Naruto was caught between amusement and crushing disappointment as he sat on a bench in the market district.
Amusement because he could see rising dust and hear a commotion from a couple of streets over, and even if he couldn't see what was actually going on the fact that he'd been right here under people's eyes before it began, and their puzzled looks to confirm he was still right there and looking as curious about it as they were instead of fighting down glee at successful mischief were almost enough to make up for not seeing it.
Disappointment because this bench was where Haruko-mom had said to meet her after school for their shopping trip, but she hadn't shown up yet. She wasn't like the others - she knew about the fox and didn't care, she even praised him for keeping it under control! She wouldn't turn her back on him; wouldn't just leave him here waiting all night!
The blond boy pulled his feet up to sit cross-legged as he waited, even as the oddly musical crashing sounds died down and the dust began to settle. Positively itching with curiosity Naruto nevertheless crossed his arms and forced himself to sit still and wait - he wasn't going to risk missing Haruko-mom because he wandered off. A few minutes later, his patience was rewarded, as a mechanical sputtering heralded her arrival on that weird little machine she called a 'Vespa' (sure it was yellow, but it didn't look much like a bee to him, so he couldn't guess why) with an unconscious kunoichi in her lap.
Recognizing her passenger, the boy leapt to his feet and exclaimed, "Sakura-chan! Is she okay? Does she need to go to the hospital? The bastard wasn't picking on her again, was he? I'll dunk everything he owns in skunk oil, that-"
"Aw, Sakura-chan just wore herself out with a little spar," Haruko told him, taking the girl in her arms as she dismounted the scooter. Nudging the anxiously hovering Naruto aside with an elbow, she laid the exhausted girl down on the bench.
Sakura was entirely covered with dust, with dark smudges on her cheeks where it had turned to mud in the sweat as she wiped it out of her eyes. One hand was still clutching a piece of painted wood like the posts used for street signs, both ends broken off just an inch or two from her fingers, and there was blood under one fingernail on the other hand where a corner had torn away from the flesh after cracking. The ribbon around her forehead had kept the hair out of her eyes, but it was still disheveled and grey with dust.
Without conscious volition, Naruto ran his fingers through the dusty rose tresses, trying to undo the worst of the tangles, then jumped away and hid his hands behind his back as he realized what he was doing.
Snickering, Haruko ruffled his own hair and drawled, "Naruto-bozu, you're just too cute."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded in an outraged whisper.
"Nothing, nothing," the conscious pinkette replied evasively, before cooing slyly, "Are you going to give her your jacket, too? It would be a shame if she got a cold while sleeping in the open like that..."
Wide-eyed, the boy clutched at his favorite orange jacket, with the swirling shoulder patch it had taken him a dozen tries to get sewn on the way he wanted. Then he looked down at his crush again, and remembered that she was supposed to be his fiancée or something now... Something more precious than a jacket, anyway. Nodding seriously, he moved a few things into his pants pockets or pouches and then slipped it off, revealing a black tee shirt and makeshift forearm guards made from stiff leather scraps held in place by a half dozen old belts scavenged from various junk heaps apiece. Gently, he laid it over the young girl and tucked the sleeves around to fold under her head as a pillow. She mumbled in her sleep and shifted her arms under the heavy fabric, but didn't wake up.
Stepping back, he looked over the sleeping girl for a few more seconds, then asked quietly, "Ne, ne, is it really okay to just leave her here like that?"
"Well, it is a ninja village after all. She'll be fine, probably. More importantly, we need to get you fitted out!" Grabbing a hand she started walking away, Naruto staggering along sideways behind her as he looked back at the sleeping Sakura.
"Wait, wait! What's that mean, 'probably?'"
Spotting a particular shop, Haruko dragged the younger Uzumaki along, absently explaining, "Well, there's lots of patrols in the market, so they'll notice if anyone bothers her... Anyway, daylight's a-wasting! C'mon, Naruto-bozu."
Naruto had never really noticed the small, plain entrance she hauled him into, and didn't catch the name of the place this time, but it appeared to be a music shop from the displays inside. There were drums in all sizes, stringed instruments ranging from just one to dozens of strings, bells, gongs, trumpets, two pianos, a section for sheet and recorded music, plus speakers, amplifiers, a couple of mixing boards, and players ranging from pocket-sized to free standing cabinets.
The shopkeeper had the dark complexion of a Lightning Country native, with hair dyed bright blue arranged in long, heavily beaded dreadlocks, and an eyebrow ring. He was wearing a Bamboo Men tour shirt and bopping along to one of their songs on a demonstration music player. The double-necked guitar Haruko had slung on her back instantly drew his attention with its unusual half EB-0, half Flying Vee body shape.
With the two of them absorbed in a bunch of technical stuff about the instrument that Naruto didn't really understand, he wandered around the tight-packed aisles, tapping drums and plucking strings, not even noticing as his head began to bob in time with the Bamboo Men's infectious backbeat. Then, he saw IT.
It was recognizably related to the lower, angular half of Haruko's guitar, but a different shaped headstock and the body had sharper angles than a Flying Vee. It had one long point on the upper side and one shorter one on the lower side with the switches and knobs. Its chromed hardware gleamed in the light of the shop's sparse fixtures, seeming to cast a sparkling halo around itself before his wondering eyes.
The most magnificent thing about it, though, was the finish. Metallic orange lacquer that caught the light like silk, with the jagged white circle and pink spiral of a naruto lapped over the longer point. Naruto held his breath in awe for a moment, before reaching out to run a hand along the bright wire strings.
"Hmm, you've got a good eye, Naruto-bozu." Haruko's voice surprised him, and he whipped his hand away as if it was scalded, then watched as she lifted it down from the wall hook. "Made by Vintage, a Reaper with the Metal Axe electronics, refitted as a battle guitar by Reijinmaru here." The music had either ended or been turned off when she'd gone to check on the boy, so the notes rang clearly in the quiet shop as she ran off a few bars despite not being hooked up to an amplifier. "Eh, I'm better with a bass, but as a REAL Ninja of course it's important to be able to wail on the guitar. You like this one, huh?"
"Yeah! Yeah! It's great, Haruko-mom! It's orange, the most awesome color of all, and it's got a naruto painted on it! It's like it was made just for me, dattebayo!" he enthused.
"Well, I was going to just get you a 3/4 size Squier since you're still on the shrimpy side, but if you can finger the top frets we might as well get this one," Haruko told him. "You've got enough muscle to learn how to swing it."
At this, Naruto's grin doubled, and he bounced with excitement as he cradled the instrument the way she'd demonstrated though it was a bit of a stretch to reach the end of the neck. "Really? You're really gonna get me this awesome guitar and teach me to use it!?"
Haruko chuckled. "Of course, Naruto-bozu. Your real mom would be angry if I didn't teach you to thrash a hundred Rock-nin at once."
Abruptly still, Naruto stared up at her. "But I thought... Aren't you my mom?"
"Nah, that was Kushina," she explained, golden eyes serious above a smile that held none of its usual deviltry or melodramatic false sincerity, just warmth and reassurance. "She was a real firecracker, so of course I took care of you for her. She didn't survive the ninetails' attack. When you started talking, you called me 'mom,' though it wasn't quite your first word." Mindful of the guitar between them, she pulled the boy into a quick hug, remembering the twinges of guilt she'd felt doing the same for a kid she met on her quest when Naruto, the same age, had been left behind.
"My... First word...?"
Haruko remembered a bright eyed blond in a high chair watching her prance about the kitchen of their small apartment. "How about it, Naruto-bozu?" she'd asked. "What'll we have for lunch today?" Haruko herself looked the same of course, a decade being less than an eyeblink as far as she was concerned.
Baby Naruto gurgled happily, then pointed at the cabinet over the stove and said, "Rameh mama! Rameh! Mamarama ramamama!"
"Nope," she corrected him, shaking herself back to the present. "'Mama' was only your second word. But don't worry about that, there's still lots of stuff to get today, and then you'll need practice before you can use it."
Good cheer restored, Naruto promised, "Hah! Just wait and see, I'll train until I totally wail on the guitar for Haruko-mom and Kushina-mom, and be the most kick-ass Hokage ever, dattebayo!"
Mischief creeping back into her grin, the woman gave him one more squeeze before stepping back. "I'll hold you to that one, Naruto-bozu." She grabbed a tiger-print shoulder strap, a 10ft guitar cable, a pitch pipe, and a handful of picks from a bin, then called to the shop keeper. "Oi, Reijinmaru... How much for this stuff, plus one of those Boom Cube mini amplifiers?"
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:28)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.