaning the fish. It was far from  professional, but it looked presentable enough, according to Tsunami's  approving glance.

"Ahh. So tired!" I recognized the sound of  Naruto's voice even with the sounds of cooking in the kitchen. It was  loud and had that raspy characteristic. Sasuke, as expected, was a lot  more quiet in his entrance; the sound of the door shutting my only clue  that he was even there. Tsunami chuckled at the boys and ushered them to  the table, taking out steaming bowls of stew and the small plate of  fish.

I stepped out from behind her, holding utensils in one hand.  Naruto nose sniffed the air excitedly, his eyes closed. Then his eyes  shot open, revealing a bright and excited blue. "Something smells really  good!" He giddily rubbed his hands together as Tsunami set the bowls on  the table. I smacked his hands with a chopstick when he appeared to be  reaching out. He yelped and immediately retracted his stinging hand,  lips forming a pout while his eyes turned teary.

"Wait for everyone to be seated." I gently admonished, melting a little. Those eyes will be the death of me someday.

Naruto  stared longingly at the food, "Okay..." Kakashi chose this moment to  appear, tucking his book somewhere and taking a seat.