The Masked Girl (Naruto Story)

Chapter 32 - Inari's Father

Dedicated to @TheLonelyOtaku624 for following me!

Recap:

I picked up the cup and took a sip.

Sakura stood up and noticed a picture with a man torn out of it. "Excuse me, why is there a torn picture hanging here?" Sakura wondered.

I noticed how Tazuna and Inari immediately looked down, and Tsunami paused a moment before washing the dishes again.

'Oh shoot.' I thought. 'This person must've been someone important to them. Saku-chan, please don't say anymore!' I frowned slightly.

Chapter 32 - Inari's Father

Kumiko's P.O.V.

"Inari was looking at this all through dinner." Sakura continued. "This torn part looks like someone who was in the picture was deliberately torn off."

"Saku-chan..." I said in a warning voice. She looked at me, and I shook my head slightly.

"It's my husband..." Tsunami said hesitantly.

"He's a man who was once called a hero of this town..." Tazuna said sadly, and Inari got up and began to leave.

"Inari!" Tsunami exclaimed. "Where are you going...?!" Inari walked out of the room without a word.

Tsunami began to go after her son, a worried expression on her face. As she opened the door to the hallway, she turned to her father with an annoyed look on her face. "Dad! I always tell you not to talk about that person in front of Inari!" She said, in a exasperated tone., before leaving.

As Sakura remained standing, the rest of us sat in tense silence. "W-What are you saying happened with Inari?" Sakura questioned Tazuna.

"It appears there's some kind of good reason." Kakashi-sensei finally spoke.

"Inari had a father not related by blood...." Tazuna began. "They got along so well, they were like a real father and son."

I closed my eyes. 'Poor kiddo.' I thought. 'With all these past tenses getting thrown around, I'm guess he was killed, or divorced Tsunami.' Opening my eyes, I paid attention to Tazuna again.

"Back then, Inari was a child who laughed all the time. However...." Tazuna began to tremble, and I saw a few tears wet the table. "However....Inari has changed...Ever since that incident with his father. The word bravery was eternally taken from the people of this island and from Inari...With that day, that incident, as the trigger." Tazuna explained, his voice thick with sadness.

"That incident? What happened to Inari?" Kakashi-sensei prompted curiously.

"To explain the incident, I must first tell you about the man who was called the hero of this land." Tazuna took off his glasses and wiped his eyes.

Naruto perked up slightly. "Hero?" He asked.

"It was around three years ago when Inari met the man...." He continued, explaining what happened to Inari and his dog.

Apparently, some older kids bullied Inari, and took his dog and threw the dog in the water. Inari was pushed in after him, and Inari didn't know how to swim, but a man saved him from drowning.

"His name was Kaiza, and he was a fisherman who had come to this land from another country in search of his dreams. After that, Inari really took to Kaiza. It may have been because Inari had lost his real father when he was too young to remember anything. But he was very attached to Kaiza. They were like father and son. It didn't take long for Kaiza to become a member of the family. And he was a man this town needed. A bit later, it was around that time when Gato set his sights on this land." He spoke.