4: Naruko

Seiji walked straight toward the girl, seemingly hypnotized and strangely serious. When he reached the man and the girl, both of them looked at him. The man seemed annoyed, while the girl lowered her face even further.

"Sir, could you tell me what happened?"

Seiji asked without taking his eyes off the girl's hidden face.

'A blonde girl... could it be her?'

"Damn brat, you shouldn't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. This damn fox demon just doesn't understand that I don't want to sell her anything."

"Sniff, sniff..."

*Grab.*

The girl tried to run away upon hearing the man's words, but Seiji quickly grabbed her arm. She struggled, but her attempts were unsuccessful.

"Wait a moment."

Seiji spoke in a low tone. The girl nodded nervously and then looked at the man.

"How much would the food cost?"

The man seemed about to snap back angrily, but he hesitated when he saw Shisui behind Seiji.

'Certainly, an ANBU is quite intimidating.'

"300 ryo."

The man seemed eager to get this over with, so Seiji quickly paid with his wallet.

"Take it and get that thing out of here."

Seiji simply ignored him and walked toward a small nearby park.

"Sir... ANBU, I'm going to take a small detour. I'm sorry, but it's quite important."

Shisui, who had been looking at a tree, quickly turned to Seiji.

"I understand... I also just saw an acquaintance, so I can talk for a moment. I think the Hokage-sama will understand."

In the next second, Shisui disappeared.

'Well, he lives up to his name.'

Seiji walked hand in hand with the girl, and after a while, they sat on a lonely bench. The girl's face remained downcast the entire time.

"Sorry for dragging you like this... Could you tell me your name?"

Seiji reached out and gently lifted her chin, looking directly into her face.

'Whisker marks... I guess I was right.'

Seiji felt relieved and smiled happily.

"Na... Naruko."

Naruko spoke slowly, and upon seeing Seiji's smile, a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

"Naruko... Naruko, you know, I've been looking for you for a while... I never imagined I'd find you like this."

Seiji was quite happy, as he had finally fulfilled one of the few tasks his father had entrusted to him.

-Find the blonde girl, with small fox-like whiskers and the symbol of a swirl.

His father had tasked him with finding her and taking care of her, and although he didn't know why, one phrase motivated him to do so.

'She is family.'

"You were looking for me... why?"

Naruko asked, seeming a bit nervous, avoiding Seiji's gaze but not letting go of his hand.

"Well... my father told me I had to find you."

Naruko tilted her head in confusion, her blue eyes looking at him puzzled.

"Why...?"

Naruko asked, not understanding, and tightened her grip on his hand.

"Well, he called you family... so I guess that's what you are, though I don't know exactly how."

Naruko's eyes widened like saucers, and she didn't know how to respond.

Seiji, unsure of what to say, tried to keep the conversation going.

"Naruko... could you tell me where you live? So I can visit you in the future."

Naruko's surprised eyes lost their sparkle upon hearing this, and tears welled up.

*Sniff.*

"I... I don't have a home... and... I was kicked out of the orphanage... sniff."

Naruko began to sob. Seiji, seeing this, didn't know what to do. Feeling a bit awkward, he hugged her and stroked her hair.

'This is so uncomfortable... I'm not good at this kind of thing.'

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes. After a while, Seiji saw Shisui approaching in the distance.

'I don't have time... I need to see the Hokage...'

An internal dilemma took over Seiji. He didn't know what to do. On one hand, there was the girl his father had entrusted him to take care of, though he didn't know why. On the other, he was too busy and had an appointment with the Hokage.

Noticing the Uchiha's imminent arrival, Seiji made a decision... though he didn't know the problems it would bring.

"Naruko... as I said, my father tasked me with finding you, but I don't have much time right now."

Seiji hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath, making a decision.

"Take this... and go to this address..."

Seiji handed her a set of keys, along with the packaged food, giving her instructions on how to get to his house.

"That's the address to my house. Go and wait there. We'll talk later."

Naruko looked at the keys in confusion and nodded, her eyes still red from crying.

"Alright, see you there."

Seiji said goodbye and then quickly walked toward Shisui.

"Seiji, we've taken too long... we're running a bit late."

Shisui quickened his pace, and both of them walked faster.

Seiji, in his mind, revisited his encounter with Naruko, thinking more carefully about the implications of meeting her.

Seiji realized why it had taken him so long to find her. It was most likely because she had been living in the orphanage until now.

Also, he remembered Shisui's suspicious reaction when he said he had seen an acquaintance... while looking at the tree.

'Was there another ANBU in the tree...?'

If so... Seiji wondered who they were watching... was it Naruko? Why?

'The man called her a fox demon...'

Seiji, being up to date with the village's news, was aware of that rumor. It was said that there was a girl who was the Nine-Tails fox that had ravaged Konoha about four years ago.

'Oh... that's it.'

In his house, there were many books that his father had kept. Among them was information about various things, and there were also books that explained some concepts of the shinobi world...

In those books, there was a very special term for certain individuals.

'Jinchūriki...'

Fox demon... ANBU surveillance... Nine-Tails fox... fox-like whiskers...

Seiji wasn't stupid, and with all that information, he arrived at the answer.

Naruko was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails fox.

The strongest bijū and the one that had killed the Fourth Hokage.

=======

If you're enjoying the reading, please leave me a comment. I would also appreciate some power stones 🥹.