Stuck in Naruto? Um... What?

Chapter 19: Dinner

Wow, I never thought I'd muster up the motivation to continue a book to this point. I must say I'm quite surprised. Thanks everyone for reading this!

Alright, read on! 19th chapter ahead 😁

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My mom was bad with directions.

When we went on road trips, she usually brought two GPSs' and a google maps printout. And even with all that, I usually calculated the time we'd arrive by doubling it.

Sadly, I think I somehow inherited that from her.

Luckily, Rin had a photographic memory (Snow spirit stuff, don't ask me) and so she was kind like a built in GPS in my head.

I turned the knob on Tazuna's door, and pushed it open; or at least I tried to. I mysteriously found that I couldn't open the door all the way, since it kept hitting something.

I also found that whenever it hit that certain something, a light 'omph' sound was. I curiously looked down to see Sasuke's face squished into the door.

Well then.

"Why, hello Sasuke," I greeted cheekily, "What are you doing on the floor on this fine, fine day?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted irritably, attempting to shoot me a deadly glare. Or you know, the deadliest one he could muster, since his face was squished into the door; which wasn't very intimidating, mind you.

Well, at least like his speech wasn't impaired at all.

I pushed open the door completely, sending Sasuke, and as I opened the door further- Naruto who was on top of him, skidding across the floor.

I turned to see an amused Kakashi, a gaping Sakura, and... Tazuna was already laughing on the floor.

"Hey," I said cheerily as I avoided Naruto, while I purposely stepped on Sasuke's leg, ignoring his groan of pain.

"What did I miss?" I asked as I plopped into a seat beside Kakashi.

"Literally nothing," Kakashi chuckled amusedly.

I smirked in reply before pausing. "Though, I'd like to know," I started, "Why were they in that position in the first place?" I asked, gesturing to Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi sighed, "It's really, really not important."

I shrugged, "Alright."

Suddenly Tsunami's head poked out from the door and she beamed at me. "You're just in time for dinner, Sena!"

I smiled back politely in response.

Tsunami's head poked back into the kitchen as she disappeared.

She came back a few minutes later balancing a couple plates on her arms and in her hands.

Kakashi saw this and immediately tried to get up, forgetting his crutches (and obviously stumbling a bit). "Here let me help you with that," he offered kindly.

"Nonsense," Tsunami waved him off. "You're our guests, it brings us pleasure to be able to serve you."

I glanced at Kakashi, raising an eyebrow and rising to face him. "Yeah no, not happening," I said, pushing him back into his seat. "You're not superman."

Kakashi looked confused for a second. "Superman?"

My eyes widened for a split second, (which Kakashi probably didn't fail to notice, damn him) but I quickly laughed it off. "What I meant was," I started, "You should really start thinking about your health. You're injured sensei, you can't do everything."

Kakashi seemed to consider my suggestion before nodding. "Fair enough."

"I'll help you Tsunami," I offered kindly.

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A few minutes later everyone was sitting at the table, and was served.

I glanced to the side to see Naruto and Sasuke.... Having an eating contest. Of course.

"More!" They both shouted, slamming their bowls on the table before promptly turning around and throwing up. Yes, that's it guys, why don't you just throw up all over some random person's floor... Gross.

My nose crinkled in disgust and I turned away from the scene. Idjits.

"If you're going to throw up, then don't eat at all!" I could hear Sakura roar across the table. She then proceeded to smack each of them upside the head.

"But... I need to eat... To get stronger," Naruto groaned, holding his stomach.

Sasuke nodded sluggishly in agreement.

"Throwing up doesn't really count as getting stronger. You know that, right?" Kakashi noted.

Both boys were too busy groaning on the floor to respond.

"Hey, why is the photo ripped?" Sakura suddenly asked, pointing to a ripped picture. I had a strong feeling that it was done deliberately.

"Oh that's Kaiza," Tazuna shrugged, stuffing a spoonful of rice in him mouth. Across the table, I could see Inari immediately tense at the mention of the unfamiliar name.

"Who's Kaiza?" Sakura asked curiously and I sent her a look from across the table.

"Sakura-" I protested.

"No it's okay," Tazuna said, holding a hand up. "Kaiza was like a father figure to Inari, he married Tsunami. They became really close, Kaiza was considered the hero of the village."

I glanced at Inari worriedly to see him clenching his spoon tightly and his head was down; his hair was casting a dark shadow over his eyes.

"Um Tazuna-" I interjected but I was ignored.

"One day Gato found out that Kaiza was encouraging the Land of the Waves to rebel, he personally executed Kaiza in front of the whole village, in hopes of making an example of him." Tazuna finished.

A slam of cutlery was heard, catching our attention. I turned my head to see Inari standing up, his head down and his fists shaking.

"Why," he whispered, his voice trembling. "Why do you train so much? It's all pointless, no one can defeat Gato!" He raised his voice near the end.

"You all walk around, all confident that you're going to defeat him. But you can't! You're going to die, why can't you see that? None of you don't the meaning of true pain!" By now Inari had tears freely streaming down his face.

My jaw almost dropped at that very moment. Is this kid for real? First you've got Sasuke who witnessed the murder of his whole clan in one night, then you've got Naruto who was shunned by the whole village. And I'm sure there's a story to Kakashi or something. But this kid probably didn't know that, and at the same time I felt a little bad for him. But Naruto didn't seem to have the same pity.

I tensed as I saw Naruto's eyes darken.

"True pain, huh?" Naruto said through clenched teeth. "You have no idea what the meaning of true pain is. Crybaby."

Inari lifted his tear-stained face in surprise as Sakura gasped. I winced, this kid didn't know what was coming his way.

"You stand around and cry all the time, acting like the victim in your own tv show! Well I've got news for you buddy," Naruto chuckled bitterly, lifting his head to glare at Inari so hard that he flinched. "The world doesn't revolve around you."

More tears streamed down Inari's face as he slowly backed out of the room and ran down the hallway. The slamming of a door was heard shortly after.

"You went too far Naruto!" Sakura scolded, "He's just a kid for God's sake!"

"Whatever," Naruto muttered, before storming out of the room.

A long silence followed his leave, and I heaved a large sigh. "Well," I said, interrupting the silence, fiddling with my fork. "This is awkward."

Kakashi then proceeded to slap me upside the head.