Something to Fight For (Naruto)

Paying

"Ehem." A womanly voice cleared her throat, making Haruka look up at her.

A woman stood beside their table, her arms crossed calmly across her chest. She had dark blue hair that was tied back in a messy bun and a pair of shiny glasses perched on her nose. The kimono she wore was spotless, which was saying something considering the heap of filth she was surrounded by. Her expression was almost sweet, even though you could see that she was obviously making a concerted effort to appear stern.

"My waiter told me that you aren't able to pay... Is this true?" She asked, shifting from side to side and refusing to meet Haruka's eyes.

"Sadly, yes." Haruka nodded, hoping she would be able to appeal to her seemingly kind nature.

"W-well... Uhm..."  Unfolding her arms, the women rubbed her arms nervously. "You see, a customer has never not been able to pay before, so I'm not sure what to do.." She gave a nervous laugh, tilting her head so she could look at the Uzumaki indirectly.

The waiter who had originally came for their check, was walking by when he heard his boss's remark. "Arrest them~!" He sung evilly, not even breaking his stride to dodge the fork that Haruka chucked at him.

The manager took a deep breath as she thought. "How much are you, uh, short?" She asked, now fidling with her fingers.

Haruka held up two fingers, flicking a bit of the sauce off of them. The manager began blinking rapidly, shaking a bit.

"T-t-two h-hu-hundred?" She stammered, hands covering her mouth in shock. Haruka just shook her head slowly.

The woman looked like she was about to pass out. "Thousand?" She gasped, face flushing.

Haruka shook her head faster, sighing. "It is much worse."

"J-j-j-just tell me h-h-how much and we can w-work something out." The lady squeaked, covering her eyes with her hands as if that would make the problem vanish.

"Two ryo." Haruka murmured ashamedly, hanging her head. If only she hadn't wasted her money on all those extra senbon, then they wouldn't be in this situation!

"Wait, what?!" The manager's head shot up, her eyes wide and disbelieving. "Just two ryo? Not two million, or anything like that?"

"Yes."

The women began giggle, which soon turned to full blown laughter. Haruka considered getting up and seeing if she was okay, but just stayed put. She had never heard a person dying from laughter, so the manager would probably be okay. Probably.

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" She giggled, shaking her head. "If it's just two ryos, then I think I can cover the cost for you. Besides, the tip that they added into your bill was higher than it should have been."

Shocked, Haruka stiffened and looked at the women wide eyed; she never would have guessed that she would get such kindness from a stranger. As the women collected her payment with a cheerful 'thank you, come again!', Haruka felt as if she couldn't bow low enough.

Hefting her brother into her arms, Haruka began the trip towards his apartment. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away. By the time she finally got there, she was sweating slightly, making her frown; she must be getting out of shape. Letting herself in with the key she always kept, Haruka decided that now would be as good as time as ever to train. Once Nii-san had been properly placed in his bed, she headed over to one of the training grounds.

She hadn't even begun her stretches when a girl with bright teal hair came charging towards her, and distressed Konohamaru Squad following behind. When they stopped in front of her, she could tell that the girl was one of Iruka's students. Rin, was it?

"Be my sensei!" The girl ordered, dodging Konohamaru's attempted tackle easily.

"We're so sorry, Nee-chan! She just asked us where you like to train and then just ran over here! We tried to stop her but..." Moegi rambled on while Konohamaru shouted death threats at the girl in question.

Haruka ignored her minions, staring back at the girl intently. "Rin, yes? Why?"

"I'm Rei! R-E-I! And I need a teacher who'll teach me something other than stupid ninjutsu." The girl growled, crossing her arms defiantly.

Tilting her head to the side, Haruka examined the little academy student before her. Her orange eyes were bright and a bit wet looking, and her hair was shoved into a messy ponytail. It didn't take an idiot to know something was upsetting the girl.

"Konohamaru." Haruka murmured, interrupting the boy's yelling.

"Yeah, Nee-chan?"

"Please leave me and Rei." She commanded. When all three members opened their mouths to argue, she held up her hand to silence them and narrowed her eyes. "Now." They couldn't run away fast enough.

Haruka settled herself onto the ground, patting the space in front of her to get Rei to do so as well. Neither of the two spoke as they stared each other down. As time passed by, Rei's eyes seemed to become more and more hostile, but Haruka's remained as calm as ever, unfazed by the girl's anger.

"Well?" Rei ground out after awhile, tossing her head to the side.

"Why should I?"

The smaller girl's fists clenched tightly, her entire body shaking. Her cheeks had flushed a deep, deep red, and it looked as if she couldn't decide between trying to kill Haruka or cry.

She chose cry.

Anyone else might have hugged Rei to try and comfort her, or patted her on the back. Haruka just sat there, letting her get it all out; feelings and such definitely weren't her strong point, and she'd probably just end up making the situation worse.

After a few minutes had gone by, the child had calmed herself down and wiped her face with her sleeve.

"It's so unfair!" She sniffled, refusing to meet Haruka's eyes. "In the academy, they tell you that ninjutsu will help you. I can't even begin to count the number of times Iruka sensei told us that 'ninjutsu is most ninjas' main tool, so make sure you pay attention!'" She mimicked her sensei, wagging her finger in the air with a stern look on her face.

"But if that's true, then why does everyone I know die from ninjutsu? Okaa-chans gone because she used all of her chakra to save her squad, Onii-san died from a stupid sacrificing ninjutus, and now the Hokage's gone too. It should be called jigaijutsu, not ninjutsu." Lurching up, Rei began to pace back and forth, Haruka's eyes never leaving her face.

"That's why I want you to teach me! You're really good with taijutsu and bukijutsu, so you'll be able to help me. I would ask that other genin Rock Lee, but he's really creepy, and can't use weapons like you. I'm begging you, please, be my sensei!" Rei rushed out, arms gesturing wildly.

Closing her eyes, Haruka thought it through. Normally, she would just say 'no' and be done with it, but there was something about Rei that she liked. Whether it was her energy, her conviction, or something else, she didn't know, but she saw something in this girl that made her hesitate with her usual bluntness.

"I'll call you Nee-san." Rei interrupted her thoughts, hands planted on her hips as she stopped her pacing.

"Deal."

Current Count: 98 (FINALLY)

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Soooooooooooooo....

I'm giving up on making promises to you guys. I always get the next chapter out earlier or later than I expect, so for now on, the only promise I'll make is that I'll finish this book and stick with it until the end. Yep.

Has anyone else been having wattpad problems?! My notifications are showing things from months ago, and my profile keeps treating me like I'm not me.... -_-"

There's the manager. I'll put a picture of Rei on the next chapter, 'kay? ^.^

Song's just 'cuz.

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