CH_8.8 (273)

CH_8.8 (273)

It didn't take much time for Takuma and Kameko to pass through the security check, which was expedited because they were shinobi. It helped that the guards in the guard station didn't ask Takuma any questions after Kameko, who went first, told them that they were returning from the Steam-Frost war.

The two of them stood with the gates behind them, looking at the village as though they were tourists. If it wasn't the height of the day with the sun glaring down, they would have had actual tourists standing with them.

Outside Team-9, they had known each other the longest, but that relationship had essentially been non-existent until the Genin Corp Basic Training when it had turned sour. Neither of them thought they would like the other, but after being on the same team and surviving a dangerous mission, it was tough to dislike the person you trusted to have your back.

A hug would still be awkward, thought Takuma—their relationship didn't really have skinship. He straightened his back and held out his hand. That felt right, he thought when Kameko promptly gripped his hand and shook it a couple of times before letting go.

"I’ll see you around, I guess," he said.

"Probably when Anko invites us," she replied.

Takuma chuckled and nodded in agreement. He also couldn't imagine the two of them having a meal alone on their own accord but then he thought about that and said, "Don't think you can't reach out to me if you need something. If I can help, I will— so don't think I won't."

Kameko looked surprised but then nodded with a small smile. "The same goes for you. You know where I live.. It was a decent time serving with you, Takuma," she said and turned to walk away with a single wave of her hand before disappearing.

Takuma glanced at the gates once more before walking into the city. He chose to walk through the streets and take the city in slowly. It felt so different from Yu. It was much more crowded, warmer, and more animated; the atmosphere was one of constant activity. He looked around and knew that the people were bothered and numb to the hubbub of the city.

He, too, was once like them, but after returning to it after such a long time, he enjoyed it. Each step felt like he was rediscovering the Hidden Leaf village. He recognised places from his memories, and they hadn't changed at all because it hadn't been that long, but there were tiny little things that were different, which made everything feel so much more vibrant.

The village was a moving, thriving place, which was a stark contrast to the unstimulating Yu he had just liberated.

Even when he left the busy main streets and entered the quieter residential area, he found himself staring at little things like pamphlets stuck on poles, people's clothes drying on hanging wires the difference in architecture between the two cities, the amount of green that was present in the city due to the abundance of trees.

He got lost in admiring his surroundings and didn't realise where his feet had taken him until he started noticing the potholes in the road, which now felt narrower. The older buildings with degraded paint, and the mess of electrical wires stuck out to him—half of which didn't seem like they were put in by the city—and there bits of garbage on the pavement.

Takuma stopped when he realised where he was and where he was going. He looked at the corner in front of him and knew that he would need two turns to get to the house he had lived in for more than three years—longer if he included the time the boy had lived there after moving out from the orphanage.

He chuckled at the thought that he had walked all the way to his old home purely by habit but then he turned away sharply, as a thought ran through him—he didn't have a home.

Of course he didn't have a home.

The bell rang again just as he switched into his outdoor slippers, and he responded habitually,

"Coming!"

The front door squeaked as he pushed it open, only for it to stop halfway through because it hit whoever was standing in its path. Maruboshi expected the person to move or at least say something, but there was no response at all. Perplexed by the situation, Maruboshi peered around the door to see a man with his head bowed against his door.

"Excuse... Takuma!"

Maruboshi couldn't recognise him instantly because of the longer, shoulder-length hair covering his face because of his bowed head.

Takuma slowly raised his head, showing his face to Maruboshi, who instantly noticed the new scar on the edge of his lips. But he was utterly shocked when he saw his condition; he was dressed in a simple shirt and pants with a large backpack on his shoulders. He was dirty, covered in it from top to bottom, with leaves and even branches sticking to him. The bandages around his arms and hands were all soiled.

His face was more gaunt than ever before. It was clear he had lost weight, which concerned Maruboshi because Takuma had always been underweight.

"My child, what happened to you?" Maruboshi immediately grabbed his shoulders and looked him over to see if there were any pressing injuries besides the bandaged ones.

"Uhm, mmhm," Takuma tried to speak, but his voice cracked. "So-Sorry, but can I stay with you for the night? I-I don't have a-a place to live anymore. Just one night would—"

Marubsohi quickly and gently shushed him and hugged him to his chest. "Yes, you can stay here," he spoke clearly and explicitly confirmed the request with a pat to Takuma’s head, "you can stay here with me for as long as you want. It's okay, you're home now; everything's going to be alright."

He took off Takuma's backpack and guided inside, making sure to hide his worried gaze lest he startle the boy he’d come to see as one of his loved ones.

What had happened out there?



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