Tangled Roots

Chapter Seven

The smell of ramen stirred Naio from her daydreaming, the brothy aroma making her mouth water. She pushed her chair back and stood, lazily making her way to the stove. She smiled as she walked by a sleeping Kimukasai. His large form rising and falling with each breath.

Taking the pot off the stove, Naio served herself a satisfying amount of ramen, putting another bowl down on the floor beside Kimukasai. She walked back to her chair and sat down, not bothering to bring the chair closer to the table. She sighed, resting her chin on her knuckles, gazing sleepily out the little window of their apartment. It provided just enough light to make the room seem lit, but not so much to make it bright.

‘Just enough...’ She thought.

The day before, team four’s sensei told them they had a day off the next day. So Naio woke with a slow start, and still seemed to be waking up. The fact that rain always made her sleepy didn’t help the matter, after all, it always rained in the land of rain.

Naio’s eyes drifted close, dreaming of soft clouds, and a never ending river... of ramen. A sudden thunder crash jolted her awake, almost causing her to knock over her bowl of ramen. Naio gripped the side of the table, taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. Looking on at ramen before her, she came back to reality, also realizing she drooled a bit in her sleep.

Wiping the drool of her face with the back of her hand, she pulled her chair in and broke her chopsticks, digging into the semi warm ramen.

-

Rain dripped endlessly from the edges of her umbrella, deep puddles splashing her ankles. Naio sighed as she walked through the forever rainy streets, Kimukasai following behind her, his head down and eyes squinted from the rain. She never had a day all to herself often back at the hideout. She doubted her time with team four would last long, Madara only wanted intel about Orochimaru’s plans after all.

Stopping in front of a small department store, squished in between two tall buildings, Naio reached down and rubbed the top of Kimukasai’s head. After a moment, Kimukasai raised his head, a curious look in his eyes.

“Naio? Do you want to go in?” He asked.

“Hmm...” She sighed in reply. “No... I want to go to the park.” Kimukasai frowned.

“Does the hidden rain have a park?”

Naio drooped her shoulders. “Probably not... It’s just, I’ve never been to one.”

Kimukasai looked toward Naio for a moment before replying. “Lets go find one then.”

Naio’s face lit up in joy and slight surprise. “Eh? Really, Kouken?”

The panther smiled back at her softly. Naio blushed and giggled, returning the smile tenfold.

-

Kimukasai’s hope deflated when he scanned the map of the city in the local indoor market, seeing no parks, or outdoor gathering areas. He hesitatingly glanced up to Naio, cringing at the utter look of disappointment on her pale face. He saw the hope and brightness in her eyes fade like the evening sun.

Kimukasai let out a small rumble and nudged Naio’s side comfortingly. She seemed not to notice, continuing to stare hollowly at the map on the wall. Kimukasai gazed sympathetically at her, thinking if only there was somewhere close by where she could have fun on a playground.

Suddenly, seeming to come back to reality, Naio blinked then turned to Kimukasai, giving the best smile she could muster.

“It’s alright... We should train! I bet thats what Sayu and Kai are doing right now, lets go!” She exclaimed, running out into the rain, forgetting to open her umbrella and getting soaked.