In an effort to keep his mind from wandering, Naruto observed the man who had requested the mission he was on. The clothing Chishimo was wearing showed just how impoverished he was. He was wearing a straw hat, and a poncho that was made out of hay. His shirt was a standard blue gi that had a pair of green sleeves sown on. Wrapped around his waist were several white bandages that looked like someone had taken a knife over the left side and cut it open. He had very drab looking grey pants with a set of leg warmers on the bottom attached to his legs via a pair of strings on the top and bottom. On his feet were a pair of old and worn zori sandals.
The man also looked like he was about to die on his feet.
"You know, I can't help but notice that you don't look so good," Naruto commented idly, getting Chishimo to turn his head and look at the blond. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Ah hahaha..." Chishimo gave a sheepish, if somewhat weak sounding, laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Of course I'm alright! Don't worry about me one bit! I..."
GURGLE!
The loud sound of a stomach rumbling filled the air. Naruto blinked, then looked down at the guys bandaged stomach, which made even more gurgling noises.
"Eh heh heh, I guess I'm a tad... um, hungry," Chishimo admitted.
"Riiiiight." Naruto drew out with a large sweat drop on the back of his head. If the sound of this guys stomach was anything to go by, a tad hungry was a severe understatement. Shukaku's insane shouting had been at a lower volume then this. Shaking his head he said, "You sound like you haven't eaten in days."
"Ah well, I had to pay for this mission with money out of my own pocket," Chishimo explained, scratching his left cheek with his index finger. "So I'm pretty much broke." Naruto raised an eyebrow. This guy paid for a mission out of his own pocket? That meant either one of two things, this guy was seriously dedicated to his country, or the country was completely broke as well. It could also be a bit of both.
Commenting on this, Naruto said, "So this mission must be pretty important to you, huh?"
Chishimo looked down at his feet as he walked, a crest fallen expression on his face. "It could mean the difference between life and death for a very dear friend of mine."
A frown marred Naruto's face for a moment before his expression cleared. "Do you want to talk about it?" The smile on Chishimo's face told Naruto that the guy would be more than happy to share his entire life story with him if he asked.
"It's my friend, Sagi, you see," the earnest looking man started. "We've been close friends ever since we were little. We were raised like brothers, he's now the Daimyo of Tori No Kuni." Naruto raised an eyebrow. This guy was best friends with the Daimyo of his country? No wonder this guy was dedicated enough to getting this mission that he would gladly give all the money he had to pay for it. Of course, that did beg the question of why he was wearing such old and weathered clothing. Perhaps Naruto's belief that Tori No Kuni was in a poor state right now held more truth then he had realized.
Granted, with something like a ghost haunting them he probably shouldn't be surprised.
"However, recently things have been very hard for my friend," Chishimo continued, unaware of Naruto's thoughts. "With the death of his father, Lord Ōwashi and then his twin sister died shortly after." The whiskered blond had to hold in a wince at that. He knew how hard it was to lose someone you love. How much harder would be to lose to people you loved within such a short time span? Chishimo looked into the treeline they were walking passed as he said, "And now the friend I was knew, always smiling, always cheerful has become a completely different person. He no longer shows his face in the village, even when I visit him."
Naruto wished he could relate, but he didn't really have any experience with watching as your friend went from kind and happy to a recluse. And not just because Naruto had only gained friends recently, since he became a genin, in fact. The only person Naruto could create parallels to with this guy's problem was Sasuke, and really, the Uchiha had never really changed. Even during the academy he had been a moody, broody asshole who cared for nothing but gaining the power to kill his brother. And now he was with Orochimaru...
Shaking his head, Naruto dispelled thoughts of Sasuke's stupidity and focused on Chishimo as he spoke. "This change in him worries the others, because Sagi is the Daimyo for our country. I don't really care about all that, I'm worried because he's my friend. I would do anything to help him, to bring the old Sagi back again. No matter the cost."
Ok, now Naruto was impressed. From the way this guy spoke, he would gladly give his life for this Sagi character. Even in friends that kind of dedication was hard to come by. Smiling, Naruto said, "I'm sure things will work out in the end." He turned his head to look up at the sky, so missed the look of shock on Chishimo's face. "I was once told that when people share a strong bond, their emotions and feelings will reach each other. I'm sure your friend will eventually come to realize how worried you are and get out of his funk. Who knows, maybe if I solve this... ghost case, things with your friend will get better."
He shivered at the word ghost, but didn't react otherwise. Naruto would never admit, even to himself, that the supernatural scared the other living crap out of him. Give him a Bijuu to face over a ghost any day.
"Naruto... thank you," Chishimo said with a smile. Naruto looked over at the man curiously, shrugged, then gave a grin. He was about to open his mouth to speak when...
GURGLE!
"Um..." Naruto sweatdropped as the man's face took on a Hinata shade of red. Sighing, he said, "Why don't we stop for a break and get something to eat?" Chishimo, it seemed, was more then agreeable to this plan as he sat down right where he stood, causing even more sweat drops to appear on the blond shinobi's head.
Naruto watched in utter astonishment and growing horror as Chishimo put away his sixth serving of rice, scarfing the food down faster than an Akimichi at an all you could eat buffet. Seeing such a skinny guy eating so much food was almost as amusing as it was disturbing, and Naruto, tactless as he was, had no trouble commenting on this. "Dear kami, I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat as much as you!"
"Ah ahahaha," Chishimo laughed a tad sheepishly, even as he wiped away some of the rice stuck on his face. "I know, I'm sorry, everyone's always wondering where I put it all." Naruto couldn't help but wonder where all that food went too. He also couldn't help but wonder if this was what people saw whenever he was eating ramen. Maybe he should think about slowing down his consumption of the delicious noodles if eating as fast as he did made this much of mess?
Now there's a scary thought. Naruto eating ramen slowly, not the mess.
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